Navigating LinkedIn for business: mastering the art of posting
Social media can be both a friend and a foe, especially for businesses trying to find the right balance in their online presence. With the constant fluctuation of trends, understanding what and when to post can be tricky. LinkedIn, however, stands out among social platforms due to its professional focus. As such, businesses must approach LinkedIn strategically to make the most of their presence. Today, we’re going to break down the complexities of posting on LinkedIn and share tips on how to effectively engage your audience.
But before we get to the ‘when’, the first step is figuring out the ‘what’ and ‘why’. It is about bringing clarity and focus by writing down your business goals. What is it that you want to achieve through your posts? How do you want your customers to react and engage with your posts? Then, drafting out a strategy and a plan to execute it. Now, as to when is the best time to post on LinkedIn, that’s a complicated question. Take into consideration that the platform’s community of more than 1 billion members are logging in around the clock and from every time zone. Understanding when your audience is most active and engaged can make a substantial difference in both visibility and interaction. So, to have context around where other marketers are seeing success in terms of timing and cadence, is helpful.
Several providers specializing in social media management from the marketing partner community – such as Hubspot, Sprinklr, and Buffer have conducted studies to gain insight about the most effective times to share content in order to reach an active and engaged audience.
According to Hubspot’s 2023 report on the best times to post on social media, the sweet spots for sharing content on LinkedIn are:
Between 9 am to 12 pm, 12 to 3 pm, or 3 to 6 pm. Mondays, Wednesdays and Tuesdays, in that order.
According to Sprinkler’s latest research around the best times to post on social media for better ROI:
Posting on weekdays delivers the highest results, with mid-morning (10 to 11am) and lunchtime (12pm to 1pm) on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays standing out. Overall, Tuesday is the most active day on LinkedIn.
And finally, here are the findings from Buffer’s new data on the best times to post on LinkedIn to grow your following and boost engagement:
Posting between 9am and 5pm on weekdays is generally most effective.
Specifically, these time slots for each day emerged as most engaging: Monday 4pm, Tuesday 4pm, Wednesday 2pm, Thursday 4pm, Friday 1pm, Saturday 10pm, Sunday 7am.
So, to summarize, the major peak active hours on LinkedIn are:
- Morning rush (8 AM – 10 AM): Many users check LinkedIn as part of their morning routine, catching up on industry news and professional updates.
- Lunchtime (12 PM – 1 PM): During lunch breaks, there’s a spike in activity as professionals browse content between meetings or during downtime.
- Afternoon wind-down (4 PM – 6 PM): Towards the end of the workday, engagement picks up again as people wrap up tasks and prepare to leave.
- Compared to other weekdays, Wednesday and Thursday see more of an incline in engagement.
* The above is true for maximum employee profiles, but varies greatly depending on employee category and nature of industry.
These various studies seem to agree that weekdays are generally ideal for sharing content on LinkedIn, and that marketers might benefit from finding pockets of the workday (such as lunch or the mid-afternoon) where professionals are taking a break to scroll. Adjusting the tone and type of content based on the time of day makes a difference too. For example, short, informative posts may perform well during morning rushes, while longer articles might resonate better during quieter evening hours.
Some of the main factors influencing user engagement can vary by industry. For instance, tech professionals might be more active later in the evening compared to finance professionals who engage more during morning hours. Also, the geographic location of your audience affects when they are most active, impacting the optimal posting time.
However, as Kristi Lang (from Buffer) emphasizes, “Every target audience is different. I advise experimenting with your posting schedule as part of your LinkedIn marketing strategy, then digging into your social media analytics to uncover your unique best time to post and make the most of the LinkedIn algorithm.”
After a month of experimenting with different time slots, you can check your data within the tool itself and get a detailed report with all crucial performance metrics. You will be able to access these engagement metrics for all types of LinkedIn content, including text posts, images, carousels, videos, polls, articles, etc. Utilize LinkedIn analytics to gather insights into your audience demographics such as industry, job title, and location. This information helps tailor your content and posting times to resonate with your specific audience segments. Monitor when your followers are most active using LinkedIn’s analytics tools. Track metrics like impressions, clicks, and engagement rates to refine your posting strategy based on real-time data.
Posting during peak engagement hours increases the likelihood of your content appearing in your network’s feeds. This visibility enhances the chances of likes, shares, and comments. Zero in on the time and day during which your content generated the most engagement and repeat the top-performing ones to garner more attention with just a few clicks.
Of course, for those who don’t have the time to execute plans like these, you can always use companies that provide LinkedIn management services like Briskon. They help you structure your marketing strategy so that it aligns with your vision, create engaging posts, and finally, post it at the optimum time for you.
Many get overwhelmed with the enormity of it. The little consistent steps are what contribute to the building of your LinkedIn strategy. Your reach, as a company, does not solely depend on the expansion of your network. But by strategically optimizing your posting times and engaging with your audience authentically, you can maximize your impact. Quality content at the right time can bring that much sought after breakthrough you are looking forward to.
Posting at the right time isn’t luck — it’s strategy. Let’s optimize yours.
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