The Best (and Worst) Times for Your School to Post on Social Media

Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram give schools the opportunity to cultivate and connect with a large and diverse audience. However, to maximise the reach and impact of your social media communications, it is crucial that you understand the behaviours of your followers.

One important tendency is exactly when your audience are using social media. By posting messages at peak times, you significantly improve the likelihood of your communications reaching their intended audience. In this blog, we will discuss the best, and worst, times for your school to post on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reaching Your Twitter Followers

When it comes to Twitter users that follow school accounts, it seems the start of the working week drives them to social media, as Monday is the best day to send tweets. Their engagement on Twitter peaks between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on a Monday, while 3:00 p.m. on a Saturday is also a busy period.

For schools, there really is no bad time or day to tweet, as long as you post between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. However, if you want a safe time to tweet, look no further than between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Posting on Facebook

In 2018, Facebook is the most popular social media platform, and it is a common communication channel for most schools. The users who follow school Facebook pages tend to be at their most engaging between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on a Thursday. They are, however, also extremely active any time between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

When it comes to weekends, engagement is relatively low, and although there tends to be spikes around 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday and 7:00 p.m. on a Sunday, it is much safer for schools to post and encourage engagement during the week.

Interacting on Instagram

Although not a social media platform that schools prioritise, Instagram is a useful channel that your school should consider using. For secondary schools, Instagram allows them to communicate with students as well as staff and parents, while primary schools find it a great platform for reaching both current and prospective parents and teachers.

For your school, the best time to post on Instagram is Monday at 8:00 p.m. Monday is also the day that sees the most engagement, with usage of the platform waning as the week progresses. The safest times to post are weekdays between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., while posting on a Sunday is unlikely to draw much engagement at all.

Maximise Your Engagement

The landscape of social media is constantly evolving, and although following these guidelines gives you the best chance of actively engaging with your audience, posting at specific times does not guarantee engagement. To increase engagement, you should always monitor and analyse your school’s posts to draw your own conclusions about the behaviours and tendencies of your followers and adapt your strategy accordingly.

To find out more about maximising engagement with your school’s social media channels, send us a message.