The popular link-shortening service Bitly recently released a study determining the best times to post on various social networking services, based on their real-time link tracking data. They based this study on click-through rates, virality of posts and sharing rates that occurred at different times of the day (Eastern Time) and different days of the week. As this study supports, the time or day that you post something can have a significant impact on who views it, how much it gets shared and how many times it gets viewed. This article will provide readers with a guide of the best times to post on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and blogs.

Facebook — The main thing to remember about Facebook is to avoid posting on weekends, starting on Friday afternoons. According to Bitly, the highest average click-through rates for posts containing links on Facebook are between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. More specifically, posts on Wednesdays have shown to be most effective.

Twitter — Similar to Facebook, it’s best to avoid tweeting on weekends if you want to secure as many click-throughs and shares as you can. The best time to post on Twitter is between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, since these are peak traffic times. Like Facebook, it’s ineffective to tweet at night, specifically after 9:00 p.m., on any day, and after 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.

Tumblr — Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr users seem to be on an entirely different schedule. Bitly found that on Tumblr, posts sent between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Fridays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays received the most clicks and shares among users.

Blogs — According to Shareaholic, the leading global social share widget, the most sharing of blog entries takes place on Thursdays with 10% more shares than any other day. If you’re looking for page views, the best days to blog are Mondays and Tuesdays. As for the best time of day to blog, various sources have found that the best time to update your blog is during the morning or early afternoon on weekdays.

Of course, it’s impossible to make sure you’re at your computer desk to post at these exact times. This is where social media publishing tools come in. By using programs such asHootSuite, Tweetdeck or Social Oomph to update social media profiles, you can schedule posts in advance and make sure they’re updated at the exact times you prefer them to appear. You can also schedule blog posts to automatically publish themselves at any time in the future on WordPress, Blogger and other popular blogging platforms. For more information on these helpful programs, refer to our article, “Social Media Publishing 101.”

For more information about social media timing, please contact The Public Relations and Marketing Group at (631) 207-1057 or johnzaher@theprmg.com. You can also visit our blog for more valuable articles, advertising spotlights and more.