Best Time to Post Videos on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram

Congratulations! You have used the latest video editing tools, and now you have just the right content to share online.

The internet is a big place, and we need to get our content in front of as many people as possible. But where do you post your video and when? When is the best time to publish a social media post on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram? 

Let's break it down to find out what are the best times to post on social media platforms!

Best Times To Post on Social Media Platforms

Depending on your goals, content type, and audience, each social platform has its own set of advantages. If your engagement isn't where you want it to be, reconsider your social media goals and overall KPIs. Of course, knowing which days generate the most engagement will help you in meeting your objectives.

We noticed that the highest times of engagement were Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 9 or 10 a.m. while interpreting the data for each social network individually. Midweek mornings were a popular time on most social media platforms.

Overall, the best times to post on social media platforms are:

• The best part of the day to post on social media are Tuesdays through Thursdays, on early morning working hours, such as at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.
• Tuesdays through Thursdays are the best days to post on social media.
• Sundays are the worst days to post on social media

Of course, the best times to post on social media can differ from one social media account to another. Therefore, we recommend you to analyze the past post performance and to check when the most consistent engagement can be noticed. 

It is also highly essential to take into consideration the audience’s time zone when you schedule posts, as your target audience might be based on the opposite part of the globe.

Now that we know the general rule, let’s take a closer look at the posting schedule on each social media platform in particular.

Best Time to Post on Instagram

The first social media platform we will analyze is Instagram, a platform that most people tend to visit on their mobile phones. When do you post top performing posts and video content on this social media platform?

While TikTok's competition for short-form video content is heating up, there's no denying Instagram's staying power, especially as it introduces new features and improves existing ones. Instagram Video has reborn and expanded to 60-minute videos, while Reels have made it easier to create and discover videos on the app.

Overall engagement remains highest between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Weekend engagement is also higher during the mornings until it begins to decline around 1:00 or 2:00 p.m.

Sunday has the lowest level of engagement of any weekday. Daily engagement is also lowest between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.

When it comes to daily social media scheduling, Thursday is the best day of the week to post on Instagram, while Sunday has the lowest engagement.

When people are taking a break from work, there is a significant increase in video engagement. The best times to upload new videos on Instagram are between 11 AM and 1 PM, when people are on their lunch breaks, and 7 PM to 9 PM, just after people have left work.

Best Time to Post on Facebook

Knowing when to publish your Facebook posts for maximum exposure is critical if you want to draw attention to your brand or business. However, determining the best timing can be difficult because there is no single answer that works for every Facebook page.

Overall, the consensus is that posting during the day is preferable to posting at night. However, not all daylight hours are created equal when it comes to getting exposure for your posts, and there are some differing expert opinions on which daylight hours are generally the best for Facebook social media feeds.

According to social media experts, there are certain Facebook posting times that are generally optimal. Monday through Friday, 3 a.m. is the best time to post on Facebook, as mentioned by Sprout Social. On Tuesdays, Sprout Social also mentioned posting at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

However, expert opinions on the best times to post on Facebook differ. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, the best times to post on Mondays and Tuesdays were 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays are both popular at 11 a.m., but Wednesdays also have a 1 p.m. option. Finally, Thursdays are the only days with nighttime/early evening hours: 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

These are some more factors to take into consideration for audience engagement on Facebook:

• Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. are the best times to post for social media engagement
• Wednesday is the best day overall for massive engagement
• Weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will provide the most consistent engagement.
• The worst day is Sunday, when there is the least amount of activity.
• Early mornings and evenings before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m. each day have the lowest engagement.

Best Time to Post on TikTok

TikTok is a video-based social media platform that has an overall high engagement throughout the entire week. Before we take a closer look at the posting schedule, you can recap your social media usage knowledge by taking a look at these tips for TikTok videos.

Now let’s talk about posting times! Almost every week, the best time to post on TikTok is right when people wake up and check their phones before getting ready for the day.

Yet, a variety of factors influence TikTok posting. To begin, you must understand where your target audience is located. Then, based on time zone differences, you must determine the best time to post on TikTok (yours and theirs). These factors help you determine when your audience is likely to be online and searching for more of your content.

TikTok's algorithm rewards posts with a high level of engagement. The more views your videos receive, the more likely it is that your post will be featured on your audience's "For You" page. To achieve TikTok success, you must post when your target audience is most likely to interact with your videos. You can also check out how the TikTok algorithm works.

TikTok has three global best times to post:

• Tuesday, 8:00 a.m.
• Thursday, 11 p.m.
• Friday, 4:00 a.m.

Besides these specific hours, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are the days with the highest TikTok engagement, from early mornings to dawn.

To get maximum engagement, it is also important to know when you should not post on TikTok. Because of TikTok's large user base, people interact with the network throughout the week. However, Sunday remains the worst day to post on TikTok due to the audience being busy enjoying the weekend vibes.

Best Time to Post on YouTube

You devote a significant amount of time and resources to creating visually stunning videos. And worry not, if you still need some help with this endeavor, you can use these tips for YouTube videos as a great starting point. 

However, does your YouTube audience even know your video exists on the platform? Is your current promotion strategy getting the attention it deserves?

Distribution is an important aspect of YouTube promotion. A solid video marketing strategy entails presenting engaging content to the appropriate audience at the appropriate time. This is where the best time to post on YouTube comes in.

In general, the best time to post on YouTube is between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays like Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. These afternoon hours are also the busiest and most active internet time zone. You might think it's a little early because YouTube traffic is at its peak between 7 and 10 p.m.

Thursdays and Fridays are the best days for brands to post on YouTube. On Thursdays and Fridays, a slightly earlier time slot from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. is the best time to post on YouTube. The YouTube videos you post earlier in the week tend to perform best on weekends.

Weekends are unique because many YouTube audiences remain active in the afternoon. As a result, the best time to upload to YouTube on weekends is between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays appear to be the worst days to post on YouTube. This could be due to people returning to work and having less free time to watch YouTube videos.

Is the best time to post YouTube shorts the same as for top performing posts on normal YouTube? In general, the best time to post YouTube Shorts is in the evenings or on weekends because that is when most people use the regular YouTube app.

Finding the Best Time For Your Video Social Media Posts

When social marketers have data on the best times to post across social networks, they can plan content more effectively. Still, as platforms evolve in response to how brands and consumers use social, new ways to innovate interactions emerge all the time.

New content formats and trends may enable you to reach your audience in unexpected ways, or even discover new segments and personas you weren't previously targeting.

Are You Ready to Share Your Videos with Social Media Users?

Now that you know what are the best times to post on social media, from early morning hours to early afternoon, it is time to create your own video social media posts. 

And thankfully, we have just the tool to help you do so: Flixier, our online video editor. When it comes to making videos quickly, our online video editor stands out with a simple interface that allows you to drag and drop videos to position or resize them as you see fit. Flixier is the best choice for creating engaging videos because it includes built-in motion titles, transitions, and calls to action that are easy to personalize. With over 2 million built-in Music, Video, and Image stock files, you can significantly speed up video creation.

Even better, the majority of the features are available in the free version, so you have no excuse not to start your social media scheduling and create an amazing feed.

Create your free account and start including videos in your social media marketing calendar!