LinkedIn is a powerful tool for personal and business marketing. Whether you’re building your brand, reaching out to new clients or sharing know-how, one of the most common questions is: when to post on LinkedIn to ensure your content has the greatest reach? Because the time of publication plays a crucial role in how many people see your post and the reactions it gets. In this article, we’ll show you the best times to publish and other tips to increase the visibility of your posts.
How does the LinkedIn algorithm work and why does time matter?
Before we get into specific times, it is good to understand this, how LinkedIn works. The network’s algorithm judges the quality of a post based on several factors – including how people react in the first minutes and hours after posting.
If your post receives likes, comments and shares in the first 60 minutes, the algorithm evaluates it as high quality and starts showing it to a wider audience. This means that the more reactions you get in a short period of time, the more reach your post will have.
Publishing at a time when your audience is most active therefore increases the likelihood of early interaction – and this is the key to viral success. Plus, if you have the right profile set up, the effect can be multiplied even further.
Wondering if your LinkedIn profile is set up correctly? Read our article on how to optimise your LinkedIn profile to ensure that new followers can find you without any problems.
When to post on LinkedIn? What are the best days?
Various research (e.g. Sprout Social, HubSpot, Hootsuite) shows that the best days to publish are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Why these days?
- Tuesday is often considered the most productive day of the week. After Monday, people are oriented and start to focus on their tasks – which includes reading professional content or networking on LinkedIn.
- Wednesday is ideal for deeper content – such as articles, case studies or job postings. People still have a “work pace” and enough mental capacity to absorb new content.
- Thursday is usually good for inspirational or motivational posts. The end of the week is approaching, but the work schedule is still on.
Monday and Fridays are the least suitable. Why? On Monday people are busy organizing the week and by Friday they are already mentally switching into weekend mode. Weekends tend to have the lowest activity for obvious reasons.
What are the best times during the day for publishing?
Here is an overview of the recommended time windows, including specific recommendations and why these time blocks work:
- Morning (7:30-9:00am): people often check LinkedIn right after they wake up, during breakfast or on their way to work. Many people check LinkedIn at this time to see what’s new in their industry. It’s the perfect time to publish a new blog post, a news summary or a brief update.
- Midday (12:00-13:00): During the lunch break, users are more open to browsing content as they take a break from their daily work routine. A great window for tips, personal experiences or prompts for discussion.
- Afternoons (16:00-18:00): there’s usually room for content consumption at the end of the working day – especially for people who work in hybrid mode or from home. Posts published during this window often garner interaction later in the evening.(Medium)
We recommend that you try publishing in all three windows on different days and then monitor and compare the results and statistics.
Take into account the target group and industry. Each target group behaves differently
What applies generally may not work specifically for you. So be sure to consider the profession of the target audience you are writing for. Recruiters or marketers are often active in the morning and mid-morning. IT professionals or freelancers, on the other hand, tend to be more active in the afternoon or evening. The type of company your target audience works for. In a startup culture, activity may be spread out differently than in corporate structures. The most common location where your target is located. If you have an international audience, it is essential to work with time zones. If you’re also targeting the US, consider publishing a second one based on their time.
Measuring, analyzing and adjusting strategy is the way to success. For example, you can help yourself with metrics SSI – Social Selling Indexwhich shows you how well you are using your profile and content to network and build trust. In our ebook, you’ll learn important info about this metric and get some recommendations on how to increase the value of your index.
How often do I post on LinkedIn? Instead of quantity, focus on quality
There are many opinions on how often to post on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, the ideal is:
- 2-3 posts per week for individuals who are building a personal brand.
- 1-2 posts per week for companies that have a broader content plan and more resources.
Consistency and quality are more important than quantity. Each contribution should have a goal – to raise awareness, generate discussion, inform or inspire. Long pauses between posts diminish profile visibility. Conversely, posting too often without a strategy can overwhelm and subsequently discourage people. We recommend that you create a publishing schedule so that you always know what, when and why you are publishing.
Planning and testing contributions. What can you use?
For maximum performance, take advantage of available tools like LinkedIn Analytics or the Shield App. In the former, you’ll be able to track when your posts are getting the most views and interactions. It will allow you to adjust the time window as well as the type of content. Moreover, you have everything in the familiar LinkedIn environment. Shield App is a great tool for managing personal profiles. This app will give you detailed reports on reach, engagement and average response time.
We then recommend an A/B testing strategy . Test the same type of content at two different times and compare the results. This will reveal the best time to publish your posts. As a final tip, we have a post scheduling tool for you . You can use tools like Hootsuite or Buffer, or make do with a simple excel spreadsheet. By having a complete content schedule, you’ll ensure consistency and save time.
Other factors that affect the reach of contributions
Time and frequency are not the only variables. We’ve put together a quick overview of other factors that affect the reach of a post.
- Type of contribution: Unlinked text (especially with personal experience), native documents or PDF presentations often work better than links leading off LinkedIn.
- Post length: Short, concise posts with a clear message tend to have higher read rates. But even a longer format can succeed if it adds value and is structured.
- First comment: Many users use the first comment to share links or additional information. This preserves the visibility of the post without penalizing the external link.
- Engagement: watch not only the number of likes, but especially the comments. The algorithm prioritizes them and gives them more weight.
Time to publish is an essential element of any successful LinkedIn strategy. Knowing when to post on LinkedIn will increase your chances of greater organic reach, attracting new contacts and business opportunities. Want to really get moving with your LinkedIn strategy? Reach out to the Get Leads team, we’d love to help you set up, optimize and grow your LinkedIn profile.