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

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook give schools the opportunity to grow 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 of the most important things to find out is when your audience is most active on 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 and Facebook.

Reaching Your Twitter Followers

When it comes to Twitter users who follow school accounts, our research shows that the start of the working week drives them to social media, so therefore Monday is the best day to tweet between the hours of 9am and 4pm. Engagement on Twitter peaks between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on a Monday, however, Thursdays at 10am also see higher engagement.

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.

Now you know when to post, take a look at what to post in these great examples of educators using Twitter.

Posting on Facebook

Facebook is still the most popular social media platform in the UK and the world, and it is a common communication channel for most schools. The users who follow school Facebook pages tend to be at their most engaged on Wednesdays at 1pm and Fridays at 3pm however, Facebook users are typically active after 6pm most days of the week, in particular, amongst parents.

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.

Take a look at what schools should be posting on Facebook for some inspiration.

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 social media strategy so it’s geared towards high engagement.

If you need further advice, make sure to check out 3 ways to immediately improve your school social media presence, or explore our social media guide for schools.

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