I decided to create this quick blog post to address the question, “What is the best time to post on Facebook for highest engagement?”  First of all the time of day or day of the week won’t matter much if the content itself is not engaging.  I discussed this and gave some links to some great resources for creating and finding engaging content in a previous blog post.  Secondly, I want to point out that there is no one-size-fits-all “best” time to post because every Business Page has a different target audience.  The best way to determine your most optimal time to post is to check your own Insights.

1. Click on Insights at the top of your Page.

2.  Click on Posts

3.  You will be able to see which Days of the Week and Times of the Day your Fans are most engaged.

Here I can see that Sundays and Tuesdays are the best days for me to post for maximum engagement.  There seems to be a slight peak at 9 am and noon (break and lunch times at work would be a safe assumption), and fairly steady engagement between 3 pm and 9 pm.

4.  Scroll down to “All Posts Published to get a snapshot of your Posts over the past 90 days.

Click on the dropdown arrow next to Likes, Comments & Shares, and select Engagement Rate.

5.  You will see your most engaging Posts. 

This confirms that my best times are afternoons and mornings around 9 am; and my best days are Tuesdays and Sundays.  You can also get an idea of which “type” of Posts drive the highest engagement.  In my case, pictures seem to do best with my audience.

Your Insights are important to pay attention to because what some Social Media Guru may tell you about how Links are better than Pictures, and evenings are better than mornings, may not necessarily apply to your most engaged users.  On my Page images do well, but I am a Coach and Trainer so people are on my Page to see inspirational quotes and how-to social media tips which I find are best communicated with images and infographics.  If you are an educator or run a research based Page, links may perform better for you, since your Fans are looking for information.

The rules of “what works on Facebook” are constantly changing.  Don’t get caught up in chasing what the “experts” say is the best type of link or best time to post.  What has remained constant through all the many changes in Facebook’s News Feed Ranking Algorithm is that people want to be entertained, informed, acknowledged and respected.  If your content provides that, your fans will engage.