Posting on Facebook at the right time will help your company stand out and you will be able to reach more people (target audience). Besides creating high-quality content, the other most effective tactic for getting a higher reach is to ensure that you post at the right time.
Knowing the best time to post on Facebook can be a challenge and that’s why we’d love to help. In this guide, we’ll show you how you can find the right time to post content on your Facebook for maximum reach and engagement.
Is There a Specific Time that is Best to Post on Facebook?
A lot of studies have shown that there isn’t a specific time to post on Facebook since the studies have shown a wide range of results. According to a study, the best time to post on Facebook is between 1 pm and 3 pm on weekdays and Saturdays. The study also shows that the engagement rates on Facebook are 18% higher on Thursdays and Fridays compared to other days.
Another study shows that the best time to post on Facebook is 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Thursday at 8 p.m., and 1–4 p.m. late into the week and on weekends. Such studies can be helpful to marketers but it’s clear that the best time to post on Facebook is dependent on a number of factors that are specific to every company. It may be dependent on when specifically is the best time for your brand to post.
Reasons Why There is No Universal Time to Post on Facebook
1. The Content is Different
Different companies post different content and therefore the content is consumed by a different target audience.
2. Too Much Content Posted on Facebook
There’s a lot more content shared on Facebook than any of us can consume. Facebook’s News Feed algorithm determines what is on our news feed every time we log in to Facebook. For those people especially with a lot of friends or page likes, a lot of potential stories could appear on their news feed any time they log
It’s becoming too hard for any content to gain exposure in News Feed because whenever you post on Facebook, you’re competing against many other posts for a place on Facebook’s News Feed, and time is one of the factors that will determine which content will appear on the Newsfeed.
It is also possible that the best time to post on Facebook could be the worst time. This is because, at the best time, every brand will post their content therefore, it’s likely that those posts would not be seen due to the high competition.
Since there is no universal time that is best to post on Facebook, here are some tips to help you decide when to share your content;
1. Understand Your Data
Facebook provides a lot of relevant data for the page owners and all Facebook profiles. A comprehensive look at your audience on Facebook and the performance of your content will help bring success to your company.
2. Relevance
Some of the content you post will only work best when it’s most relevant. For example, the best time to share football results is just after the game has ended or the best time to release information about your product is just after you have launched the product.
The Best Times to Post on Facebook According to the Common Trends
Many companies have studied Facebook timing trends and have accessed their Insights analytics tool. Most companies operate 24/7 within a global reach but there are still user behaviors regardless of the time zone you are in.
Here are some trending statistics to consider:
- The highest average click-through rate (CTR) which means the number of people who click on the links on your posts on Facebook, occurs between 1 pm and 4 pm on Wednesdays.
- The worst days for posting are said to be on weekends, especially before 8 am and after 8 pm.
- Images help in boosting engagement by increasing the number of likes and comments.
- Videos and Facebook Live are receiving more reach than regular posts.
Following these common trends and depending on your goal for each of your posts, you will be able to determine when to share those posts. Always have a goal when posting on Facebook.
If you are looking to have your posts shared then you should make your posts at around 1 pm. At this time people seem to be in a good mood at this time and may be inclined to show it to their colleagues and friends, therefore reaching more people.
Discussion
The goal is not only to drive traffic to your website or to generate sales but also to enhance user engagement which can help your company reach more people and attract new people to your page. This will also help in having a Facebook show or suggest your other posts to its users. These are the main things that can help in driving more traffic and sales.
When you try posting new material during the afternoon, most people are often sluggish and use Facebook to catch up with recent or trending events before resuming work. This is the ideal time to engage them with your content.
This should be the content that you want them to share to reach more people and not content that is related where people will be required to click through. You may be required to schedule your posts in advance or hire a Facebook marketing manager to manage your Facebook page.
Finding Your Best Time to Post on Facebook Through Your Insights
The best place to start is checking your page insights which are at the top of your page. There is a lot of wealth data available on your page’s insight dashboard. Once you’re in the Page Insights dashboard, there’s a wealth of data available to you. Here are the areas to check to help you know when it’s best to post your content.
1. Find Out When Your Target Audience is Online
On your Insights dashboard, you need to select ‘posts’ which is on the column menu. It will show you a detailed breakdown of the number of days and times that your fans are online on Facebook. The chart will represent the average number of times across the week that your target audience was online. You can also check on each individual day to see the reports of how that day looked.
There are a variety of ways you can use to interpret this data. It is recommended that you test a variation of the times between the hours when your audience was most online, to come up with what works for your company and if there’s any best time to post at all. Try posting at the off-peak times i.e. when less of your target audience is online to find out which method works for you.
2. Find What Time Your Most Successful Posts were Posted
The Facebook Insights shows the reach and engagement figures for each post on your Facebook Page. This type of data can be located in the same place as the data which shows when your audience is mostly online.
You can see the time and the date when each post was published on your Facebook Page and therefore you will be able to check for any trends is it likely that posts that are shared around the same or specific time will receive more engagement and reach?
It is important to note that if your posts are either Sponsored or have been boosted, it could distort your data a little because such posts are likely to receive more reach than the other organic posts regardless of the time they are posted.
3. Put Your Data into Action
This is basically the last step in getting the best time to post on Facebook because, once you have identified what your best times to post on Facebook are, it’s important to test these assumptions in the real world. The easiest way to do this is to schedule your Facebook posts so that you don’t have to log in to your account and post manually at your best times.
Conclusion
Proper timing and the shared content on your Facebook posts are very important for a successful Facebook marketing campaign. There is a thin line between an explosive breakthrough and a massive failure. Social media is increasingly becoming a vital part of all businesses. You will be making a big mistake by sometimes thinking that timing is not a vital part of your online business, especially when you need to run paid ads on Facebook.
Check your posting schedule and compare it to both how people use Facebook generally and how your own target audience uses Facebook. This helps in reaching your target audience and getting the most out of your Facebook posts, whether you are looking to get more engagement, reach more people, or get more clicks to your website links in order to generate more sales or build your list.
