Facebook and Instagram are social media platforms with billions of users. It means a huge audience you can benefit from. It also means very high competition.

If you want your posts to be popular, it’s essential not only to focus on their quality but also to choose the right moment to post them. Find the best time to publish a post on Facebook and Instagram and achieve maximum results using social media platforms!

Psss… Before you find out when is the best time to publish posts on your business profiles, first determine what may interest social media users! Our unbeatable 2023 Marketing Calendar can help you with that. With it, you can easily create a content marketing strategy, plan social media posts, and ultimately increase sales. Publishing attention-grabbing content will be easy for you!

The Best Time to Post – Why Does it Matter?

Anyone can gain a presence on Facebook and Instagram, but breaking through the competition and building a large, engaged community is a task only for the persistent. Various factors influence the effectiveness and popularity of posts. Content must attract attention, arouse curiosity, and be tailored to the target audience. However, sometimes even the best post can get lost in the crowd. This can be due to, for example, an inappropriate publication time.

The “life” of posts on social media is relatively short. They gain peak popularity roughly within an hour of publication. This means that sharing them during the time of the highest user activity results in the best results. However, determining the “ideal hour” is not easy. When to post? Read more!

What affects the best time to post content on social media?

At what time should you add posts on Facebook or Instagram? The largest traffic on Facebook is supposedly on Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10:00 and 14:00 and on Fridays between 9:00 and 11:00. Instagram, on the other hand, is most popular on Wednesdays between 11:00 and 13:00 and on Fridays between 10:00 and 12:00.

Statistics on the most significant traffic (covering social media) differ between platforms, which must be considered if you plan to double-post the same content. The best time to share a post also depends on individual factors such as:

• industry,
• products or services offered,
• target group.

Contemporary social media – how do we use them?

The past few years have brought dynamic changes. The pandemic has caused even more interactions to move to the Internet, both on a personal and professional level. There is no indication that the trend will change. Therefore, changes can be observed in periods of the highest activity on social media.

The best time to publish to achieve the best results. Check when to post

According to Sprout Social research published in 2021, the highest traffic occurs:

• On Facebook – the highest engagement on Wednesdays, Mondays, and Fridays in the morning hours – from 10:00 to 11:00,
• On Instagram – users are most active on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays at 11:00, as well as on Tuesdays at 14:00.

Higher audience engagement means the highest post reach – it would be a sin not to take advantage of it!

Research has also indicated the worst time to post. These are:

• Facebook posts – weekdays after 5:00 pm and weekends, especially Sundays,
• Instagram – Sundays, as well as weekdays after 6:00 pm.

As you can see, it is not worth posting content in the evening hours, as the fewest people use the platforms then, and therefore, will see our posts on social media. This information is a robust basis for a post-publication schedule.

When to post content on Facebook and Instagram based on your target audience?

A good understanding of your target audience, their preferences, needs, and habits will not only help you create much better marketing materials but also publish posts more effectively on social media. Consider who your audience is and look for information about their social media activity or simply estimate when they may use them most often. This lets you determine the best time to publish posts on each platform.

The social media platforms’ tools, such as Facebook’s Page Insights, are also beneficial. Data allows you to check how the activity of people who follow your page is distributed on the platform. Other factors, such as different events in the country and worldwide, and even the weather, can also affect how well your content will perform on social media.

How often to post on Facebook and Instagram?

The algorithms of social media platforms are quite complex, making it difficult to predict how many people your post will reach, even if you follow carefully developed rules. Another factor to consider is the frequency of publication. Facebook and Instagram promote accounts that publish regularly. More extended periods of silence on social media can limit the reach of your subsequent posts. Furthermore, sudden and intense increases in activity can even lead to blocking your account to protect against spam.

How often to publish? It is generally accepted that:

• Posting on Facebook should be done twice a day.
• For Instagram, it is recommended to post once or twice a day.

Algorithms appreciate profiles that are managed naturally and systematically and where content is consistent.

How to engage users worldwide?

The success of social media posts is primarily measured by audience engagement – the number of “likes,” comments, shares, etc. It is essential to consider not only the timing of the post but also the content that will interest users.

The main factor that attracts attention is the photo or graphic that enriches the post. The graphic element must be intriguing and tailored to the aesthetics of the target group. The second important factor is the description, based on critical, practical, and exciting information. Finally, it is always worth including a CTA (call to action), which also affects engagement. The most common strategy is to encourage observers to share their responses to a question, their own experiences, or their opinions on a topic in the comments. This facilitates building engagement and increasing the reach of the post.

When is the best time to post to maximize social media use?

Social media users may have unusual preferences or simply change their habits!

Therefore, many experts recommend experimenting. Specific trends can only be discussed when the situation repeats itself regularly. Therefore, if you want to find the mythical golden mean:

• post frequently,
• use different types of content,
• set other days of the week and times for publication in the schedule.

We hope you now know how to handle social media and when to post to reach the largest number of users. Now it’s time to take action – publish your content on social media and fight for engagement and reach a larger audience. Start publishing and reap the rewards of your efforts.