When you’re running a social media platform for your business, there will be times when you have important content you want to reach as many people as possible. But when you post it, unfortunately, it doesn’t draw as many likes or comments as you were expecting.

What gives? Could it be that your content wasn’t as great as you thought it was? Or maybe it’s just that you posted it at the wrong time of day?

As with other forms of marketing, there’s an ideal time when you can reach your target market. The problem with social media is that there’s this misconception the ideal time is a one-size-fits-all for all users and all platforms. Well, that’s not exactly the case. Here’s an explanation why, along with a few tips to help you figure out when you should post in lieu of a universal “ideal time.”

There’s Not a Cookie-Cutter Best Time on Social Media

In theory, there’s a specific time of day when the majority of the population is browsing through social media and engaging with all the content they see. But this just isn’t the case. Depending on their ages, work schedules, class schedules, lifestyle and other factors, people are online at different hours. Sure, there are times when traffic is heavier, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those high-traffic times are predominantly your target audience.

Different demographics not only are operating on different schedules but also are more inclined to use different social media platforms. A Facebook page for a bar posting its upcoming live music schedule will have a very different “ideal time” compared with an Instagram page for a high school tutoring program.

Sure, there are studies out there that show busy times for social media, usually on weekdays between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., when many people are taking a lunch break and catching up on anything they’ve missed throughout the morning. There’s also a peak around 8:00 p.m. on weekdays, when most people are done with their day and taking a chance to unwind.

Look at some of the studies about busiest times of the week on varying social media platforms show, and you’ll find conflicting results. Even the consistencies aren’t very helpful — after all, these studies can tell you that Wednesday afternoon are peak times, but there’s only so much content you can post on a Wednesday afternoon (especially if every other business is posting at that time too, and you’re fighting 1,500 other posts for the attention of a follower).

Finding Your Own Best Time

Instead, plan your social media schedule with high-quality content that is likely to engage your followers and receive many likes, comments and shares. This will help ensure your posts make it into more newsfeeds. As you share this relevant content across all your platforms, experiment with the different days and times when you share it. This will allow you to pay attention to trends and determine what days and times seem to work best for your platform and your audience.

Facebook even offers the chance to understand your followers thanks to Facebook Insights, which lets page owners and admins see how each post is performing and when your followers are busiest online.

You’ll probably notice that some of your high traffic times make sense. Let’s say you’re trying to engage moms of young children. Posting between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. won’t be the best time because that’s when they’re struggling to get lunches packed and kids out the door to school; however, by 9:00 or 9:30, when the kids are finally at school and moms have a chance to breath, there will likely be a spike in social media engagement.

If you’re trying to reach teenagers, you will have a better chance reaching them in the mid to late afternoon after they’re out of school for the day. Sure, some of them will be checking Instagram between classes (even if they’re not supposed to be), but more of them will have greater opportunity once they’re done for the day. Plus, many of them will be looking for distractions from doing their homework.

And if you’re trying to engage retirees, they might be most active around 8:00 a.m., when they’ve had a chance to sleep in a little bit and they’re enjoying a slow start to their morning and checking social media over a cup of coffee.

Common Sense Tips for Timing Your Posts

Consider some of these other ideas for strategically planning your social media posts:

• Are you posting a video or something that requires audio? Share this outside of business hours or class hours. When they’re at work or in class, many social media users might be at liberty to read something quietly on their computer or phone but likely won’t be able to play anything with sound. Subtitles are also a good idea for your videos.

• Is it something that can be read briefly? You have a little more flexibility when you can share it. People will often check their phones during traffic jams, in line at the grocery store, while they’re waiting for the elevator or during other brief pockets of time. But if you’re posting something that requires a lot of attention or critical thinking, post it during evening hours when you can have your followers’ undivided attention.

• Make sure your content is relevant. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to post on Friday about something that’s happening the following Saturday — people are more focused on the weekend in front of them than one that’s a week ahead. It might be an event that calls for a little bit of planning, so if that’s the case, be sure to indicate why it’s relevant. Say something along the lines of “We’re a little more than a week away, but it’s not too early to make plans for next Saturday…”

• Posting on the weekend? Go for it — but just know that a lot of people are busy. They might be more inclined to skim through photos while they’re posting their own, but content you share on the weekend should be lighthearted, easily consumable and especially relevant.

Do you want help developing a schedule so you can determine the best times for your business to post to social media? Contact Ann’s Social Media & Marketing today at Ann@AnnMarkets.com.