Best days and times to post: how to find out with your own data

Every so often a list of "the best times to post on social media" appears with precise schedules, almost always with the same flaw: they are not yours. Your audience lives in certain countries, works or studies at certain hours and has its own habits. A general list cannot know whether your followers are students who connect at night or professionals who check their phone on the morning commute. The good news is that you have data to find out.

Why generic schedules fail

Three reasons, all simple:

• Different audiences. What works for a youth singer does not work for a business consultant.
• Time zones. An audience spread across several countries receives your post at different hours. One group's "rush hour" is another's small hours.
• Constant change. Habits vary by season, by day of the week and by the platform itself.

That does not mean general advice is useless as a starting point, but it is wise to verify with your data.

What data you have

Zona's analytics include a "Best moments" section, which shows the day and hour with the most visits, and an hour map, where each square is an hour of the day and the darker it is, the more visits. With them you can know when people enter your page. This information, together with source, devices and countries, is available on the Pro and Business plans. More detail on the analytics page.

Keep in mind that the map shows when people visit your page, which may differ from when they see your posts. But both moments are usually related, because visits arrive shortly after seeing the content.

How to read the hour map

1. Look for the darkest squares. They are the hours with the most visits.
2. Distinguish daily and weekly patterns. Is there a fixed hour each day? Does it change on weekends?
3. Check the time zone. Check which time zone the data is shown in and convert it to that of your main audience.
4. Identify secondary peaks. Sometimes there is a morning peak and an evening one; they are two opportunities.
5. Contrast with your posts. Do the peaks coincide with your posting times or appear afterwards?

An example reading

Imagine the map shows peaks at 8 am, 1 pm and 9 pm, and that the highest are those at 9 pm, mostly from Thursday to Sunday. A reasonable reading would be that your audience checks the phone before going to work, during the midday break and at night, the last being the slot of most attention. A hypothesis to test: post between 8:30 and 9 pm on Thursdays and Fridays and compare with your current schedule.

From data to a realistic calendar

It is not about posting at an exact hour every day. A realistic calendar takes your time into account:

• Choose two or three main time slots, not twenty.
• Pick the days with the most visits for your most important posts.
• Reserve launches and promotions for the best hours.
• Schedule what you can in advance; it gives you regularity without having to be online at that hour.

Regularity weighs as much as the hour: an audience used to finding you on a particular day returns more easily.

Audiences in several time zones

If your audience is spread across different countries, you have two options: choose a slot where they overlap reasonably (for example, the afternoon in one country and the morning in the other) or alternate schedules to cover each group. In that case, the countries section of the analytics tells you what percentage of visits comes from each place, so you know which audience to prioritize. There is a guide on analytics by country.

Beware of hasty conclusions

A week of data can be skewed by one particular post. Before reorganizing your calendar, check that the pattern holds over several weeks. With 90 days of history on Pro and Business, you can see whether the pattern is stable or changes with the season. And remember that data describe the past: once you change your schedule, your audience may react differently.

Experiment in an orderly way

Once you have a hypothesis, test a new slot for a couple of weeks and compare with the previous one, applying the method in the guide on how to test changes. Change only the time, keeping the type of content. If the new slot improves visits and clicks in a sustained way, adopt it. To start collecting data, create your zone for free; and if you need the hour map, see the pricing.

Common mistakes

• Following a generic list without checking it.
• Forgetting the time zone.
• Posting everything at the same time without variation.
• Changing the calendar over a single week of data.
• Confusing visits to the page with content views.

Frequently asked questions

Does the free plan show the hours?

Hour data are on the Pro and Business plans. The free plan shows visits and clicks from the last 7 days.

How often should I check the hour map?

Once a month is enough, unless you make an important change.

Does the day of the week matter?

Yes. Many profiles have very different patterns between weekdays and weekends.

What if my audience is very small?

With little data, patterns are not reliable. Post regularly and review when you have more history.