Social media offers the opportunity to reach a wide audience. Though it would seem that managing social media would be simple and straightforward, we have found that it is more of an art than a science. We’ve looked at the analytics and we are going to share the best time to post on Facebook – and more!
Different social media platforms are more beneficial for accomplishing different goals, and a unique approach is necessary for each client and each platform. Figuring out when your audience is online and active will help you reach them more effectively. You want to be sure you’re getting the right message, to the right audience, at the right time.
Post while they’re looking to bring insight and value to their day.
Many companies ask the question, “When is the best time to post on Facebook?” An obvious answer is whenever your audience is currently online. However, this has been hard to determine in the past. Thankfully, Facebook has given us some tools to figure it out.
Follow our process to figure out the best time to post on Facebook for your social media campaign…
Mystery Solved! The Best Time to Post on Facebook Revealed!
The Process
Make sure you are a page administrator before you begin this process. First, go to your page settings button and click on the “View Insights” button. Then, click on the “Posts” button, followed by the “When Your Fans Are Online” tab. This graph will show you exactly when your fans are online. Find out when your peak time is. This will be when the most fans are online at one time. It may be in the morning or the afternoon or even late at night, depending on your audience.
If you want to break it down, click on each day of the week in the “Days” section and see if your peak fluctuates throughout the week. You will also want to check back every week and see if these numbers are changing.
The Reasoning
So, why is learning the best time to post on Facebook important? Well, not only will you reach the majority of your fans at one time, but Facebook has also made some changes to benefit your social media campaign. They have now added a “story bumping” function, which basically means that posts that receive a lot of likes and comments can actually stay on the home news feed longer.
If your post gets a lot of attention, story bumping allows that post to get bumped up to the top of your fans’ news feed. This is why posting at the best time on Facebook is now even more important.
The more people see your post, the more attention it will get, and the longer it will remain on the news feed.
How to Use This to Your Advantage
Use Facebook Insights to understand your fans and their online habits.
This information is found after clicking on the “Posts” button. Look at your “Best Post Types” to get a good grasp on what types of posts your fans are the most attracted to.
Maybe your statuses get more attention, or maybe your fans prefer when you share a link. This information may change over time, so keep referring back to it as you plan.
Start using more of the posts that receive the most attention and engagement. That is the beauty of this tool – you can use it to boost your social media presence while also providing your fans with more of what they love already.
Take a Closer Look
If you scroll down a bit further in Insights, under the Posts tab, you can take a look back at all your recent Facebook posts and see which posts were top performers and how your audience engaged with your post exactly.
You’re able to see what actions were not only taken directly on your post, but which occured on shares. You can also see if someone hide your content, unliked your page, and much more.
You may notice that the types and abundance of engagement may vary from post type. For example, our audience loves humanized posts (like you see above), videos, and marketing tips.
By understanding what types of content performs well organically, and which types need a little boost, you can not only thoughtfully schedule your posts at the top time of day for posting on Facebook, but you will also know what posts may need a little help from Facebook Paid Ads.
Get Posting!
So, don’t waste any time. Go find out when the best time is for you to post on Facebook! The FAcebook Insights dashboard really has a lot of great analytics to help you customize your social media posting strategy. It can be time consuming to mull over these analytics, while still leaving time to post and engage with users.
If you find yourself a but overwhelmed and need a hand, we have a variety of social media services to fit your needs. Connect with our team to discuss your needs.
Action Items & Takeaways
- Understand the science of your Facebook activity by utilizing Insights
- Most social media platforms have their own analytics dashboards to help you understand your audience and the top times to post
- Review social media analytics regularly as the top posting time may vary over time
- Paid advertisement/Boosting may help less popular content reach a larger audience
