If you’re new to social media, figuring out the best time to post to get the maximum engagement can be pretty difficult. After all, what works for one channel might not work for another. In fact, social media algorithms change so often that it’s difficult for even seasoned marketers to keep track of the new and updated posting times.

As a company whose primary audience is social media marketers and content strategists, we know a thing or two about the best posting times. (Plus, we’ve done our fair bit of research and sourced SME insights for this article.)

So, here’s our conclusive guide on when and what time you should post on which social media channels in 2024.

Best time to post on Instagram

For Instagram, you should typically aim to post during peak times on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. According to many sources, if you had to choose between these days, your best bet would be to stick with Thursday.

The Influencer Marketing Hub consolidated studies, which concluded that your posting times should be between 7:00 am and 10:00 am on Tuesdays — 9:00 am and 12:00 pm on Wednesdays, and 2:00 pm on Fridays.

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On the other hand, there’s some debate surrounding Thursdays. Some studies (like Later) say you should stick to posting between 4:00 am to 6:00 am, whereas The Influencer Marketing Hub suggests posting between 6:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Best time to post on LinkedIn

Maeva Cifuentes (aka the CEO and Founder of Flying Cat Marketing and an independent expert on this topic) says she finds posting on LinkedIn on Tuesdays and Thursdays to be the best and recommends aiming for:

1. Mornings around 10:00 am

2. Lunchtime

3. Early evenings by 6:00 pm

Other sources like Buffer suggest you get the best engagement from LinkedIn during the working week as opposed to the weekends. To be specific, they said the best times to post on LinkedIn would be Thursdays (by 4:00 pm) and Fridays (by 1:00 pm).

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Best time to post on X (formerly Twitter)

Social Sprout conducted a study that concluded that the best times to post on X are between Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the worst times are Sundays. Between Tuesdays and Thursdays, they recommend posting anywhere between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.

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If you were to post on Monday or Friday, you’d see a peak in engagement between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm.

Best time to post on Facebook

Alongside X, Social Sprout conducted research for best Facebook posting times by analyzing over 2 billion engagements, the findings of which were:

• You should aim to post anywhere between Mondays and Thursdays, as those are the best days.

• Like X, avoid posting anything on Facebook on Sundays.

• Aim for 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on Mondays‌ — 9:00 am to 2:00 pm on Tuesdays‌ — 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on Wednesdays, and 8:00 am to 2:00 pm on Thursdays.

• Engagement rates peak on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays by 5:00 pm.

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Best time to post on Snapchat

Many experts say that there’s no strict rule about the best posting times on Snapchats, as users are always active. However, since Snapchat has a younger audience (typically between 15 – 25 years), sources like WiziShop recommend being safer and posting between 10:00 pm and 1:00 am on Friday and Saturday.

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Best time to post on Pinterest

A social media management platform, CoSchedule, conducted original research about the best Pinterest posting times and found that:

• The best days to post on this platform would be Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays

• The best times to post are 8:00 pm, 4:00 pm, 9:00 pm, 3:00 pm, and 2:00 pm.

Among these times, 8:00 pm would be the best time, according to their research.

Best time to post on TikTok

Inigo Rivero, one of the best EMEA employees at TikTok and the marketing director at House of Marketers, a TikTok marketing agency, says,

“For TikTok, aim for Thursdays at 7 pm when people are winding down after work.”

He also recommends not overlooking engagement on the weekends, as people have the most free time then. If you're looking to jump on the latest TikTok trends, don't miss out on the weekends.

Descript and The Influencer Marketing also have similar insights to share‌ — ‌they recommend posting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, between 6:00 am to 10:00 am and between 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm. 

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Best time to post on YouTube

The Influencer Marketing Hub collated multiple studies to find the best posting times on YouTube. They found that the best days and times to post on YouTube are:

• Between 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Fridays

• Between 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Saturdays

• Between 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm on Sundays

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Best time to post on Reddit

According to many experts, the best posting time on Reddit varies depending on the communities (aka subreddits) you’re in. So, if you’re looking for general posting times, then Recurpost recommends the following time to post on Reddit:

• Between 6:00 am to 8:00 am on Mondays and Fridays.

• Between 7:00 am to 9:00 am on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

• Between 8:00 am to 10:00 pm on Wednesdays and Sundays.

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However, if you’re looking for community-wise best posting times, here’s another resource they shared:

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Best time to post on Threads

According to Hopper, the best time to post on Threads is on Thursdays between 8:00 to 10:00 am. However, the 6:00 am to 9:00 am and 9:00 am to 12:00 noon timing slots have also generally been favorable for Threads. To understand the best posting times based on the days of the week, here’s a handy infographic that’ll prove to be of value:

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Best time to post on Quora

There hasn’t been much brand-led research on the best posting times for Quora, but many independent professionals have shared their personal best posting times.

For example, Blaze Arizanov, the Head of Marketing at Stakin and someone with extensive content strategy and marketing experience on his resume says the best posting days for him were between Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Quick Note: His insights have been sourced from an article that’s a little dated and hasn’t been updated for 2024, but we couldn’t find any other research on best posting times for Quora specific to 2024 either.

Best time to post on Tumblr

According to FS Poster, Tumblr users are most active during the night time, regardless of the day of the week (having said this, they’re typically more active on weekends as opposed to weekdays).

As for best posting times, you’ll see peak engagement by 10:00 pm EDT, which most interactions typically happen between 5:00 pm to 1:00 am EDT.

Best time to post on WhatsApp

If you’re dipping your toes in WhatsApp marketing, the ideal times to send your messages are between 8:00 am to 10:00 am, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, and 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, according to ADA Asia.

They also recommend sending more professional messages on weekdays (e.g., messages from a banking company) and more relaxed messages on weekends (e.g., messages from a spa company or a travel company).

Some best practices to consider

Now that we’ve determined the best posting times, let’s consider some best practices (as suggested by experts) before we publish those posts and messages.

1. Don’t always chase the algorithm

Adil Farooq, the CEO and Founder of ‌award-winning agency Silverstone Technologies, says,

“Treat social media like a conversation, not a shouting match. Forget chasing the algorithm’s ghost! Identify your ideal customer’s social media habits. Are they doom scrolling on X at dawn or catching up on Facebook over lunch? Tailor your content and timing to their rhythm, and watch real connections flourish across platforms.”

Having said this, it’s also important to be consistent in your posting cadence. While you can change your posting times and dates, you can’t do one week with multiple posts and another without even one. So, ensuring you reach your audience regularly at a specific, frequent time can significantly boost engagement and visibility.

Take StudioSuits, a distinguished clothing brand renowned for its exquisite collection of men’s seersucker suits. StudioSuits unveils its latest content every morning between 9 and 10 am across all social media platforms like clockwork.

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This steadfast consistency establishes expectations and maximizes audience reach and interaction, fostering a loyal following eager to catch their updates.

2. Customize your message according to your audience

It’s important to understand that most of the above studies found ideal posting times for US-based customers or selected weighted averages for global customers. They also likely analyzed multiple social media posts across multiple industries.

However, your ideal posting time would differ based on the locality and region of your audience, the industry and niche they’re in, and their content consumption patterns‌ — ‌so it’s important to account for those differences, too.

In the words of Antonio Garbic (from Hunter.io),

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Analyze your audience’s demographic, set a hypothesis, and test different posting times.”

Side Note: There aren’t multiple tools in the market that consider your audience, industry, and timezone and provide you with ideal posting times. ViralPost by Social Sprout is one such example.

3. Invest in creating quality and valuable content

Jaclyn Sergeant, a social media marketer, says, “Most of the popular platforms now prioritize engaging, personalized content because they have such a deep understanding of each user’s unique interests and online habits. Today, the algorithms can choose the most relevant posts at the right time for every individual, regardless of when those posts were actually published.

I encourage all my clients to focus on creating relatable content that speaks to their ideal clients’ pain points and challenges and let the algorithms do their jobs and connect the dots.” Another thing to consider is to post timely, relevant content, as companies that invest in moment marketing or topical content usually see viral posts.

Holidays present a golden opportunity to reach a wider audience and boost engagement. By tapping into the festive spirit and cultural zeitgeist, brands can craft compelling content that resonates with their followers.

Additionally, incorporating QR codes into your content can provide an interactive element, allowing your audience to quickly access more information or related resources. QR codes can be generated using a QR code generator and placed in your posts or campaigns to enhance engagement and provide added value.

Henry Meds has a great example of this by promoting their semaglutide sublingual drops while celebrating Cinco de Mayo to create a fun, culturally relevant campaign.

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Holidays allow businesses to showcase their brand personality, fostering deeper connections with consumers and ultimately driving sales.

Make the most out of your social media presence with Flocker

Let’s say you follow the optimal posting timings, and your social media posts are a viral fit. What’s next? The answer’s distribution, of course, because what’s the benefit of all that valuable social content if it only remains on social?

That’s one place where we can help you‌ — ‌Flocker helps you publish your social media posts to different channels, improve the value you give to your audience, and leverage social proof.

To understand the full extent of what we can do, why not sign up for a free 14-day trial.