Timing is everything

Of course, the timing of your social media posts is just a starting point: the success of the perfect social media post depends on several factors. One of these factors is, for example, the market in which your organization operates: that's why it's important to know when your target audience is online.

This blog is the starting point for your experiments to determine the best time for your account. Want to get started right away with the best times for your account? The easiest way to schedule your posts at your ideal time is by using Prime Time in Coosto's social media planner.

Based on previous posts, this handy feature calculates which times have yielded the greatest reach. With just one click, you can select the best time to post for each channel. Choose the best time to post for your account, the best time for your industry, or the best time for the platform in general.

Not a Coosto user yet, but curious about the best times per social media platform? We investigated the reach of tens of millions of public posts on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, and YouTube using the data in Coosto. The result is an overview of the times and days when generally a lot of reach is generated. A useful starting point for your timing experiment! 
 

What are the best times to post on Instagram?         
What are the best times to post on Facebook?         
What are the best times to post on LinkedIn?         
What are the best times to post on X?         
What are the best times to post on YouTube?         
What are the best times to post on Pinterest?

How to efficiently post on social media at the best times in 2024?

What are the best times to post on Instagram?

Best day to post on Instagram 
Monday and Wednesday

Peak times for reach on Instagram

• Monday at 1 pm
• Wednesday at 9 am
• Friday at 1 pm

As you can see, the numbers for each day are very close. Monday and Wednesday slightly stand out, but other days also generate a lot of reach. Saturday is the worst day to post on Instagram if you want to reach the largest audience possible.

Throughout the week, there are several peak times: Monday and Friday in the early afternoon and Wednesday morning. All within working hours, but as mentioned, the weekend is certainly not inferior to the other times.

What are the best times to post on Facebook?

Best day to post on Facebook: 
Sunday and Monday

Peak times for reach on Facebook

• Sunday at 3 pm
• Monday between 3 pm and 5 pm
• Thursday at 11 am

Start your week strong if you want to achieve more reach on Facebook: Sunday and Monday are the best days to post on this channel. And don't underestimate the reach of this platform, as Facebook still belongs to the largest social media channels today, making it an important platform to include in your content strategy.

The peak times also occur on these days: there is a clear peak in the afternoon hours for both Sunday and Monday. If you want to spread your Facebook posts a bit better throughout the week, Thursday morning is a good time for your post.

Do you want to get the most out of your Facebook posts? We already gave the tip in our blog about the Facebook algorithm: both relevance and interaction with your posts play a crucial role in success. So, provide substantive, strong posts that truly appeal to your target audience and provoke likes, comments, and shares. 
 

What are the best times to post on LinkedIn?

Best days to post on LinkedIn 
Monday to Friday

Peak times for more reach on LinkedIn

• Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 3 pm
• Friday between 8 am and 10 am

The focus on business of LinkedIn is reflected in the numbers: you achieve the most results on weekdays and during office hours. The best hours for a maximum number of impressions are at 10 am and 4 pm. Posting outside office hours significantly yields less: the number of impressions is far from noteworthy during those times.

When we zoom in on peak moments, Monday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday afternoon, and Friday morning are the moments when your posts generate more impressions.

In short, focus on office days and hours if you aim for more reach on LinkedIn!  

 

What are the best times to post on X?

Best days to post on X 
Monday

Peak times for more reach on X

• Monday at 4 pm
• Tuesday at 10 am
• Saturday at 12 pm and 4 pm

For X, we see a fairly even spread across weekdays, where Monday peaks slightly. Sunday generates the least impressions. When looking at the interaction per hour, we see a clear peak in the afternoon. At 1 pm and 5 pm, the most activity clearly takes place on this platform, resulting in a larger reach.

Conclusion: the beginning of the workweek clearly yields the most results. If you want to take advantage of peak times on X, further zooming in reveals that Monday afternoon at 4 pm is the best time to post. We also see more activity on Tuesday morning and Saturday afternoon. 

 

What are the best times to post on YouTube?

Best days to post on YouTube 
Monday and Thursday

Peak times for views on YouTube

• Monday at 9 am
• Thursday at 10 am and between 2 pm and 4 pm
• Friday at 12 pm

On YouTube, the goal is clear: achieve as many views as possible. Since this platform is number 1 among the most used social media channels, it can definitely be worthwhile to delve into the best times to upload your videos.

Monday and Thursday stand out as the best days. The general peak times occur at 10 am, 12 pm, and 3 pm. If you want to look even more specifically at the best moments, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday mornings by far generate the most views. Thursday afternoon is also a peak moment: between 2 pm and 4 pm, there are many viewers on the video platform. 

 

What are the best times to post on Pinterest?

Best day to post on Pinterest 
Tuesday and Sunday

Peak times for more reach on Pinterest

• Sunday at 7 pm
• Tuesday between 10 am and 12 pm

Pinterest is the odd one out when looking at this overview of social media channels. Looking at the number of impressions on this platform, it is lower than on the above-mentioned social media channels.

However, there are a few clear peak moments to discover if you want to achieve more impressions on this platform. Sunday evening and Tuesday morning clearly generate more reach than other days.

The time-bound nature is much less strong on Pinterest, so it won't come down to the minute here. This platform is characterized by the long lifespan of a post: pins are found years after placement. So, don't hold on too tightly to these times! 

 

How to efficiently post on social media at the best times in 2024?

As mentioned, this overview is ideal as a starting point to further experiment with the best times for your social media accounts. Want to approach this more efficiently? That’s possible! Publish in Coosto allows you to easily schedule and publish from one platform to all your social media channels. Prime Time automatically determines the best times for each channel and your account specifically, using AI technology. This way, you don't have to delve into the data yourself, and you can post with just one click at the best moment.