Facebook has over two billion active users, making it the most populated platform by far. This huge audience means there’s a major opportunity for organic engagement on Facebook, if you keep in mind the current Facebook algorithm. The changes in the algorithm in the last couple of years have emphasized friends, family and meaningful connection, so content that drives genuine engagement is your best bet.
In addition to a content strategy that connects meaningfully with your audience, you’ll best meet this need for engagement by posting at the times when users are most active on the network.
Here are the key data points we found for the best times to post on Facebook:
As you’ll see with other social networks, mid-week is the peak period on Facebook. The middle of each weekday, from morning to mid-afternoon, are safe times to post, meaning engagement remains consistent throughout these blocks of time.
While people frequently check in throughout the middle of the day to see what’s going on, the peak times are around lunch breaks. When people have more time to scroll through their Facebook feeds and dig into interesting posts, engagement rises correspondingly.
On the other hand, late night and early evening along with weekend days bring in relatively low engagement. While people may check in or post a few updates from weekend activities in the middle of the day on Saturday, these times aren’t your best bet for reaching audiences.
Whether you’re promoting an online shopping experience or driving audiences to brick-and-mortar retail, Facebook plays a key part in your social strategy. In addition to your niche’s unique customer personas, find your audiences when they’re most active at these top times to post for consumer goods and retail:
Disclaimer: Industry specific heat maps are more concentrated to show medium- and high-level engagement.
Social is a crowded space for media companies vying for attention, and the Facebook algorithm can make it especially difficult to find a place on users’ feeds. Tap into these times to post to boost engagement:
Facebook can be a great source of information for education institutions. Compared to other industries, mornings and nights offer stronger opportunities for schools’ social media content to get seen, as well as some spikes in activity on the weekend. Check out the full details of the best times to post on Facebook for education:
Facebook is a great place to highlight a nonprofit’s mission with longer form posts and discussions, as well as drawing attention to upcoming events. We found that nonprofits on Facebook frequently see the most engagement during weekday mornings.
Even with challenges in gaining organic engagement, Facebook is still an essential part of tech companies’ social strategy. Whether you’re looking to tap into conversations geared towards a B2B audience or a B2C one, top times for tech companies to post on Facebook include:
Social audiences increasingly expect healthcare practices to have a social presence. Facebook is a great place to highlight your local practice and provide essential info to current and prospective patients. The best times to post for healthcare to reach these audiences include: