Updating your social media profiles too frequently or infrequently can alienate your target audience, leaving you ignored or unseen by your followers. This is why understanding when your audience is active on social media can help you increase shares, traffic, and links.
While the best days and times to publish a blog post are Monday through Thursday, between 8 am and 1 pm in the time zone where most of your readers live, social media follows a different rhythm. The simplest way to think about the best time to post on social media is to analyze when people are bored or tired at work or school.
2015 Active users: 1.490 Billion
46.9% of internet users use Facebook
72% of online adults who visit FB at least once a month
86% of posts are published during weekdays, with engagement peaking Thursday and mid-Friday.
Number of updates per day: 3
Best days to post: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Engagement rates fall 4% for posts published Monday – Wednesday
Best time of the day to post: 1 pm to earn the most shares, 3 pm to get the most click-throughs, 1-4 pm
Worst days/times to post: Any day after 8 pm
Number of hashtags on Facebook:
1-2 Hashtags: 600 average interactions per post
3-5 Hashtags: 400 average interactions per post
6-10 Hashtags: 300 average interactions per post
Facebook image size guide:
Cover photo: 851 x 315px
Profile image: 180 x 180px
Shared images: 1200 x 630px
Shared link: 1200 x 627px
Highlighted image: 1200 x 717px
2015 Active users: 316 million
10% of internet users use Twitter
34% of online adults visit Twitter at least once a month
Average number of followers per Twitter user: 208
Followers are 119% more likely to use Twitter during school or work hours
Number of updates per day: 5
Best days to post: Monday – Friday (B2B) and Wed, Sat, and Sun (B2C)
17% higher engagement for B2C brands on weekends
14% more engagement for B2B brands on weekdays
Best time of the day to post: 12 pm or 6 pm to get the highest CTR, 5 pm to get the highest RTs, and 12-6 pm
Worst days/times to post: any day after 8 pm
Number of hashtags on Twitter:
Tweets with hashtags get 2X more engagement
1-2 hashtags are optimal for Twitter, increasing engagement by 21%
55% increase in retweets when you have at least 1 hashtag.
Twitter image size guide:
Header photo: 1500 x 500px
Profile photo: 400 x 400px (display at 200 x 200px)
Feed photo: 440 x 220px
2015 Active users: 73 million
2.3% of internet users use Pinterest
Number of updates per day: 5
Best days to post: Saturday mornings. Otherwise, Monday through Friday
Best time of the day to post: 8-11 pm, Monday – Friday; Pinterest activity peaks at about 9 pm
Worst days/times to post: business hours
Pinterest image size guide:
Profile image: 165 x 165px
Board display: 222 x 150px
2015 Active users: 97 million
3.1% of internet users use LinkedIn
93% of B2B marketers rate LinkedIn the top B2B social media lead generation source
Number of updates per day: 1-2
Best days to post: Tuesday – Thursday
Best time of the day to post: 10 am – 6 pm. According to LinkedIn, the best times to share are weekdays during business hours
Worst days/times to post: Mondays and Fridays
LinkedIn image size guide:
Standard logo: 100 x 60px
Career cover photo: 974 x 300px
Banner image: 646 x 220px
