Social media isn't just about posting content—it's about connecting with people when they're actually paying attention. Content that resonates with your audience does more than fill a feed—it sparks genuine engagement through likes, comments, and shares.

Timing changes everything. The perfect post at the wrong hour might as well not exist. If you're targeting working professionals, lunch breaks and after-hours are your windows—not when they're buried in meetings. For stay-at-home parents? Mid-morning and early afternoon—those precious pockets of calm—are your moments of opportunity.

For those with broader audiences, knowing the best time to post on social media isn't just a nice-to-have—it's what separates content that gets seen from content that gets scrolled past without a second glance.

In this guide, you'll discover the best time to post on social media based on actual research and platform data—not guesswork. We'll also introduce tools that make content creation less of a headache. No fluff, just practical information you can actually use.

TL;DR:

• Creating social media content that resonates with your audience is key to engagement
• Posting at the right time can make a difference in reaching your target audience
• Factors like audience demographics, platform algorithms, and content type impact optimal posting times
• Consistent experimentation and analytics tracking are crucial for finding the best posting times
• Video content is gaining traction across platforms, and tools like Descript can help create professional-quality videos efficiently.

Best times to post on social media: A cheat sheet

Wouldn't it be great if there was a magic hour when all social platforms aligned, and you could share your content everywhere at once? Sadly, it's not that simple in 2024, with each platform having its own optimal posting times.

But if we analyze recent studies from Buffer, Hootsuite, and SocialPilot, we can create a quick cheat sheet of the best times to post on social media in 2024:

• The best days to post on social media: Monday to Wednesday (some studies also say Tuesday to Thursday)
• The best times to post on social media: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• The worst days to post on social media: Saturday and Sunday
• The worst times to post on social media: Late at night and early in the morning (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.)

But this doesn't mean you should schedule all your posts for Tuesday at 10 a.m. These are averages based on 2024 data, and the ideal time to post on social media may vary depending on your specific audience and industry.

Industry-specific social media posting schedules

Different industries often show distinct engagement patterns that can drastically affect posting schedules. Entertainment-focused brands, for example, may find prime opportunities in the evening when audiences are ready to unwind. By contrast, finance or B2B-oriented businesses might see stronger mid-morning engagement when professionals are checking updates. According to MarketingCharts, Facebook’s algorithm increasingly rewards content that elicits conversation, making it a priority for pages to post industry-relevant topics at times when audiences are most inclined to comment. Assess your sector’s typical behavior patterns, then tailor your schedule based on user activity peaks. Experiment with different time slots and measure performance through analytics tools to refine an industry-specific strategy.

Do posting times really matter for engagement?

It's a bit of both. Your optimal posting time in 2024 is a combination of general trends and your specific audience's behavior. Your followers may have unique engagement patterns based on their industry, location, and preferences, such as being active late at night or preferring certain types of content.

Several factors come into play when determining your ideal posting time:

1. Audience demographics

Consider your target audience—busy professionals, college students, B2B buyers, or direct consumers. Their social media habits will differ wildly based on industry and demographics. Use your platform's audience insights features to understand your followers' age, occupation, and location. Creating audience personas and tailoring your posting schedule to their daily routines can help optimize your engagement rates in 2024.

2. Platform-specific algorithms

Each platform has its recommendation engine that analyzes millions of data points to determine content preferences. Instagram's algorithm, for example, favors recency, while Facebook may focus more on the degree of meaningful interactions sparked by your content. Algorithm changes in 2024 continue to prioritize quality engagement over quantity.

3. Seasonal and event-based adjustments

Your optimal posting time may shift with seasons. Your best posting time in summer might not work during the winter holiday season. Instead, holiday-themed content may see more engagement in the weeks leading up to the event, regardless of the time of the day it's posted.

4. Geographic and time zone considerations

If your audience spans multiple time zones, consider posting in overlapping slots when they're most active. Or create separate posting schedules for different geographic segments. The best time to post on social media in 2024 may vary significantly between regions like Australia, Europe, and North America.

Pro tip: Like many global brands, you can have a dedicated social media handle for each country or region where you sell your products or services.

5. Content type and format

If you mostly share bite-sized video content, your lengthy text posts may get less engagement. Experimenting with posting different types of content at various times can unlock what works and what doesn't. For example, video content may perform better in evenings, while image posts might see higher engagement during lunch breaks.

6. Frequency and consistency

Posting frequency needs may differ by platform. LinkedIn users often recommend 3–4 posts per week, while X (formerly Twitter) may require more frequent updates due to a shorter content lifespan (approximately 43 minutes in 2024). If you see a drop in engagement when posting too frequently, reduce that frequency. If engagement stays steady, consider experimenting with increased frequency.

7. Competition

Use social listening tools like Sprout Social to monitor competitors' posting times and engagement rates. Look for gaps in their posting schedules that you could potentially fill. Identifying optimal posting times based on competitors' performance can give you a competitive edge in 2024.

8. Day-of-the-week variations

Weekends seem to be the lowest engagement days across platforms. You may be better off with a posting schedule that emphasizes mid-week content.

Using analytics to find your best posting times

While these insights provide a solid starting point, consistent experimentation and iteration are crucial for finding your ideal posting times in 2024. Most social media platforms offer native analytics tools, while third-party solutions like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Buffer can provide more in-depth data and cross-platform comparisons to determine the optimal posting schedule for your specific audience.

Track these metrics to find the best time to post on social media:

• Reach and impressions
• Engagement rate
• Click-through rate
• Video views and watch time

Pay attention to when these metrics peak—your golden hour (or hours) for posting.

Remember: timing is just one piece of the puzzle. If your content isn't resonating with your audience, the best posting time in the world won't save it. Quality content that addresses your audience's needs will perform well regardless of when it's posted, though optimal timing can certainly enhance its reach.

Time zone tips for global audiences

Managing a global audience means juggling multiple time zones to maximize engagement in each key region. Posting exclusively according to your local peak hours might miss potential interactions from users halfway around the world. Consider scheduling different posts for separate time zones, especially if you serve multinational regions with distinct working hours. Research suggests that early afternoon windows in Eastern Time can align well with morning engagements on the West Coast and evening browsing in parts of Europe [MarketingCharts]. Use analytic data to determine where the bulk of your audience resides and plan your posting times around their most active hours. This approach ensures that your brand maintains a pervasive presence, regardless of where your followers happen to be scrolling from.

Best posting times for each social media platform

As we dive into the nitty-gritty of each platform, remember to use these insights as a starting point for determining the best time to post on social media in 2024, then fine-tune them based on your analytics and industry-specific patterns.

Best times to post on Facebook

These are the best times to post on Facebook:

• 10 a.m. on Fridays (according to Buffer)
• 7 a.m. on Fridays (according to Hootsuite)
• 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Fridays (according to SocialPilot)

Almost all these studies consider Mondays and Tuesdays good days to post on Facebook, with weekday mornings generally showing higher engagement than weekends. For B2B content specifically, Tuesday mornings have consistently shown the highest engagement rates in 2024 studies.

But here's the catch: Facebook's algorithm prioritizes posts from friends and family, so businesses have to work extra hard to show up in feeds. If you're a B2B page, you might find more success posting during work hours. For B2C, mid-day breaks or early evenings when folks are done with work could be your sweet spot.

Pro tip: Don't just post and ghost. Stick around to respond to comments quickly. Facebook loves that engagement and might give your post a boost. In 2024, the algorithm increasingly rewards posts with active creator participation in the comments section.

Best times to post on Instagram

After analyzing 5.5 million posts, Buffer suggests the best time to post on Instagram is 7 or 8 a.m. on weekdays, with Sunday being the worst day. SocialPilot's study of over 50,000 Instagram accounts also reveals a similar trend: the best times are between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. These optimal posting times in 2024 help maximize your content's initial visibility.

However, Instagram uses different signals to rank different content formats, so feed posts, Stories, and Reels may not have the same prime times in 2024. Understanding content type-specific timing is crucial for maximizing your reach.

For Stories, try posting outside work hours when people have time to tap through (6-9 p.m. tends to work well). Reels seem to perform well any time of day—garnering the highest engagement of all formats—but especially in the evenings when people are looking for entertainment. In 2024, the average Instagram post lifespan is approximately 19.75 hours.

Best times to post on X (formerly Twitter)

X is one of the fastest-moving social media platforms, where news updates and trends play a huge role. However, different audience groups use the platform differently. Developers may scroll through their feed late at night, while finance folks might engage more during market hours.

For higher engagement rates in 2024, in general, consider these best times to post on Twitter or X:

• Weekday mornings between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and evenings between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (according to SocialPilot)
• 11 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays (according to Buffer)
• 7 a.m. on Monday, while Fridays through Sundays seem better suited for posting at 9 a.m. instead (according to Hootsuite)

Best times to post on LinkedIn

According to Buffer's research, the best time to post on LinkedIn is between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. The middle of the week seems to be great for engagement, in particular—SocialPilot recommends posting between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Content type matters here, too. Text-and-image posts and "documents" (AKA carousels) tend to get more engagement than external links and text-only posts. For B2B audiences on LinkedIn, Monday through Wednesday morning posts typically perform best in 2024.

LinkedIn users often seek industry insights and career advice. Time your posts when they're in work mode, not weekend mode. In 2024, LinkedIn's algorithm continues to favor posts that generate meaningful professional conversations rather than quick likes.

Best times to post on TikTok

Opinions differ strongly regarding the best posting times for TikTok in 2024. Hootsuite suggests 7 p.m. on Thursdays for maximum engagement, particularly for entertainment content.

But according to Buffer, the best times to post on TikTok are:

• 2 p.m. on Mondays
• 4 p.m. on Wednesdays
• 8 a.m. on Saturdays

SocialPilot also has a string of recommendations:

• 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays
• 9 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Thursdays
• 5 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays
• 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays
• 4 p.m. on Sundays

Due to the short-form nature of the video content on TikTok, the platform's algorithm cares less about when you post and more about your ability to hook viewers in the first few seconds. Just remember, on TikTok, trends move fast. What works today might be old news tomorrow. In 2024, the optimal posting strategy focuses more on trend relevance than specific posting times.

Best times to post on YouTube

Post on YouTube at these times to get the most views on your videos:

• 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays (according to Buffer)
• 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays (according to SocialPilot)

On YouTube, when you promote matters just as much as when you post. Your video might go live at 2 p.m. on Friday, but you'll want to promote it across other platforms at peak times for those platforms. In 2024, cross-platform promotion timing is becoming increasingly important for maximizing YouTube views.

Also, niche matters on YouTube. You might see a spike in views around dinner time if you're making cooking videos. Workout videos? Early morning or after work hours might be better. Industry-specific timing is crucial on YouTube in 2024, with each content category having distinct optimal posting windows.

Unlike other platforms, your video can gain traction days, weeks, or even months after you post it if you've optimized it for YouTube SEO. So don't stress too much about immediate views—focus on making evergreen content that'll stand the test of time.

Best times to post on Threads

Threads is Instagram's latest text-based platform, modeled on Twitter.

Early adoption patterns reveal that Threads is seeing high engagement almost around the clock.

But if we had to pin down some trends based on Hootsuite's suggestions, the best time to post on Threads is 8 a.m., while Tuesday is the best day to post. For business accounts, weekday mornings between 8-10 a.m. show the strongest performance in 2024 data.

Remember that Threads is evolving rapidly, and so are user habits. While an algorithmic feed is the default, users can arrange their feed chronologically, so timing may be everything here. But Threads makes the chronological setting difficult to find, so older posts are also likely get some love. In 2024, Threads appears to have a longer content lifespan than X but shorter than Instagram.

Pro tip: Threads pulls your followers from Instagram, so your best posting times might align closely with your Instagram engagement patterns. Start there and adjust as you go.

Best times to post on Pinterest

Pinterest isn't built for endless scrolling and instant gratification, unlike other social platforms.

This is why "the best times to post" matter less on Pinterest. So, while posting during peak hours might give you an initial boost, your Pin can keep delivering for years, depending on its relevance and quality. In 2024, Pinterest's average post lifespan remains significantly longer than other platforms, often measured in months rather than hours.

Still, these are the conclusions:

• 12 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays (according to Hootsuite)
• 3 p.m. on Fridays, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Sunday (according to SocialPilot)

Pinterest reach and engagement is also affected by seasonal trends. For example, people may visit the social media platform to look for Halloween ideas in September or Christmas recipes in November.

Here's how to ride the seasonal wave for optimal posting times on Pinterest in 2024:

• Start pinning seasonal content about 30–45 days before the actual event or holiday
• Keep evergreen content flowing year-round—it'll pop up in searches when relevant
• Use Pinterest Trends to see what's popular and when searches for specific topics peak

Pro tip: Interactive video pins are gaining traction on Pinterest. Use Descript to repurpose your longer videos into bite-sized clips to give yourself more time to perfect your Pinterest strategy.

Optimize your social media strategy with Descript

Now that you've mastered social media timing for 2024, it's time to improve your content strategy to maximize engagement across platforms.

While each channel prioritizes certain content formats, video content seems to be gaining traction across platforms and can elevate your social media game in 2024. Investing in video content can benefit you with higher reach, engagement, and memorability among your audience, especially when posted at optimal times.

And the best part? Creating polished videos has never been easier.

Descript's text-based video editing tools can help anyone—experienced or amateur—create professional-quality video content in a fraction of the time, allowing you to focus on posting at the optimal times for each platform in 2024.

Imagine being able to:

• Produce more content to test different posting times
• Quickly capitalize on trending topics
• Maintain a consistent posting schedule without sacrificing quality

With automatic and industry-leading AI-powered transcription, filler word removal, Studio Sound, retake removal, and more, Descript takes care of the mundane as you focus on what matters most: engaging your audience at the right moment with compelling content. Use Descript's social clips feature to create platform-optimized content ready for posting at the best times in 2024.

FAQs

What is the best time to post on social media?

The best time can vary by platform, but research suggests posting during peak hours when your audience is most active. For example, some experts recommend afternoons (12 pm to 3 pm ET) for Facebook to reach a wider audience. It’s crucial to test different times and observe engagement metrics like reach, impressions, and click-through rates. MarketingCharts indicates that finding your specific audience’s sweet spot may require continuous experimentation.

How do social media algorithms affect posting strategies?

Algorithms often prioritize content that sparks meaningful interactions, such as comments and shares, so timing can shape how quickly your post receives engagement. According to MarketingCharts, platforms like Facebook reward posts that prompt discussions, while TikTok emphasizes user watch time. Posting when your followers are online boosts the chance of immediate engagement, signaling relevance to the algorithm. Over time, consistent engagement improves your content’s visibility and can expand your reach.

Will posting daily help me stay visible?

Posting daily can keep you on your followers’ radars, but quality should never be sacrificed for quantity. If you notice engagement declining, it might mean your audience is overwhelmed by frequent updates, so analytics are crucial for determining the right balance. MarketingCharts suggests that well-timed, relevant posts often outperform a higher volume of mediocre ones. Experiment with different posting frequencies and refine your approach based on user responses.