What's the Worst Time to Post on Facebook in 2024? ☠️

When advertising on social media, timing is everything. It's easy to focus on the best times to post, but here's a thought—have you ever considered when your posts might be getting lost in the void? Those low-engagement periods could be the reason your content isn't hitting the mark.

In a moment, you’ll discover the worst times to post on Facebook, explore how Facebook's algorithm impacts visibility, and provide actionable insights to optimize your posting schedule. We'll also touch on the best times to post on Facebook and Instagram, giving you a well-rounded view of social media timing strategies.

Let's get started!

What's the worst time to post on Facebook?

According to the latest data for 2024, here are some of the worst times to post on Facebook:

1. Late nights and early mornings (8 pm - 8 am): Most people are asleep during these hours, resulting in minimal engagement. Even night owls will likely be engaged in other activities rather than scrolling through their Facebook feed.

2. Weekends (particularly Sundays): Weekend engagement tends to be lower as people are often busy with personal activities, family time, or outdoor pursuits. Sunday mornings, in particular, see meager engagement rates as many people are either sleeping in or attending religious services.

It's important to note that these times can vary depending on your specific audience and industry. For instance, a nightclub might find late-night posts more effective than a B2B software company. The key is to understand your unique audience and their online behaviors.

How Facebook's algorithm dictates visibility

Understanding Facebook's algorithm is crucial for maximizing your post's reach and engagement. The algorithm prioritizes content based on several factors:

1. Relevance: How closely the content matches the user's interests. Facebook analyzes user behavior, including past interactions, to determine the content most relevant to each individual.

2. Engagement: The number of likes, comments, and shares a post receives determines its reach. Posts with higher engagement get shown to a broader audience.

3. Timeliness: How recent the post is. Facebook tends to prioritize newer content, although highly engaging older posts can still appear in users' feeds.

4. Relationship: The strength of the connection between the user and the content creator. Users are likelier to see content from friends, family, and Pages they interact with frequently.

5. Post type: Different types of content (video, images, text) get favored at different times. Facebook often prefers native videos and live streams.

6. Time spent: The time users spend viewing a post. Posts that keep users engaged for extended periods are likelier to be shown to others.

7. Completion: For video content, Facebook’s algorithm favors videos that viewers watch to the end. It’s best to keep your videos short and engaging to ensure people watch as much as possible.

By considering these factors and avoiding the worst posting times, you can increase the chances of your target audience seeing and engaging your content. For inspiration, check out these Facebook ad examples to see how successful brands craft content to align with these algorithmic preferences.

Understand when your audience is online

While general advice on the best and worst times to post on Facebook can be helpful, it's important to remember that what's golden for one might be a dud for another. Time zones, industries, and your unique audience all play a role. Business owners and social media managers must dig into their data to determine when their crowd is most active.

Here are some steps to help you determine the best (and worst) times for your Facebook posts:

1. Use Facebook Insights: This free tool provides valuable data about when your followers are online and most active. It shows user activity breakdown by day and hour, allowing you to pinpoint optimal posting times.

2. Experiment with posting times: Try posting at different times and days of the week, then analyze the engagement rates for each post. This A/B testing approach can reveal surprising insights about your audience's behavior.

3. Consider your audience demographics: Different age groups and professions may have varying social media habits. For example, younger audiences might be more active in the evenings, while professionals might engage more during lunch breaks.

4. Monitor your competitors: Look at when your competitors are posting and how their content performs. While you shouldn't copy their strategy outright, it can provide valuable insights into industry trends.

5. Use social media management tools: These can provide more in-depth analytics about your post performance and audience behavior. Many tools offer features like heat maps that visualize your best posting times.

6. Account for time zones: Consider this when scheduling your posts if your audience spans multiple time zones. You should post the same content at different times to reach all audience segments effectively.

7. Analyze seasonal trends: Your optimal posting times might change with the seasons and trends. For example, people might see more evening activity in the summer as they enjoy longer daylight hours.

It's worth noting that while this approach is crucial for organic posts, it's equally important for paid advertising on Facebook. Understanding when your audience is most active and engaged can help optimize ad spend and improve your return on investment (ROI).

Why it's crucial to turn off Facebook ads at the worst times

When it comes to Facebook ads, timing isn’t just about getting more engagement—it's about saving your cash. Running ads when nobody’s paying attention can waste your budget and leave you with disappointing results. By spotting the slow times and pausing your ads then, you can:

1. Reduce wasted ad spend. Avoiding ads during low-engagement times ensures you spend every dollar of your budget more effectively.

2. Improve overall campaign ROI. Concentrating your ad spend on high-performing time slots naturally leads to better returns on your investment.

3. Allocate your budget more effectively to high-performing time slots: This allows you to increase your bids during peak times, potentially outbidding competitors and capturing more of your audience's attention.

4. Avoid audience fatigue by not showing ads when they're least likely to engage: This helps maintain the freshness and impact of your ads when they are displayed.

5. Enhance ad relevance scores. Facebook rewards ads that receive positive engagement with better relevance scores, which can lead to lower costs and higher ad placement.

But how can you effectively manage this process without constantly monitoring your ads? That is where Madgicx's analytics and automation tools come into play.

Madgicx's Auction Insights provides a clear visual representation of your ad performance by day and time. This data allows you to identify patterns and pinpoint exactly when your ads are underperforming. You can see which days of the week and hours of the day yield the best results, allowing you to make data-driven decisions about your ad scheduling.

☝️ In the account above, we can see that the ad performance drops between 1 pm and 5 pm. So pausing the ads during this time is a good idea. If we look at Sunday, it’s the worst performer of the week. It’s worth turning the ads off for all of Sunday except between 6 am and 7 am and 6 pm and 7 pm.

Once you've identified these low-performing time slots, Madgicx's automation tools enable you to create rules that automatically turn your ads off during these periods and back on when engagement is likely higher. This hands-off approach ensures your ads are always running at optimal times, maximizing your ROI without requiring constant manual adjustments.

For example, you could set up a rule that pauses your ads between 1 pm and 5 pm daily or reduces your budget significantly during these hours. You could also create rules that increase your budget during your best-performing hours, allowing you to capitalize on peak engagement times. Give Madgicx a go—it’s free for 7 days.

What is the best time to post on Facebook?

While understanding the worst times to post is crucial, knowing the best times to maximize your engagement is equally important. According to the latest data for 2024, here are some of the best times to post on Facebook:

1. Mondays from 9 am to 12 pm: Most people are active on Facebook during work breaks or lunch hours. There's often a peak in activity around 11 AM as people take a mid-morning break.

2. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 2 pm and 5 pm: Consistent engagement throughout the day until lunchtime, with another spike in the afternoon.

3. Wednesdays from 9 am to 3 pm and 5 pm: Mid-week tends to see high engagement rates. Wednesday is the best day to post on Facebook, with a notable spike in activity well past lunchtime and 5 pm onwards.

4. Fridays from 9 am to 11 am: Many people are wrapping up their week on Fridays after lunchtime, which can lead to a focus on completing tasks rather than browsing social media.

5. Saturdays from 8 am to 11 am: As we’ve already mentioned, weekends are generally slower on Facebook, but if you need to post on a Saturday, aim for early morning. People often start their day leisurely, checking their phones while still in bed, making this a prime window to catch their attention before they get busy with weekend plans.

6. Sundays from 9 am to 11 am: Sundays are the worst days for posting. However, the early morning is your best bet, depending on your industry. Many users browse Facebook before heading out for the day’s activities, giving you a small window of opportunity to reach them before they're off to brunch, church, or other Sunday commitments.

Remember, these are general guidelines. Your optimal posting times may vary based on your specific audience and industry. To better understand your performance, consider creating a comprehensive social media report that includes these timing insights.

What is the best time to post on Instagram?

While focusing on Facebook, it's worth noting that Instagram (owned by Meta) has its own optimal posting times. Here's what the data suggests for Instagram in 2024:

1. Monday and Thursday from 11 am to 12 pm: Lunchtime scrolling is standard on Instagram. Many Instagram users check their feeds during their lunch break, making this a prime time for engagement.

2. Tuesdays from 9 am to 10 am: Mid-morning engagement tends to be high as people start their day. Many users check Instagram early in the morning while easing into their workday or during a quick coffee break.

3. Wednesdays at 11 am: Mid-week late mornings see a spike in Instagram activity, likely due to users looking for a quick mid-week break or inspiration to get through the rest of the week.

4. Fridays around 4 pm: People are excited for the weekend and often check Instagram for weekend plans, inspiration, or just to wind down after the workweek.

5. Saturday at 9 am: Many users are awake, relaxed, and lazily scrolling through their feeds before heading out for the day.

6. Sunday evening around 7 pm: Sunday evenings are prime time for people to unwind, prepare for the week ahead, and casually scroll through social media platforms from the comfort of home.

As with Facebook, it's crucial to test these times with your specific audience and adjust accordingly. If you want to grow your Instagram presence, check out our guide on getting Instagram followers.

Frequently asked questions

Got questions? We’ve got answers. Check out these frequently asked questions to get the info you need.

What are the 3 best days to post on Facebook?

Recent data shows that the sweet spot for Facebook posts falls right in the middle of the week. Tuesday through Thursday, especially between 9 am and 2 pm and again around 5 pm, tend to have the highest engagement rates. Wednesday often stands out as the prime day, with a noticeable bump in activity around lunchtime.

What is the golden hour for Facebook posts?

The "golden hour" for Facebook posts is lunch hour, so around 1 pm to 2 pm on weekdays. This time slot often sees peak engagement as people check their social media during lunch breaks or afternoons. However, it's important to note that there can be multiple "golden hours" throughout the day, depending on your specific audience.

What time should I post on Facebook to get more likes?

To get more likes on your Facebook posts, aim to post between 9 am and 2 pm and again around 5 pm. Aim for 9 am on Saturday mornings on weekends because users wake up and lazily scroll in bed.

Remember, consistency is key. Regular posting at optimal times can increase your overall engagement and likes over time. For more tips on creating engaging content, check out our guide on creating effective advertisement examples.

Conclusion

Understanding the best and worst times to post on Facebook is crucial for maximizing your social media strategy. You can significantly improve your content's reach and impact by avoiding the worst times and focusing on peak engagement periods. 

However, while timing is crucial, it's just one piece of the puzzle. To succeed in online advertising, you must consider factors like content quality, audience targeting, and ad creative. For inspiration, look at these Facebook video ad examples to see how top brands leverage video content.

So, now that you know when not to post, go and hit those sweet spots to make sure your content gets the attention it deserves!