Is there really a best time for us to post on social media sites?
yes, there is
when you are
- sober
- happy
- angry at nobody
Depends on your target market and business nature. It is best if your post is visible at to your audience during their daytime. Typically, you can see that most of the posts are very active during working hour. After work is normally more casual and the posts are more emotional, sometimes.
Lol - I like the above 
and I agree!
However, if you’re targeting a US audience, the best time apparently is 12 noon - 2PM. Read that somewhere - not sure if true though.
This is a really critical topic… over post and you risk turning fans off as well as destroying your visibility on sites which supress postings like Facebook, under post and you’re leaving opportunity on the table.
The latest research I’ve seen indicated the best responses were fairly mid morning EST or early morning PST but findings vary so widely it’s really hard to say.
A major reason why is the posters themselves. If all the brands in the survey are east coast based and post when they hit the office, over time that’s when the reads will be. There’s also logical reasons: mid morning coffee break on the east, pre-work check on the west. Days have similar dynamics… Thursday & Friday people are entering plan & relax mode according to Buddy Media [in short, see what’s happening with friends] so usage is up.
However there is without a doubt a wide wide swing by vertical and audience so don’t rely on the norms. Instead, find the times that drive your response… if your audience is all 14, 10am isn’t it, but 4pm after school? Could be huge. Stay at home parents? Mid morning sounds great.
I’ve had some really interesting discoveries over the year, like how christmas day can be the biggest activity point of the year despite everyone assuming it should be a ghost town… but you’ve got a lot of people unwrapping gifts and rushing to tell the community they got them or ask a question… great day to be seen answering.
http://vasimpleservices.com/social-media-strategy-timing-is-everything
http://www.socialmediascience.com/social-media/research-reveals-day-social-media-engagement/
Very nice post, Ted. Thanks for the useful information. I didn’t think the time in which you posted really made much of a difference. I’m going to have to read some more up on this.
I certainly agree that Ted’s post is quite enlightening! I had never thought that “time” was a factor in posting on Social Media, but he’s made a believer out of me. With that in mind, I’d like to add that for years I have recommended to clients that they not release a Press Release on Mondays. The reason being that there is an overload of releases on that day and people are already busy getting back into work and planning their week’s activities. I wonder if that might not be the same for Social Media?
Post of the day goes to r937, nice!
12-14
Thanks Linda 
And yes, a similar dynamic exists although from what I’ve seen it’s not just about the audiance being busy with catching up but also every brand thinking they need something online STAT since it’s been two days…
The problem with corporate social is that companies close at 5pm [or at least stop posting] but people don’t stop living, talking, shopping… in fact they do more of it. The best results I’ve ever seen were at “odd” hours not just because people were on their computers but because the noise level dies down and the “wow, they’re here and talking” factor goes way way up… much more so when it’s a reply rather than a blast.
Of course many try to get around this with scheduled blasts – big mistake. It’s not terrible to automate the message as long as you’re there to watch it but when you post at 6am and are all off at the company meeting, you lose opportunity and credibility… it’s like you’re announcing that you use social to talk at people rather than actually engage. After all, if you’re there to respond, the only comments are from them… and just until one of your posts goes over wrong [one always does]. Then the real fun starts if you aren’t watching.
12-14 every day? In GMT time? Your local time? Their local time? Let’s be specific about what the suggestion and reasoning is.
This is an important thing to consider when posting on social media sites, you have to know your target market / people. Mostly they are active during the working hours and before sleeping time, just Google the timezone.
It depends on you that what type of audience you are targeting and which country. If suppose you are targeting Australia then you must be online from 7.00 am to 4.00 pm. At this time you can communicate with them.
Why not 5pm? Or 9pm? Do Australians not go online after working hours?
I think time is much more important for targeting social media thanks i get lot of tips form here but it’s depend which country you want target and you know about all countries timings.
I prefer night time for posting on social media.
Personally I find that between 4 and 5PM is the best time because most people check their social media just before they leave work and then again when they get home. I have had a lot of success doing this in real estate.
@scottgrace25 – in what time zone?
My main audience is local and my time zone is Atlantic(1 hour ahead of eastern). I find most people are checking around supper hour.
Thank you. That clears things up. So what you are saying is that in your field (real estate) you find the best time to post to Social Media is around the supper hour.