social media secrets: WHEN SHOULD YOU POST?

Is there a perfect time to post on your social media?

People are constantly wondering this and the answer is…yes and no. 
 
There are a lot of factors that play into this. Who is your target audience? What industry are you in? What role does social media play in your digital marketing strategy? 
 
There are specific times that research has shown to produce better results than others and we’ll dive deeper into that. 
 
We live in a digital age and with the use of technology comes a constant flow of change and influx of new things. This means that digital strategies are likely to change frequently as well. 
 
Before we get into what research has shown, we suggest doing your own tests to find out what works best for you. Just because research has shown a specific day and time to produce good results, doesn’t mean it will work great for you and your ag business. You will need to take note of when your target audience is active on socials. You can even pay attention to when other agriculture businesses are posting as well. Ultimately, the best thing to do is to conduct your own tests and research by posting at different times and see what your audience responds to the best. 

So what is research telling us?

Instagram - A 2021 HubSpot research report shows:

• 7:00am Wednesday – Friday usually produces high engagement (probably as a result of people checking their phones as they wake up.)

 

• 11:00am – 3:00pm also shows a pattern of high engagement. This is due to people checking their phones once they’ve exhausted their mental energy. 

 

• If you post on a weekend, Saturday morning at 10:00am might be your best shot for high engagement as people sleep in or are going out to brunch. 

 
HubSpot also provides a great list and graphic of the best times to post for each day,     check it out.

Facebook - Research has shown Thursdays to be a fruitful day of audience engagement on Facebook. A 2021 Buffer report  shows:
 

• 1:00pm – 3pm Thursdays and Fridays

 

• 8:00pm Thursdays

 

• 1:00pm – 4:00pm latter half of the week and weekends

 
However, a HubSpot report shows a few different results:
 

• HubSpot suggest any weekday around 9:00am usually produces high engagement. As people get into work they hop on Facebook before they start their work day.
  
  
• Weekdays 11:00am – 12:00 pm. The lunch break crowd strikes again!
  
  
• 3:00pm – 4:00 pm is specifically mentioned as a good time to post for “B2C, B2B, software, and higher-ed organizations.”
  
  
• Thursdays – Sundays 

Both Buffer and HubSpot research shows that Facebook engagement is best in the latter part of the week and on the weekends. 
 
Working with ranchers and agriculture businesses we find ourselves primarily using with Instagram and Facebook. But there are tons of other social platforms with research reports on high engagement times as well. 
 
In the end, what we have learned that there is never going to be a universal best time to post. Different studies will show different results and suggest different days/times. This is why we think it’s important for you to use trial and error tests on your own social media to find what works best for you. 
 
We know you ranchers are busy with running day to day operations but we encourage you to continue posting to your social media. We see that agriculture businesses perform really well on socials as people enjoy seeing the operations, the views and the day to day life.