Best Time to Post on Facebook in 2025

You’ve nailed your content strategy. You have high-quality visuals, and your messaging is absolutely on target—but your Facebook posts just aren’t converting. What’s the expensive error? You’re sharing your best stuff when no one is looking.

In an inside look at Facebook Sprout Social reveals the platform has billions of active users, and is still one of the biggest marketing powerhouses around, making it an ideal option for a business to meet and engage with their ideal customer. The platform has over 3.3 billion daily active users —that’s one of the largest aggregates of potential customers across a single platform.  For the small and medium-sized businesses that make up the bulk of most markets, and which tend to operate with very tight marketing budgets, timing is not just a nice-to-have, it’s leverage for profit—that little change to your marketing efforts which can make a real impact on your social media ROI.

By the end of this article you’ll have a data-backed approach to posting times, insights around the best times to post based on industry, and some simple steps to activate what you learn in order to turn your Facebook page from a one-way megaphone into a customer acquisition machine.

Why Timing Matters for Facebook Business Posts

Facebook’s algorithm prioritizes recent, engaging content, and a perfectly crafted post can fall flat if it’s published when your audience isn’t around to see it. The platform processes millions of posts competing for attention every minute, creating a crowded marketplace where visibility depends on strategic timing.

Sprout Social tells us that of nearly 2.5 billion social media engagements across 600,000 social profiles, timing directly impacts three critical business metrics: reach (how many people see your content), engagement (likes, comments, shares), and conversion rates (followers who take action).

• Facebook’s News Feed algorithm operates on engagement velocity—posts that generate quick interaction within the first hour receive exponential distribution boosts. Miss that initial window, and even exceptional content gets buried under fresher posts.
• For SMBs with limited marketing budgets, this timing sensitivity means every post needs to maximize its potential impact.

The competition reality is stark: during peak hours, your content competes against established brands with larger audiences and advertising budgets. Strategic timing helps level that playing field by positioning your posts when engagement rates naturally spike and competition temporarily thins.

Best Times to Post on Facebook

Analytics provide a snapshot of high engagement hours Monday through Sunday, beginning with the 8 or 9 am time blocks and a few continuing through noon. This distribution is due to the fact that 8 am to noon is when Facebook users are most likely to access the platform upon waking as they review posts and activity that may have occurred overnight.

Universal best practices:

• Weekdays: 9-10 AM and 3-4 PM consistently deliver above-average engagement
• Peak engagement days: Tuesday through Thursday show the strongest performance
• Weekend considerations: Saturday 12-1 PM captures weekend browsing, though overall engagement drops
• Time zone strategy: Businesses with national or international reach should stagger posts across major time zones

These patterns align with natural user behavior: morning commutes (when people browse mobile), lunch breaks (desktop and mobile usage spikes), and after-work wind-down periods (evening engagement surges). Buffer’s analysis of over 1 million Facebook posts confirms that morning posting times tend to perform best, with posts shared in early morning getting the highest engagement of the entire week.

Generic advice provides a starting baseline, not a final strategy. Your specific audience may deviate significantly from these averages based on demographics, industry, and geographic location.

Industry-Specific Optimal Posting Times

It’s important to note that each industry has its own specific data for when users on Facebook are most active. The industry, type of content you are sharing, and your audience’s location all factor into the performance of each post. According to a research study by Professor Nripendra Singh and Anand Jiswal,  different sectors see peak engagement at dramatically different times based on their customers’ daily routines and decision-making patterns. They emphasize that every company and industry must personally evaluate their facebook analytics to best understand their optimal posting time. Generally speaking though, there are best practices to start around for each industry.

• Retail/E-commerce: Wednesday – Friday, 1-4 PM Wednesdays through Fridays is a popular time for customers to browse for new purchases, either to treat themselves or in preparation for weekend shopping.
• Restaurants/Food Service: Thursday – Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM and 7-9 PM According to a 2021 report by Sprout Social on the food and beverage industry, this is the time frame they have found to work best for this industry.
• Healthcare/Professional Services: Tuesday – Thursday, 9 AM – 12 PM This timing is great for industries which focus on reaching professional audiences such as healthcare or other professional services, as it gets you in front of them while they are planning out their schedules.
• Real Estate: Weekend (Saturday – Sunday, 1-3 PM) Posting on the weekend is a good idea for Real Estate businesses as this is a popular time for house viewings and related research.
• Technology/B2B: Tuesday – Thursday, 9 AM – 3 PM The best time to post on social media for a B2B tech company is during the business week, as this is when decision-makers are actively engaged and more likely to be online.
• Fitness/Wellness: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – 6-8 AM and 7-9 PM There are two peaks for this industry, one in the morning to reach people when they are most likely to be thinking about their workout routine and one in the evening to promote any evening or weekend classes you may offer.

Optimal posting times heavily differ due to the fact that industries cater to customers between unique daily rhythms. Albeit, these are only suggestions, and should still be test against your own audience data.

Here’s a quick reference chart:

How to Find Your Unique Best Posting Times

While general posting times provide a helpful starting point, they may not necessarily reflect the habits of your target audience. Your optimal posting schedule requires digging into your own Facebook analytics to identify when your specific followers are most active and engaged.

Using Facebook Insights to analyze your audience

Access Facebook IQ (the evolved version of Facebook Insights) through your Facebook Page. Navigate to Insights > Audience > Trends to find the “Most active times” data. This will give you a first hint at when to be posting—metrics will show when your current followers are most active on Facebook.

The When Your Fans Are Online data reveals hourly activity patterns across different days of the week. Search for repeated spikes that recur over several days; these are your high-probability windows.

A/B testing your posting schedule

Conduct controlled experiments by posting similar content at different times and see what sticks. Use post tagging and cross-network reporting to isolate independent variables and see how timing impacts your social success across them.

Track key metrics including reach (total people who saw your post), engagement rate (likes, comments, shares divided by reach), and click-through rates (if driving traffic to your website). Continue testing for at least 2-3 weeks to get statistically significant results, alternating identical or very similar content at different times of the day.

Tracking tools and methods

In addition to native Facebook reporting, many social media management systems have deeper reporting into timing windows. Sprout Social’s ViralPost technology, for example, algorithmically determines optimal send times based on your specific account data.

Create a simple spreadsheet tracking post time, content type, reach, engagement rate, and any notable external factors (holidays, news events, promotional campaigns). After 30 days of consistent data collection, patterns will emerge that inform your personalized posting schedule.

Additional Factors That Influence Optimal Posting Times

Timing effectiveness varies significantly based on seasonal patterns, current events, and business model characteristics. Understanding these variables helps you adapt your posting strategy beyond basic time-of-day optimization.

Seasonal variations and holiday impact

According to insights by Number Analytics, engagement patterns may dramatically shift during holidays, back-to-school time, and seasonal buying cycles.

So while December may see increased evening engagement as people browse during holiday shopping, summer months often show earlier morning peaks as people check social media before outdoor or daytime activities.

Current events and trending topics

Major news cycles, cultural events, or viral trends can all affect the normal patterns of user activity. On days where people are following major news stories, for instance, your normal peak posting times may not be as effective.

Content type

Buffer’s research also found that posts with images received 35 percent more engagement than posts with text and 44 percent more engagement than posts with video.

Image posts had the best engagement rates for posting at an “optimal” time, while video had the best engagement when posted during entertainment peak hours (during the evening) and informational content (news) did the best in the morning and lunch break hours. The more often you post, the more you will limit your posts’ reach.

Don’t overthink every variable

The key is to be nimble. Keep a close eye on your analytics around major events and holidays and seasonal changes. If you start seeing irregularities, deviate from your typical posting schedule instead of trying to jam your content into a schedule it doesn’t mesh with.

Above all else, keep in mind that great content during good times is always better than subpar content during optimal times. Timing should be used as an amplifier for your best content, not a crutch for your weaker ones.

Common Mistakes Business Owner’s Make

According to Indeed’s analysis of social media posting behaviors, small and medium-sized businesses frequently make timing errors that significantly reduce their content’s effectiveness and waste limited marketing resources.

• Using identical schedules across all platforms: Each social media platform has distinct user behavior patterns. Facebook timing strategies don’t translate directly to Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok, yet many businesses apply one-size-fits-all posting schedules.
• Ignoring audience data for generic advice: Benchmarking and industry best times are helpful, but every audience is unique, and the best way to really optimize for your followers is to reference the data you have about them from the tools you’re already using.
• Neglecting time zone adjustments: Companies that serve different regions around the world often don’t adjust their posting times for their customers, missing a lot of opportunity by sticking with their own business hours.
• Over-saturating optimal windows: SMBs often assume that once they identify the best time to post, they should post as much as they can in that window. While there’s a benefit to batching posts at your peak time, this strategy can backfire and lead to less engagement and audience fatigue.
• Static scheduling without seasonal adjustments: Many SMBs set up a posting schedule and forget about it, but audience preferences change over time. (For example, in the evening, Friday peaks shift later than on other days.)

It’s simple to use the same schedule across your accounts. It’s simpler to use general guidelines than do your own testing. It’s simpler to set and forget a schedule than to pay attention to when your followers are on Facebook and optimize accordingly. But it’s rarely profitable to make things easy on yourself.

Winners on Facebook see post scheduling as a continuous process of refinement and optimization, not a set-it-and-forget-it task. Experiment and iterate.

Practical Implementation Tips

Insights by dataddo indicate that businesses using data-driven posting schedules see significantly higher engagement rates compared to those posting randomly. Find your best times with testing, then incorporate into a publishing schedule that works for your business. Remember, posting schedules should be applied as part of a systematic approach that is consistently monitored and optimized over time.

• Creating a content calendar with optimal timing: The best times to post should be part of your content planning process. You can use a simple spreadsheet (Google Sheets is always a winner) or a project management tool like Asana to create a calendar where you can plan content themes, and best posting times alongside performance tracking, all in one place
• Scheduling tools comparison: If you’re using Facebook, their Meta Business Suite allows for some basic scheduling, and has the advantage of directly integrating with your performance analytics. Third-party social media management tools like Buffer, Mailchimp, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social all offer bulk scheduling tools, scheduling for multiple platforms, and additional insights, but these come at an additional monthly fee..
• Performance monitoring systems: It’s recommended to have a weekly look at your performance dashboards to see which times are delivering, using our tools. It’s also worth exporting a monthly heat map to see if there are changing patterns as your audience grows and changes
• Quarterly Review: Look to schedule quarterly sessions where you can look at your posting schedule as part of an overall audit of performance and test new times against your KPIs.

Incorporate build time into your existing processes. Make timing decisions as a natural part of your workflow, not as an afterthought. As you plan next week’s posts, block out each post’s ideal time window. As you analyze performance, include timing in your standard reports. Your audience will change, algorithms will evolve, and business priorities will shift. The companies that win are those who build timing into workflows and treat it as a dynamic system.