When to Post on Social Media

If you Google “best time to post on social media,” you’re already making a mistake. The question isn’t when. The question is why. Let me explain. 

If there was an “optimal” time to post, everyone would post on that day and time, which would cause an oversaturation and defeat the purpose. Take Instagram for example: If 800 million users posted simultaneously, no one’s post would be seen. It would be a flood, and the  “best” time would effectively become the worst. 

Over the years, social platforms have switched from chronological to algorithmic feeds. These strict algorithms favor content quality, not timing. If a post does incredibly well, you may see it  days after it originally posted. Social platforms (and their respective algorithms) want to create a positive user experience, so if friends like a post, chances are that you’ll see it too. Great content is infinitely more powerful than time. 

Instead of worrying about timing, focus on creating content that will appeal to your audience, including their time zone. If you’re a fashion blogger with a local following, you’d post at a different time than a travel blogger who has followers all over the world. I wish I could give you a specific formula for this, but in all honestly the way to find your best time is through trial and error. 

If knowing this is really important to you, here’s how to run your own little test: For a month, record every day and time you post, and the engagement. Mix it up every week and objectively analyze when your time is up. You’ll have lots of information to look at from a high level, and it will be possible that you find the time of day doesn’t even matter for you. 

Just focus on quality, and the rest will follow.