Sometimes it is not the content of a post, but the time of the posting that determines its success.
Here we will explore how to make sure you post for maximum visibility.
Understanding LinkedIn’s Algorithm
Before we get into specific times to post, it’s important to know how LinkedIn’s algorithm decides what and when content is shared with users on the platform. Your feed is not simply chronological, rather it’s a complex formula where age is only one of several factors.
The first thing you need to know is that it prioritizes user posts over company page posts. Studies by social management platforms, including Everyone Social, have confirmed this. So, for my fellow corporate social media managers, don’t be discouraged if an individual user’s post of the same content outperforms something from your brand! The algorithm may be the culprit here. Still, every post should be properly optimized with the right formatting and publishing time to ensure all of your bases are covered.
A critical data point comes from the “Golden Hour of Engagement,” or the first hour after publication. Multiple engagements on a post during this hour signals to the algorithm that your post is very relevant and should be seen by more people. It’s not clear how many exact engagements warrant this, but I would say more than ten total engagements is a good benchmark.
The Best Times to Post
According to the social media monitoring platform, Sprout Social, users are the most active during regular business hours:
- Tuesday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Wednesday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Thursday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Richard Van Der Blom, a top B2B marketing expert we follow, recommends sharing between 8-10 am at your or a firm’s local time; this is when more users are online. He also suggests consistently posting around the same time to condition the algorithm to serve your content at this set time. You can find more about this in his 2024 algorithm report.
Consider the geographic location of your audience. Going slightly later in the window UK time might make sense if a sizable minority of your contacts are in New York.
Our clients’ pages see success in the later mornings, around 10 a.m. through early afternoons before 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Similarly, Tuesday and Thursday mornings are also the most popular times to send out press releases. Though slightly later than Van Der Blom’s findings, our client’s posting times likely differ due to the audiences our clients want to reach (financial services, tech and professional service decision makers) while Van Der Blom’s metrics look across various sectors in the B2B landscape.
As for our social channel at Cognito, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. are our best performing days for reach, the most popular being Thursday. So, while the benchmarked business hours focus holds up for Cognito’s posts, it’s interesting to see that one of our top posting times falls outside the most popular weekdays.
I encourage you to perform an analysis to discover your page’s optimal posting times. Great social starts with understanding your audiences, and that starts with the data!
Jasmine Hwang is a social media strategist based in Cognito’s New York office.
