We’re all guilty of searching relentlessly for  “The best time to post on social.” If you say you’ve never done it, well there it about a 100% chance you’re not telling the truth. There has been study after study to try and identify the best time to post & what times will yield the most engagement. I am sure we all have several printouts pinned to our wall telling us the best times to post in hopes that one of them will yield wild success.

To give you an idea of how many different theories there are, here are some of the recommendations for the best times to post to Facebook:

-Between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday [Hootsuite]

-Weekend’s 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday’s 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. & and Thursday’s & Friday’s 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on  [Hubspot]

-Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. [Lifewire]

-Off-peak times are the best [Buzzsumo]

While all of these studies are based on sound logic and have the potential to be helpful, they all provide us with different information and leave us feeling conflicted. Do you post during peak hours because that is when the most people are active? Or do you post at off-peak times because then your post will have less to compete with to be seen?

You can Google for hours and find that all of these suggestions are helpful, but that is exactly what they are: a suggestion. What these findings seem to forget is that you CAN NOT predict human behavior. No matter how hard you want 500 likes or views on your Facebook post, the truth is that posting at 12:06 p.m. on Wednesday or 10:08 a.m. on Thursday will not make or break your post. There is no “one time fits all” and your posting should be in line with YOUR followers based off of YOUR own research.

Why timing isn’t everything

As we all know, Facebook over the years has continued to grow and grow. Now, there are about 1.86 billion monthly active Facebook users. It is the most commonly used social media site amongst all ages and accounts for one out of every six minutes spent online. To quickly sum it up: everyone is on Facebook and everyone on Facebook is consuming media. Facebook is too huge for you not to understand. But don’t fret- we are here to help!

We have all heard of Facebook algorithms, almost like Big Foot or the person who lives in your dryer and steals just one of your socks. You can’t see them- but we all know they are there. Facebook’s algorithm decides which stories appear in each user’s newsfeed and hides boring stories.  And it notices what you frequently look at, and how long you looked at it. For example, if you spent 15 seconds watching a hype video for March Madness and only 3 seconds looking at a picture of a dog Facebook will know to post more basketball content in your feed, and fewer dog posts. This is why you need to develop creative, innovative and eye-catching content in order to succeed because if you don’t..you’ll never have a chance.

Going back to our discussion above, while timing is important in the delivery, if you are not sharing good content it will not matter what time your post goes out. Facebook’s algorithm will hide it and ensure that no one will ever see it. This is why Facebook posting can be complex and you must understand all aspects in order to succeed.

Step one

Do your own research! I cannot stress this enough. Just because Jake from State Farm had wild success posting at 2:09 p.m. on Tuesday does not mean that you will as well! Facebook offers dozens of tools in order for you to determine when your followers are engaging. You can track their gender, age, location, the time they liked your post, etc. USE THIS DATA! This is data that is gathered from your personal audience.

How

Click on the “Insight” tab on your Business Facebook page. Then on the left-hand side click on “Posts.” This will allow you to see when your audience is active. This is the data that is valuable to you, not ‘3 p.m. every other Wednesday’.

As you can see, 3 p.m. is the highest point in this photo. However, our audience’s activity begins around 9 a.m. I would interpret this data in the sense that the best time to post is anywhere from 9 a.m. up until 9 p.m. The next step from here would be to pick a few times within your parameters make several posts and then monitor which post performs best. Then that will be your very own unique time to post.

Step Two

Make good content! Facebook may hide your posts using its algorithm because Facebook knows that its users want to see good content. Here are some tips for making sure your post will succeed:

 

Do not make your text too wordy. In the case of Facebook, less is more! Use eye-catching photos and quick, one to two-line descriptions in order to have your post perform the best. In the event, you have a call to action, such as “learn more” or “call us” ensure it is clear and concise.

Good example: Knox Sports can help you grow your business through collegiate, youth, and professional sports. Visit our website to learn more

Bad example: Knox Sports is a sports marketing agency based in Tampa, FL. We have been running highly successful sports sponsorships on behalf of our clients for 20 years. We have the ability and knowledge to ensure you get the best deal possible. So, if you’re looking to expand your brand and explore what sports sponsorships can do for you give us a call at (813) 891-6653. And be sure to visit our website at www.knoxsports.com. If you have any questions please feel free to email me at ckohl@knoxsports.com.

While all of the latter is great information, it is information that people don’t want to be bothered with on Facebook. They can access all of that information by visiting our website, which we accomplished very clearly and quickly in the “good example.”

So is there a best time to post on social? No! But, it is time to scrap those printouts on “The best time to post on social” and let your research and knowledge be your inspiration!