Post a meme on Twitter? Done. 

Announce an event on Facebook? Check.

Shoot a couple of stories on Instagram and go live again? On it.

Respond to Linkedin messages? Working on it!

Then, rinse and repeat ad infinitum.

No, wait! I just remembered I haven’t posted on Pinterest for over a month! Gotta fix it immediately.

If that’s what’s going on in your social-media world, you’re not alone. It’s pretty chaotic and pretty intense and feeding the beast feels never fully done.

So ask yourself: Is all of that frenzied effort bringing you revenue and leads? I doubt it.

If you want your social-media activity to deliver real results, you need to know your target audience top to bottom — their interests, approximate daily routine, lunch breaks, and sleep hours. (Why don’t you try one of the social media listening tools to get to know your customers better?) This data will help you pick the right moments to connect with your existing and potential customers, which is vital when it comes to sustaining and growing your business.

Below are some scheduling guidelines we’ve discovered in our years of posting on social media. In addition to best practices, you’ll find the best times to post on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and others. 

Note: Keep in mind that one size does not fit all. You’ll have to identify your brand’s buyer personas and do your own research into their engagement habits. That’s what we did when we created a social media posting schedule for X-Cart. It can be hard work but it’s very worth it given the end result of knowing your audience.

If, moving forward, you understand that selling your products on social media is not your cup of tea, you can consider selling on Amazon. This is a marketplace with a massive community of 95 million shoppers and lots of opportunities for sellers. And, whenever you need any help, feel free to get back to our parent company, Seller Labs. Their Amazon experts are only one call away.

I. The Best Time to Post on Twitter

With 330 million active users, Twitter is an exceptional place for businesses to manage customer care and build professional relationships with partners. And, as good support is timely support, picking the right time to post on Twitter is vital. Otherwise, you can miss out on a lot of your potential engagement and leave customers feeling neglected.

• Twitter users are considered to be more active on weekdays in the afternoons or in the evenings. So the best time to tweet is from 1 P.M. to 8 P.M. Don’t forget to factor in your audience’s time zones!
• Tuesdays and Wednesdays have shown to be the best days to post on Twitter. 
• Saturday is the worst day to post on Twitter. Engagement is at its lowest so don’t pour a lot of resources into that day and certainly do not use Saturday to make a big announcement via Twitter.

Posting time on Twitter for eCommerce brands

Most commonly, online shoppers use Twitter to stay up to date with the latest updates about your eCommerce business activities. That’s why we post our company, product, and industry-related news on Twitter 2 or 3 times a week, usually at 1 P.M.

Also, we love communicating with our partners on Twitter. And we normally do it during working hours when they’re really into work-related processes. That’s somewhere around 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. 

It’s well known that many people use Twitter to find customer care and get immediate help. While that may be true for many Twitter users and consumers, our online shoppers prefer to reach out to our team via HelpDesk or email. And though we’re ready to support them day and night on Twitter, we concentrate our efforts on where our people are and how they want to connect.

What we post on Twitter

• We love sharing our content, like blog posts or guest articles created by our marketing or knowledge base teams. We do it 4-6 times a month on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 1 P.M. 
• We’re eCommerce experts, which means that we’re on the pulse of what’s going on in the online selling world. It also means that we deliver high-quality curated content and guest articles to our subscribers as well. Curated articles are posted on average twice a week, usually on Monday and Saturday between 1 P.M. to 2 P.M. 
• Twitter is also an amazing place for company news. We share that on weekdays from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
• We’ve noticed recently that our customers love GIFs — some funny memes from the web or the ones our designers create to illustrate how things work at X-Cart. So we post them from time to time to make the feed more fun and eye-catching.
• Now and then, we experiment with videos, short ones with a max length of 140 sec.

II. The Best Time to Post on Instagram

With over 4,2 billion likes per day and an average engagement rate of 4,7%, Instagram is definitely worth the time, effort, and probably some financial investment. After all, it is the platform that has led in social commerce.

What’s great about this social media marketing channel is that it offers so many ways to promote brands in a way that feels natural. Instagram stories, stories highlights, live broadcasts, and IGTV are among the options that let brands create engaging video content and tell stories about their businesses without seeming too salesy.

Needless to say, you should choose the best times to post on Instagram to get maximum exposure for your digital content. Here are some ideas about timing:

• According to Metro News, Instagram audiences never sleep. They are most active Monday through Friday at 5 P.M. and, weirdly enough, at 2 A.M.
• According to Hootsuite, the best time to post on Instagram is from 12 P.M. to 1 P.M. Monday to Friday.
• Our research shows that the best day to post on Instagram is Wednesday in the first part of the day.
• The worst time to post on Instagram is Sunday morning as it receives the least engagement. (The best time to post on Instagram on Sunday is 7 A.M., 8 A.M., and 4 P.M.)

Posting time on Instagram for eCommerce brands

The main goal for X-Cart on Instagram is to create a loyal fanbase. We don’t post very often — just 1-2 times a week, but this is enough for our audience. 

As for the time, we prefer to post somewhere between 2 A.M. and 5 A.M. so that our customers see our posts right when they wake up in the morning.

Instagram is also a great way to engage with young, visual-oriented audiences, aged 25-35, who scroll their feeds on the go and do not tolerate waiting for content to load. That’s why our posts are concise and videos are no longer than a couple of seconds. 

Interestingly, the best time to post on Instagram for likes isn’t necessarily the day time. Sometimes night-time Instagram stories work like no other publication out there posted on the peak hours. It seems like an anomaly, but it’s an anomaly that you can use to your advantage.

Picking the smart time to post on Instagram can also boost your follower base. According to Ksenia’s research, the perfect time to post on Instagram for followers is between 9 A.M. to 11 A.M.  

What we post on Instagram

• What our subscribers appreciate most are personal high-res pics and videos. For example, behind-the-scenes glimpses into our team’s life and videos from events we attend around the globe. Most often, such posts are published when they are happening rather than after the fact.
• We also shoot stories on Instagram to promote our how-to tutorials and new blog posts; announce limited-time offers and promotions; share giveaways and discounts; pass along valuable data, research, and statistics; and broadcast the latest updates and announcements. We aim to make and publish stories during the lunch break (at 1 P.M. or 2 P.M.) when our customers are still focused on their work but free enough to turn aside for a moment and check Instagram.
• We also take care of the user experience and regularly create how-to videos to show the way our eCommerce software can be useful for them and how they can get the most from our tools.
• Instagram is a good place for user-generated content. That’s why we post photos of our long-standing clients, their quotes, and extracts from case studies.  It’s great promotion for us and our clients and it’s great information for potential clients who want to hear real stories.

We share how-to’s and user-generated content from 3 P.M. to 5 P.M.

III. The Best Time to Post on Facebook

It’s no secret that since the beginning of 2018 brands have found it quite challenging to get organic traffic from their Facebook pages. And that’s true for our brand, as well. 

The reason is pretty clear. Facebook has come to prioritize the content from family and friends over other public content. The posts that do not inspire genuine discussion in the comments and the posts that are not shared by your inner circle will not likely achieve high-engagement rates.

So beyond creating high-quality content and encouraging your friends and family and followers to actively share it, there’s one more thing that can help you win the battle for conversions — picking the best time to post on Facebook for maximum exposure.

• Wednesday is widely viewed as the best day to post on Facebook. 
• The peak posting times on Facebook are 11 A.M. and 1 P.M.
• Early mornings (before 7 A.M.) and evenings (after 5 P.M.) have the least amount of engagement.

Posting time on Facebook for eCommerce brands

Here at X-Cart, we prefer to post on Facebook from Wednesday through Sunday, sometime between 1 P.M. to 3 P.M. Our subscribers are most active then. 

And when we do not post, we also socialize. We find and like 5 new pages, comment on 3 community posts, check “Suggested pages,” and monitor industry groups. It’s a healthy habit that makes everything easier. This way, we do everything to get spotted and to get a better pulse on the industry all at once.

What we post on Facebook

• Facebook video content generates over 8 billion views a day and X-Cart takes this trend seriously. We regularly post videos from our meetups and we create video tutorials and summaries of our blog posts. We normally do it between 12 P.M. and 1 P.M., when most of our customers have a little free time, or early in the morning, at 9 A.M. or 10 A.M. before people get fully entrenched in their workdays. 
• More than 60% of all content posted on Facebook is curated content and that is exactly what performs best for us on Facebook. It includes posts from our partners that are both educational and entertaining. Or it can be just any content that we think may be of value. The best times that work for this type of content are Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 1 P.M. 
• 30% of the content we post on Facebook is our evergreen blog posts (evergreen because we regularly update them with love and care to keep them fresh and growing). These are usually posted on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 1 P.M.

IV. The Best Time to Post on Pinterest

Pinterest is a place for art lovers and interior designers, and, as such, particularly attractive to women. Before you say, “Hang on, Helen, aren’t you just stereotyping?” let’s consult the data according to Statista: 79.5% of Pinterest’s current monthly active users living in the U.S. are women. That’s a pretty targeted audience.

And, as a matter of fact, Pinterest isn’t the platform where the time of sharing really matters. What matters most is the frequency and the type of content you share. With consistent and timely publications, you can build unique audiences across this somewhat-unusual social-media network.

• The best time to post on Pinterest, according to CoSchedule, is in the evening, from 8 P.M. to 11 P.M.
• Any day of the week is cool, but Fridays and Saturdays may be the best times. 
• And the best time to post on Fridays and Saturdays is between 2 A.M. and 4 A.M.
• The beginning of the week, Monday and Tuesday, looks like the worst time to post on Pinterest.

Posting time on Pinterest for eCommerce brands

Pinterest is the ideal place for female-focused brands. Not exactly the X-Cart niche, so we don’t invest much time in this platform. But we don’t ignore it either. Usually on Friday at 8 P.M., we upload some eye-catching content to Pinterest boards. 

Note: If Pinterest audiences fit your niche, I’d suggest that you should create at least 5-10 pins per day and post them at 9 P.M. to boost your engagement rates. Remember to create at least 1 board per week and clean up outdated boards regularly.

How to Sell on Pinterest And Explode eCommerce Sales (opens in new tab)

All eCommerce How to Sell on Pinterest And Explode eCommerce Sales Helen Golubeva

Posting curated content (or repinning) on Pinterest is also good practice. 5-20 repins a day at 9 or 10 P.M. will do nicely.

On the last Friday of each month, we prefer to socialize, at least that’s what we call it. We browse through the pins of our competitors and partners, follow their boards, leave comments, and repin the best things.  

What we post on Pinterest

• Any type of infographic related to eCommerce.
• Thumbnail images of our step-by-step guides.
• eCommerce templates that show how easily you can create a beautiful X-Cart online store even without a professional designer.
• And, of course, all sorts of design tips.

All this is done in the evening, often on Friday.  

V. The Best Time to Post on Reddit

If you think Reddit is just a place where gossipy folks meet to enjoy some meaningless chatter or bandy about conspiracy theories, think again. As a social-media network, Reddit is an ideal instrument for promotion (my colleague, Veronika, will prove that).

Of course, Reddit admins won’t let you go wild promoting your eCommerce brand here and there. This community hates spammers, and relentlessly blocks them. 

However, if you don’t cut corners and you do post quality content on Reddit at the right time, you’re sure to increase your brand awareness. Some guidelines to help you:

• The larger part of the Reddit audience is from the US so the best time to post on Reddit is when they are up and about. 
• The best days for posting on Reddit are Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays.
• More specifically, early morning — between 6 A.M. and 9 A.M. — is when the users are the most chatty.
• The best time to post on Monday is between 6 A.M. and 8 A.M.
• The best time to post on Saturday is between 7 A.M. and 9 A.M.
• On Sundays, Reddit people prefer to sleep a bit longer, logging in to Reddit only after 8 A.M. and staying there until noon. 

What we post on Reddit

There’s no fixed strategy for Reddit. We monitor topics that are relevant to eCommerce and we contribute by answering questions and sharing our expertise.

VI. The Best Time to Post on Linkedin

LinkedIn is slightly different from other major social-media networks as it was specifically designed for businesses and professionals to connect. It’s also popular with college graduates, job seekers, and high-income earners. 

• Our research shows that LinkedIn professionals prefer to network from Tuesday through Thursday at 5 P.M.
• Other studies show that the best time to post on LinkedIn is at the beginning of the day — from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M.
• Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are the worst days to post on LinkedIn. 
• The best day to reach out to people on LinkedIn is Wednesday. The best time to post on Wednesday is 9-10 A.M. 

Posting time on LinkedIn for eCommerce brands

Here at X-Cart, we’re sure that the best time to post on LinkedIn (for our audience) is Tuesday at 5 P.M. The data is strong there so we do one or two posts a week at that magic time.

Once a month, also on Tuesday evening around 5 P.M., we like to socialize — browse the Linkedin feed, like things, repost articles created by our partners, connect with a few people, comment on 1-2 posts, and monitor eCommerce groups to stay up to date with the latest news and converse with old and new connections.

It’s also a good idea to ask for endorsements and make recommendations at least once a week. This will help you to build the authority of your LinkedIn profile.

What we post on LinkedIn

• Every Tuesday at 5 or 6 P.M., we post our company updates on LinkedIn. These are posts like milestones and meaningful stats from Google Analytics, meetup and expo announcements, and other company-related news.
• We’ve found that it’s important to include behind-the-scenes content into our social-media posting plan. This content offers a unique glimpse into the people and processes that make our organization tick. Among the things we share are employees’ experiences and achievements, job openings, and the like. We do it less frequently, though, once a month or so. 
• From time to time, we share our niche content — for example, developer news, eCommerce tips, webinars, industry studies, TED talks, and interviews. 
• We also create posts for our potential partners and share ways to profit with X-Cart. For example, the details of our reseller, affiliate, and partner programs. We do that once a month as well, usually on Tuesday.

Over to You

Now that you know the best time to post on social media, go on, create your first posts for each platform! Be it a pep talk, a spark of inspiration, a cool story you came across, a call to action, or anything else you want to share, your audience is waiting to hear from you. 

So given that, what are you waiting for?