By Anna Ribas, on 19 July 2021
If you use LinkedIn as part of your social media marketing strategy, you've probably wondered when is the best time to post. The day and the time you post can mean the difference between a piece of content going viral or the same content going virtually unnoticed.
The key is to post at the times when the most users in your audience are online. Do you want to know when that is? We're sharing what you need to know below.
The Best Time to Post on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional network, so expect its users to be online during work hours or even on their commute to and from work.
In 2020, almost everyone's work and commuting habits were greatly altered, so it makes sense that the best times to post on LinkedIn have also changed. According to a study by Sprout Social, the best times to post on LinkedIn prior to March 2020 were:
Wednesdays between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and at noon.
Thursdays at 9 am and between 1 and 2 pm.
Fridays at 9 a.m.
In contrast, according to the same source, the best times to post on LinkedIn during the coronavirus pandemic were as follows:
Wednesdays at 3 p.m.
Thursdays between 9 and 10 am.
Fridays between 11 a.m. and 12 noon.
In general, the worst times to post are evenings and weekends.
The Best Time to Post on LinkedIn by Industry
The data we have just seen can serve as a good general guideline but if you want to take it a step further, HubSpot has published some very interesting information about the best time to post on LinkedIn by industry:
Media companies. Followers of media companies are likely to check their social media feeds in the morning, as if they were reading the newspaper. Therefore, it may be a good idea to post on LinkedIn in the morning Monday through Friday.
Software companies. This sector is a bit of an exception within LinkedIn, as it tends to work well to post outside of business hours.
Companies in the healthcare and higher education sectors. These two sectors share the same pattern. The best time to post on LinkedIn is from mid-morning (around 10 a.m.) to lunchtime (around 2 a.m.).
B2B companies: these companies typically target professional audiences. The best times to find them online are first thing in the morning, during the lunch break, or on their way to and from work.
B2C companies: by targeting consumers, these companies can be successful by publishing outside of business hours.
The bottom line is that each case is unique, so experiment a bit by publishing in different time slots and measuring the results. To make your life easier, don't forget that you can schedule your posts in advance so that they publish at the perfect time.
