Importance of posting at optimal times for social media success
There is a correlation between the best time to post on social media and the volume of engagement that the content would receive online. Understanding when the target market is active on social media is key to maximizing reach. Each platform will have their own peak hours which are assessed in the following sections. Posting in the best times will often promote organic reach over paid reach, saving advertising budgets for businesses.
Understanding platform-specific peak times – Best times to post on social media
Instagram’s content is comprehensive with posts, stories and reels. It is observed that many locals in UAE interact with Instagram content on their mobile phones during lunch hours during the work week and post work hours. Therefore, in a working week the best time to post on social media platform, Instagram, in the Middle East falls on the time slots around 12pm to 1pm, 5pm to 6pm and 8pm to 10 pm. It is also noted that many users prefer to stay up at night using social media on days before a public holiday. So businesses also have a great opportunity to push seasonal wishes and/or seasonal sales on the night before such holidays.
Companies can use this behavior to share Instagram stories to constantly update the audience on the business activities (Coming soon events, sales, business events), ideally in the mid-day break where the users check on stories to get updates on their friends and families. Other content formats such as Instagram posts and Instagram reels can be used as follow ups from Instagram stories in the evening. To maximize the reach, companies and brands can repost the posts and reels as stories in the following day.
Facebook is the most popular social media app in the dubai, UAE region. The best times to post social media content on Facebook are the same as Instagram; during the mid-day break, in the evening and at night. Facebook includes communities and the ability to reshare content as posts which are not available on Instagram. This opens an opportunity to promote more organic reach on Facebook in comparison to other platforms. Interested followers may also share the businesses content to their own followers as well..
Brands and companies could utilize Facebook’s watch feed to increase engagement rates. This feed contains videos and live streams. Video content can be utilized as a continuation from the Facebook posts or stories. For example, posts with product launches can be followed up by videos that are demonstrating the use cases of the product.
Facebook live streams can be held in the afternoon hours as live product promotions, with the live chat option and users can interact with the hosts for Q&As about the product. The more interaction Facebook users have with the videos and live streams, the more likely the content is to be recommended organically.
Vlogging is also very popular on Facebook, especially for a tourist destination like Dubai. Businesses can affiliate local and foreign vloggers to share highlights of the product or services on the Facebook Video Feed.
Twitter (rebranded as X) is driven by text-based content and media content to compliment captions. It is observed that the best time to post on a social media platform like Twitter for a business would be during the work week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday where there would be a lot of activity. Twitter engagement depends on the target audience and their varied reasons for opening the app.
The morning users go on twitter in the 7am to 9am window mostly to receive updates on businesses and other news, and the other engagement windows are during noon, lunch breaks to check their feed routinely. In the evening and night window, users are loosening up and getting on twitter to scroll leisurely.
The evening window has high potential to gain more engagement. Therefore, the best time to post social media content on X is on morning and noon windows to share informative content with the audience. Later in the afternoon, brands can post content that promotes discussions to organically drive content on X.
LinkedIn is another key platform for businesses that are primarily focused on B2B business activities as businesses on LinkedIn often like to demonstrate the capabilities on LinkedIn. On the flip side, Dubai based businesses can use LinkedIn to attract local and international candidates for their job vacancies as well.
The best time to post on social media platform, LinkedIn, is from 10 am to 12 pm. This is because professionals that use LinkedIn would like to get updates on their organization early on in their work day. Posting LinkedIn jobs during the end of the work day around 5pm to 6pm, would result in higher visibility from job-seekers.
The way forward
Gaining success on social media in 2024 will require mastering the art of timing in the fast-paced digital world. By scheduling your content during peak hours on each site, you can avoid algorithmic obscurity and increase audience engagement.
Use Instagram’s lunchtime and evening traffic for visually captivating content. Also Facebook encourages thoughtful reshares and methods that emphasize videos, so take advantage of this when planning out your social media content. Use the weekday morning newsfeed on Twitter to read insightful statements, then change your focus in the evening to start engaging conversations. Keep in mind that LinkedIn runs on a professional schedule, with frequent job posts and early-morning updates.
Conquer the calendar, accept the contrasts of each site, and observe how your social media presence develops into lively communities centered around your business rather than just being visible with more reach or engagement. Taking advantage of the best times to post on social media platforms is a powerful weapon for social media success.
