SEO
5 Content Strategy Examples That Work (And Why)
Nailing down your content strategy is one of the best ways to grow your business. But that’s easier said than done.
To help you with this, I want to dissect a few successful content strategy examples. Not only will we look at what content they create, but we’ll also look at why their strategies work and tips on implementing these strategies in your own marketing.
First up, I’d like to highlight our own content strategy here at Ahrefs. We rely almost solely on content to promote our product, which is an all-in-one SEO toolset.
Why us? Because our content marketing strategy was one of the main factors that grew our traffic to over 2.4M monthly visits from search engines (data from Ahrefs’ Site Explorer):
What is our strategy?
We focus on search engine optimization, i.e., creating content intended to rank on the front page of Google for keywords that help us promote our product.
We started with a focus on SEO-specific content, but we’ve since scaled our blog to cover other marketing topics, including content marketing, affiliate marketing, video marketing, and more.
Our strategy begins with keyword research to determine what keywords our target audience is searching for. Then we create content that matches the search intent of those keywords.
Within that content, we promote our product whenever it’s relevant using screenshots, tutorials, helpful tips, and direct product promotion. You’re seeing an example of this right now.
When deciding which keywords to pursue, it’s a good idea to look at the business potential of that article. We typically follow this scoring system when choosing our next topics:
Why does it work so well?
Our SEO strategy works so well because our content (and our tools) is extremely useful to anyone who wants to learn and implement SEO on their own website.
We also already have a strong backlink portfolio, which is one of Google’s most important ranking factors. While many niches are less competitive and don’t require nearly as many links to compete, the SEO niche is highly competitive, and we need the backlinks to outrank our competitors.
Lastly, we have rigorous editorial standards to make sure our content is epic, and we check all the boxes for technical SEO.
How can you implement our strategy?
If you want to reap the benefits of passive, recurring traffic (and customers), then SEO is the way to go.
I recommend reading our beginner’s guide to SEO. But beyond that, here are some other guides to get you started:
It’s also a good idea to understand how the Google search algorithm works so you have a better shot at ranking in that coveted first position.
The Tonic is a daily email newsletter with over 17K subscribers, and it grosses more than $5K in monthly revenue.
It’s achieved some impressive numbers for a newsletter that’s sent so frequently:
- Five emails sent per week
- A 33% open rate
- Growing at a rate of 2K subs per month
- 0.1% unsubscribe rate per email
What is its strategy?
The bulk of its growth comes from Facebook ads leading to conversion-focused blog articles.
In fact, Mike Blankenship (co-founder of The Tonic) shared exactly how the company got 834 subscribers in less than two weeks for just $24.68:
Basically, it wrote this article, which had an extremely clickable title…
… and ended with a non-intrusive call to action to join the newsletter.
Finally, it created the following Facebook ad to drive traffic to its content:
Why does it work so well?
In today’s fast-paced, information-overloaded world, people crave instant gratification. They want the answer, and they want it now.
So The Tonic gives it to them.
The title of the article, “The Two Minutes It Takes You To Read This Will Make You 10% Happier Forever,” screams to be read. Can you really afford not to read something with such a low commitment and a high potential payoff?
It works so well because of simplicity and excellent copy.
The bold yellow background of the ad makes it stand out in the sea of junk as you’re scrolling, the title is compelling, and the article delivers on the promise, making people want to subscribe.
How can you implement its strategy?
First, take five minutes to skim through my writing tips. They’re not specific to ad copy, but some do still apply. Plus, you can never waste time learning to become a better writer.
Then brainstorm landing page ideas for your Facebook ad. What is something you can write that is to the point, intriguing, and useful?
Here are a few random examples in different niches:
- Learn how to prevent pet cataracts in two minutes
- This one tip could save you thousands on car repairs
- You’ll never believe what they put in your bread
Basically, you want to come up with a title that captivates your target audience and requires an extremely low commitment to read. We don’t want ultimate guides or 57 tips here—remember, KISS. Keep it super simple.
Finally, when writing the landing page, keep it short and useful and end it with your call to action once you have the reader hooked.
Red Bull is one of the savviest marketing companies I’ve ever seen.
Its content strategy involves getting you to like, share, and subscribe to videos on every platform—and it’s crushing it, with millions of subscribers on each platform.
It also happens to get over 3.5M visits from organic search every month.
What is its strategy?
Red Bull excels at creating viral, on-brand video content across a wide array of mediums, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and even traditional TV advertising.
But, unlike our strategy at Ahrefs, it isn’t directly promoting its products in this content. Instead, it’s focusing on getting its brand name and logo in front of giant audiences.
The hope is that you’ll grab a Red Bull instead of a Monster or another competitor when you see it because you’ve watched its content and recognize its brand more than the others.
It even has different channels for different sports, such as Red Bull Bike for bike sports, Red Bull Skateboarding for skateboarding, etc.
Amazingly, those channels also have over a million subscribers each.
Why does it work so well?
Red Bull’s videos and brand align perfectly—they are all about high-energy, high-intensity activities like skydiving and other extreme sports. The videos perform well because some of the things it films people doing are so wildly extreme that it’s actually hard to believe it’s real.
Take this video, for example, where Red Bull sends Felix Baumgartner to low orbit in a helium-filled balloon and has him jump out of it. Yes, you heard that right—he’s space-diving.
Or this TikTok video, where it built a skate park on a hot air balloon, and Kriss Kyle rode his bike around it over a mile above the ground:
These videos work so well not because they’re good at promoting Red Bull’s products specifically, but because they’re able to go viral and spread brand awareness of the company through sheer numbers.
Sometimes, marketing isn’t about providing the best information to help people find your product; it’s about aligning your brand with your ideal customer and getting in front of them in any way possible.
How can you implement its strategy?
Obviously, I don’t expect your brand to have the kind of marketing budget Red Bull has.
But you can still learn from its strategy—namely, that if you’re focusing on social media, you need to learn to create viral videos.
Ask yourself: What does my target market care about, and how can I get in front of it? Brainstorm a list of ideas that could be great attention-grabbers. Think outside the box and go check out other viral video creators in your niche to get ideas.
To learn more, check out our guide to video marketing.
Bank My Cell is a site where you can trade in your old cell phone for cash. Like Ahrefs, it also focuses on SEO as its main content strategy—to the tune of 324K monthly organic traffic.
However, its approach is a little different.
What is its strategy?
Bank My Cell’s strategy focuses heavily on two things: link building and topical authority.
In the first few years of the site’s existence, it struggled to gain traction. As you can see in the chart below, despite publishing more content (yellow line) and building links steadily (blue line), its traffic (orange line) remained relatively flat and even on the downtrend.
That is, until December of 2020, when it started publishing informational content like crazy in order to achieve topical authority.
Before that time, it only had money pages on its site. After that, it filled out its site with content like “how to factory reset your iphone” and “how to tell what model iphone you have.”
As you can see, it led to a massive boost in organic traffic.
In addition to this new content, it also utilized digital PR and statistic pages to build high-quality backlinks to the website.
For example, its “how many people have smartphones” page has over 9K backlinks—many of which are from high-DR websites. This one page alone is enough to put it on the map for most of its target keywords.
Why does it work so well?
The informational content Bank My Cell published helped it appear as an authority in the eyes of Google, improving rankings across the board.
Better still, these info pages, once ranking well, acquired natural backlinks from other websites on autopilot—creating an upward spiral effect.
Combine this with the links its PR and statistic pages pulled in, and you have a recipe for easy page #1 rankings on all its keywords (data from Ahrefs’ Site Explorer):
How can you implement its strategy?
Begin by figuring out the topical authority coverage of you and your competitors.
Measuring topical authority is difficult. But Kevin Indig devised a way of roughly calculating topical authority using the Traffic share by domains report in Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer, which shows traffic share percentages of the major players in your niche:
Here’s how you can do this in your niche:
- Take a head term like “ecommerce” and enter it in Keywords Explorer
- Go to the Matching terms report and filter for a minimum volume of 10
- Export all keywords and reupload them into Keywords Explorer
- Go to Traffic share by domains
Traffic share = topic share, aka “topical authority.” You can use this analysis to see who in your niche has the most topical authority and what keywords they’re ranking for.
Then, you can take these competing sites and perform a content gap analysis to see what keywords they’re ranking for that you aren’t—revealing the holes in your topical coverage.
To do that, head to Site Explorer and click “Content gap.” Enter your competitors into the tool.
Once you click “Show keywords,” you’ll be taken to a list of keywords that those competing websites rank for, but yours doesn’t.
Let’s run through this on one of my sites.
In just the first 10 keywords, I realized I haven’t yet talked about tent air conditioners, lifted 4Runners, or Jeep Wrangler builds.
I’ve written about lifted Tacomas, tent fans, and Jeep Wrangler gear on my site, so publishing content targeting these gap keywords can improve my topical authority.
Another thing you can do to emulate Bank My Cell’s content strategy is to create statistic pages that journalists, news websites, and other bloggers want to link to.
We’ve done this at Ahrefs by making our SEO statistics page, which has acquired over 4.5K backlinks from 2K referring domains.
Follow our guide to statistic page link building to learn how you can do this too.
Airbnb grosses over $8.4B every year, and that number is growing fast. It owes its start—and much of its current growth—to a strong content strategy.
What is its strategy?
Airbnb’s content strategy started with a mix of destination guides, user-submitted stories and photos, and a strong social media presence.
Today, it thrives on user-generated content (UGC) to promote the business. Both Airbnb hosts and their guests are posting their homes and stays online.
Airbnb often reposts its customers’ posts that showcase their Airbnb properties:
Airbnb guests also share photos and videos of their experience, further promoting the company.
Why does it work so well?
UGC works so well for Airbnb because it encourages that through contests and by showcasing the customers’ photos and videos on its social media platforms and website.
This capitalizes on people’s desire to feel special and interesting. When you see a big brand name share your content, it makes you feel good.
Also, it makes sense for hosts to want to post about their rental properties on social media because it helps them make more money for their own business—it’s a win-win.
How can you implement its strategy?
Besides running UGC contests to encourage your customers to post about you, you should also build your business in a way that naturally encourages UGC.
For instance, fashion brands—particularly high-status ones—naturally encourage UGC because people want to post themselves wearing these clothes to show off.
If your products photograph or video well, then create a hashtag, run some contests, and engage with your users. They appreciate the shout-out, and you get free content.
Final thoughts
The right content strategy can scale your business and bring you passive income. Whether you choose to use SEO, social media, or another strategy, content is still king.
These content strategy examples are just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to learn more, be sure to check out our complete guide to creating a winning content strategy.
Comments? Questions? Ping me on Twitter.
SEO
OpenAI Investigates ‘Lazy’ GPT-4 Complaints On Google Reviews, X
OpenAI, the company that launched ChatGPT a little over a year ago, has recently taken to social media to address concerns regarding the “lazy” performance of GPT-4 on social media and Google Reviews.
This move comes after growing user feedback online, which even includes a one-star review on the company’s Google Reviews.
OpenAI Gives Insight Into Training Chat Models, Performance Evaluations, And A/B Testing
OpenAI, through its @ChatGPTapp Twitter account, detailed the complexities involved in training chat models.
Screenshot from X, December 2023The organization highlighted that the process is not a “clean industrial process” and that variations in training runs can lead to noticeable differences in the AI’s personality, creative style, and political bias.
Thorough AI model testing includes offline evaluation metrics and online A/B tests. The final decision to release a new model is based on a data-driven approach to improve the “real” user experience.
OpenAI’s Google Review Score Affected By GPT-4 Performance, Billing Issues
This explanation comes after weeks of user feedback about GPT-4 becoming worse on social media networks like X.
Idk if anyone else has noticed this, but GPT-4 Turbo performance is significantly worse than GPT-4 standard.
I know it’s in preview right now but it’s significantly worse.
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) November 8, 2023
There has been discussion if GPT-4 has become “lazy” recently. My anecdotal testing suggests it may be true.
I repeated a sequence of old analyses I did with Code Interpreter. GPT-4 still knows what to do, but keeps telling me to do the work. One step is now many & some are odd. pic.twitter.com/OhGAMtd3Zq
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) November 28, 2023
Complaints also appeared in OpenAI’s community forums.
Screenshot from OpenAI, December 2023The experience led one user to leave a one-star rating for OpenAI via Google Reviews. Other complaints regarded accounts, billing, and the artificial nature of AI.
Screenshot from Google Reviews, December 2023A recent user on Product Hunt gave OpenAI a rating that also appears to be related to GPT-4 worsening.
Screenshot from Product Hunt, December 2023GPT-4 isn’t the only issue that local reviewers complain about. On Yelp, OpenAI has a one-star rating for ChatGPT 3.5 performance.
OpenAI is now only 3.8 stars on Google Maps and a dismal 1 star on Yelp!
GPT-4’s degradation has really hurt their rating. Hope the business survives.https://t.co/RF8uJH1WQ5 pic.twitter.com/OghAZLCiVu
— Nate Chan (@nathanwchan) December 9, 2023
The complaint:
Screenshot from Yelp, December 2023In related OpenAI news, the review with the most likes aligns with recent rumors about a volatile workplace, alleging that OpenAI is a “Cutthroat environment. Not friendly. Toxic workers.”
Screenshot from Google Reviews, December 2023The reviews voted the most helpful on Glassdoor about OpenAI suggested that employee frustration and product development issues stem from the company’s shift in focus on profits.
Screenshots from Glassdoor, December 2023This incident provides a unique outlook on how customer and employee experiences can impact any business through local reviews and business ratings platforms.
Screenshot from Google, December 2023Google SGE Highlights Positive Google Reviews
In addition to occasional complaints, Google reviewers acknowledged the revolutionary impact of OpenAI’s technology on various fields.
The most positive review mentions about the company appear in Google SGE (Search Generative Experience).
Screenshot from Google SGE, December 2023Conclusion
OpenAI’s recent insights into training chat models and response to public feedback about GPT-4 performance illustrate AI technology’s dynamic and evolving nature and its impact on those who depend on the AI platform.
Especially the people who just received an invitation to join ChatGPT Plus after being waitlisted while OpenAI paused new subscriptions and upgrades. Or those developing GPTs for the upcoming GPT Store launch.
As AI advances, professionals in these fields must remain agile, informed, and responsive to technological developments and the public’s reception of these advancements.
Featured image: Tada Images/Shutterstock
SEO
ChatGPT Plus Upgrades Paused; Waitlisted Users Receive Invites
ChatGPT Plus subscriptions and upgrades remain paused after a surge in demand for new features created outages.
Some users who signed up for the waitlist have received invites to join ChatGPT Plus.
This has resulted in a few shares of the link that is accessible for everyone. For now.
Found a hack to skip chatGPT plus wait list.
Follow the steps
– login to ChatGPT
– now if you click on upgrade
– Signup for waitlist(may not be necessary)
– now change the URL to https://t.co/4izOdNzarG
– Wallah you are in for payment #ChatGPT4 #hack #GPT4 #GPTPlus pic.twitter.com/J1GizlrOAx— Ashish Mohite is building Notionpack Capture (@_ashishmohite) December 8, 2023
RELATED: GPT Store Set To Launch In 2024 After ‘Unexpected’ Delays
In addition to the invites, signs that more people are getting access to GPTs include an introductory screen popping up on free ChatGPT accounts.
Screenshot from ChatGPT, December 2023Unfortunately, they still aren’t accessible without a Plus subscription.
Screenshot from ChatGPT, December 2023You can sign up for the waitlist by clicking on the option to upgrade in the left sidebar of ChatGPT on a desktop browser.
Screenshot from ChatGPT, December 2023OpenAI also suggests ChatGPT Enterprise for those who need more capabilities, as outlined in the pricing plans below.
Screenshot from OpenAI, December 2023Why Are ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions Paused?
According to a post on X by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, the recent surge in usage following the DevDay developers conference has led to capacity challenges, resulting in the decision to pause ChatGPT Plus signups.
we are pausing new ChatGPT Plus sign-ups for a bit 🙁
the surge in usage post devday has exceeded our capacity and we want to make sure everyone has a great experience.
you can still sign-up to be notified within the app when subs reopen.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 15, 2023
The decision to pause new ChatGPT signups follows a week where OpenAI services – including ChatGPT and the API – experienced a series of outages related to high-demand and DDoS attacks.
Demand for ChatGPT Plus resulted in eBay listings supposedly offering one or more months of the premium subscription.
chatgpt plus accounts selling ebay for a premium 🫡🇺🇸 https://t.co/VdN8tuexKM pic.twitter.com/W522NGHsRV
— surya (@sdand) November 15, 2023
When Will ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions Resume?
So far, we don’t have any official word on when ChatGPT Plus subscriptions will resume. We know the GPT Store is set to open early next year after recent boardroom drama led to “unexpected delays.”
Therefore, we hope that OpenAI will onboard waitlisted users in time to try out all of the GPTs created by OpenAI and community builders.
What Are GPTs?
GPTs allow users to create one or more personalized ChatGPT experiences based on a specific set of instructions, knowledge files, and actions.
Search marketers with ChatGPT Plus can try GPTs for helpful content assessment and learning SEO.
Two SEO GPTs I’ve created for assessment + learning 👀👇
1. Content Helpfulness and Quality SEO Analyzer: Assess a page content helpfulness, relevance, and quality for your targeted query based on Google’s guidelines vs your competitors and get tips: https://t.co/LsoP2UhF4N pic.twitter.com/O77MHiqwOq
— Aleyda Solis 🕊️ (@aleyda) November 12, 2023
2. The https://t.co/IFmKxxVDpW SEO Teacher: A friendly SEO expert teacher who will help you to learn SEO using reliable https://t.co/sCZ03C7fzq resources: https://t.co/UrMPUYwblH
I hope they’re helpful 🙌🤩
PS: Love how GPT opens up to SO much opportunity 🤯 pic.twitter.com/yqKozcZTDc
— Aleyda Solis 🕊️ (@aleyda) November 12, 2023
There are also GPTs for analyzing Google Search Console data.
oh wow. I think this GPT works.
Export data from GSC comparing keyword rankings before and after an update and upload it to ChatGPT and it will spit out this scatter plot for you.
It’s an easy way to see if most of your keyword declined or improved.
This site was impacted by… pic.twitter.com/wFGSnonqoZ
— Marie Haynes (@Marie_Haynes) November 9, 2023
And GPTs that will let you chat with analytics data from 20 platforms, including Google Ads, GA4, and Facebook.
Google search has indexed hundreds of public GPTs. According to an alleged list of GPT statistics in a GitHub repository, DALL-E, the top GPT from OpenAI, has received 5,620,981 visits since its launch last month. Included in the top 20 GPTs is Canva, with 291,349 views.
Weighing The Benefits Of The Pause
Ideally, this means that developers working on building GPTs and using the API should encounter fewer issues (like being unable to save GPT drafts).
But it could also mean a temporary decrease in new users of GPTs since they are only available to Plus subscribers – including the ones I tested for learning about ranking factors and gaining insights on E-E-A-T from Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
Screenshot from ChatGPT, November 2023Featured image: Robert Way/Shutterstock
SEO
The Best Times To Post On Social Media In 2024
Marketers worldwide know the importance of having a solid social media marketing strategy – and a key part of this is finding the best times to post on social media.
The old adage ‘timing is everything’ holds especially true in the world of social media, where the difference between a post that fades into obscurity and one that goes viral can often be just a matter of when it was shared.
With an always-growing array of social platforms hosting billions of users worldwide, it has never been more challenging to stand above the noise and make your voice heard on social.
To determine the best times to post on social media in 2024, we reviewed original data from leading social media management tools.
It’s important to note that the data from these sources present a variety of findings and suggestions, which underscore the fact that social media is an ever-evolving landscape. The most crucial thing is understanding the behavior of your own target audience.
Let’s dive in.
The Best Times To Post On Social Media
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday and Wednesday | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday | 12 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Friday, Wednesday, and Monday (in that order) | 7 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on social media: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Best days to post on social media: Monday and Wednesday.
- Worst days to post on social media: Saturday and Sunday.
Determining an ideal time for posting on social media in general is complicated, as each platform is different, with unique users, features, and communities.
When deciding which social media platforms to focus on, you should think carefully about your brand’s target audience and overarching goals.
If you’re looking to reach a network of professionals, LinkedIn might be a good fit; if your brand is hoping to speak to Gen Z consumers, you might consider TikTok or Snapchat.
This explains why – when analyzing data from Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and CoSchedule on the best overall times to post on social media – we can draw some similarities but also see a variety of recommendations.
Weekdays emerge as a clear winner. CoSchedule and Sprout Social both highlight Wednesday as a good day, with Hootsuite and CoSchedule also highlighting Mondays as a strong day for engagement.
The most common time range among the sources is in the morning to mid-afternoon, with CoSchedule providing some very specific suggestions for post-timing.
Both CoSchedule and Sprout Social agree on avoiding Saturdays and Sundays.
The Best Times To Post On Facebook
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Monday to Thursday | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday and Tuesday | 1 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Friday, Wednesday, and Monday (in that order) | 9 a.m. Local |
- Best times to post on Facebook: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Best days to post on Facebook: Weekdays.
- Worst day to post on Facebook: Sunday.
Facebook remains the most used social media platform in the world, with the largest advertising market share (16%).
While it’s experienced a shift in user demographics over recent years – now catering to older users – its popularity continues to climb, and its potential as a brand marketing tool cannot be disputed.
Regarding the best times to post on Facebook, all of our sources agree that weekdays are best. Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and CoSchdule all name Monday as a great day to engage on Facebook, along with calling out various other days of the week.
There is a general consensus that Sundays should be avoided.
The sources vary in their suggestions for optimal time slots, but generally speaking, early to mid-morning seems to be the most popular selection.
The Best Times To Post On YouTube
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| SocialPilot | Sunday | 2-4 p.m. EST |
| HubSpot | Friday and Saturday | 6-9 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on YouTube: 2-4 p.m. on weekdays and 9-11 a.m. on weekends.
- Best days to post on YouTube: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
- Worst day to post on YouTube: Tuesday.
As the second most visited site in the world and the second most used social platform globally, YouTube offers an unparalleled opportunity for brands and individuals to connect with audiences through video.
And with its continued expansion – by introducing features like YouTube Shorts, initiatives like expanding the ways creators can get paid on the platform, and its increasing popularity as a search engine – the platform shows no signs of slowing.
YouTube is no longer just a video-sharing site; it’s a robust marketing tool that empowers businesses to raise brand awareness and drive meaningful engagement.
Finding recent data on the best times to post on YouTube proved harder than for some other channels, so these recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt.
While HubSpot suggests Friday and Saturday are the strongest days to publish on YouTube, SocialPilot specifically calls out Sunday as the most engaging day – so it’s worth experimenting with all three.
SocialPilot doesn’t specifically name the worst day, but according to HubSpot, you’d be wise to steer clear of Tuesday.
Both sources suggest the afternoon as an effective time for posting during the week. SocialPilot specifies that publishing in the mornings on weekends (9-11 a.m.) is effective, so this is important to bear in mind.
The Best Times To Post On Instagram
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday and Wednesday | 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Wednesday | 2 p.m. EST |
| HubSpot | Saturday | 6-9 p.m. Local |
| CoSchedule | Wednesday, Friday, and Tuesday (in that order) |
9 a.m. Local |
| Later | Monday | 4 a.m. Local |
- Best times to post on Instagram: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Best day to post on Instagram: Wednesday.
- Worst day to post on Instagram: Sunday.
From its origins as a photo-sharing platform, Instagram has evolved into one of the most popular social media networks in the world – and an indispensable marketing tool.
With billions of users – 90% of whom are following at least one business – Instagram has become a powerful engine for ecommerce, brand awareness, and community-building.
As a leader in the social media space, Instagram constantly provides new formats and features for users to try out – from Reels to Stories, user quizzes and polls, and more.
We consulted a handful of sources to determine the top posting times for Instagram and came away with a mixed bag of answers.
Wednesday appears to take the cake as the most consistently recommended day, with CoSchedule, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite all suggesting it.
Generally, our sources seem to lean towards weekdays as being strongest for Instagram engagement – with the exception of HubSpot, which recommends Saturday.
In terms of timing, the morning to midday hours seem to be your best bet, especially around 8 a.m. through 1 p.m. HubSpot and Later provide times that significantly differ from other sources, which suggests that effectiveness can vary based on audience and content type.
The Best Times To Post On TikTok
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday and Wednesday | 2-6 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Thursday | 10 p.m. EST |
| SocialPilot | Tuesday and Thursday | 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. EST |
| HubSpot | Friday | 6-9 p.m. Local |
- Best time to post on TikTok: Inconclusive.
- Best day to post on TikTok: Tuesday.
- Worst day to post on TikTok: Inconclusive.
While it’s a relative newcomer to the fold, TikTok has quickly become one of the most beloved social platforms worldwide – and is drawing brands in increasing numbers.
With the average user spending nearly 54 minutes on the app daily, it’s hard to beat the hold that TikTok has among audiences. By optimizing your presence there, you can stand to generate some impressive returns on your marketing efforts.
So, what’s the best time to post on TikTok? The jury is out on this one – and it may take extra experimentation on your part to find the sweet spot that engages your audience.
Tuesday seems to rise to the top among the sources we consulted, with Wednesdays and Thursdays also getting recommendations. Generally speaking, it looks like midweek is a good time to test out your TikTok content, but there are plenty of discrepancies in the data.
While HubSpot named Friday as the best day, it also highlighted that Saturdays and Thursdays are strong for B2B brands, and Saturdays and Sundays work well for B2C brands.
Sprout Social found Sunday to be the worst performing day, while Monday and Tuesday are the worst days, according to HubSpot.
We also find a mix of recommended time slots, from early morning to mid-afternoon and also evening being suggested.
The Best Times To Post On Snapchat
Snapchat, the pioneer of ephemeral social media content (and the inspiration behind Instagram Stories), provides unique opportunities to reach younger demographics.
It differs from other platforms in how it works and the type of content that engages there. Snapchat typically centers around showcasing real-time experiences and authentic behind-the-scenes content versus polished marketing content.
This makes Snapchat an advantageous yet often underutilized tool in digital marketing. But it should not be overlooked, especially given that the platform continues to innovate.
While we have seen 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. cited as the best times to post on Snapchat in various secondary sources around the internet, we have found no recent original data to either confirm or refute this.
Given this, we would recommend testing out different times and days based on the behaviors and lifestyles of your target audience and then iterating based on your results (which is what you should be doing across the board, regardless!)
The Best Times To Post On Pinterest
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Wednesday to Friday | 1-3 p.m. Local |
| HubSpot | Friday | 3-6 p.m. Local |
| CoSchedule | Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (in that order) |
8 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on Pinterest: 3-6 p.m.
- Best day to post on Pinterest: Friday.
- Worst day to post on Pinterest: Sunday.
Pinterest, once thought of as a simple inspiration board-style site, has today become a crucial player in the world of ecommerce.
Businesses can leverage Pinterest to showcase their products and drive conversions, but also to grow and expand brand awareness and sentiment.
Success on Pinterest can be found through sharing brand-specific imagery, optimizing for mobile, and appealing to your audience’s sense of aspiration and inspiration.
Friday, alongside other weekdays, is consistently mentioned as a strong day among our sources. On the other end, Sunday is commonly named as the least effective day for posting on Pinterest.
When it comes to the most fruitful posting time on the platform, it appears that the late afternoon to early evening, specifically around 3-6 p.m., is optimal for best engagement.
The Best Times To Post On X (Twitter)
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday to Thursday | 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday and Wednesday | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Wednesday, Tuesday, and Friday (in that order) | 9 a.m. Local |
| HubSpot | Friday and Wednesday (in that order) | 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on X (Twitter): 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Best days to post on X (Twitter): Wednesday and Friday.
- Worst day to post on X (Twitter): Sunday.
X (formerly known as Twitter) has long been a place for marketers to connect and engage with their audience, join trending conversations, and build community.
The real-time nature of X (Twitter) differentiates it from other social platforms and allows for spur-of-the-moment and reactionary marketing moves. And with CEO Elon Musk’s big plans for the app, it’s undoubtedly a space to watch.
When looking for the top days to post among the sources we consulted, Wednesday and Friday are most often mentioned – with Sprout Social specifying Tuesday through Thursday.
Hootsuite nominates Monday and Wednesday as the top days, proving that weekdays reign supreme on X (Twitter).
Like many other platforms, Sunday seems to be the least effective day for post-engagement.
Looking for the best times to post on X (Twitter)?
Late morning, from around 9 a.m. to noon, seems to be the most recommended time – though, as always, this will differ based on your specific audience and the type of content you are sharing.
We always recommend testing and experimenting to see what works for you.
The Best Times To Post On LinkedIn
| Source | Day Of Week | Time To Post |
| Sprout Social | Tuesday to Thursday | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Local |
| Hootsuite | Monday | 4 p.m. EST |
| CoSchedule | Thursday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (in that order) | 10 a.m. Local |
| HubSpot | Monday, Wednesday, and Tuesday (in that order) | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Local |
- Best times to post on LinkedIn: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Best days to post on LinkedIn: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- Worst days to post on LinkedIn: Weekends.
Though first and foremost a platform for professionals, LinkedIn has picked up steam in recent years, becoming a hub of engagement and a frontrunner among social media networks.
It’s also an essential tool for businesses that want to reach business executives and decision-makers, as well as potential candidates.
Done right, LinkedIn content can go a long way in building a public perception of your brand and providing deep value to your target audience.
Digging into the data, we can see that weekdays provide the biggest opportunities for engagement on LinkedIn, which is hardly surprising. Tuesdays through Thursdays are often mentioned as the top days, with Mondays also highlighted by Hootsuite and HubSpot.
All of our sources agree that weekends are less effective for LinkedIn posts.
If you’re searching for the right time, you might try your hand at posting from late morning to mid-afternoon, based on what these sources discovered.
But (and not to sound like a broken record) your results may differ based on your brand, niche, target audience, and content.
What Is The Best Time For You To Post On Social Media?
Finding the best times to post on social media requires a delicate blend of testing, experimentation, and personal analytics.
And it never hurts to start your journey with industry insights like the ones we’ve covered in this article.
By aligning your content strategy with your target audience and trying out different posting strategies – taking into account these recommended time slots – you will be able to determine what works best for you and significantly enhance your social media presence and engagement.
Sources of data, November 2023.
All data above was taken from the sources below.
Each platform conducted its own extensive research, analyzing millions of posts across various social networks to find the times when users are most engaged.
Sources:
- Sprout Social analyzed nearly 2 billion engagements across 400,000 social profiles.
- Hootsuite analyzed thousands of social media posts using an audience of 8 million followers. For its Instagram updates, it analyzed over 30,000 posts.
- CoSchedule analyzed more than 35 million posts from more than 30,000 organizations.
- SocialPilot studied over 50,000 YouTube accounts and over 50,000 TikTok accounts to compile its data.
- Later analyzed over 11 million Instagram posts.
- HubSpot surveyed over 1,000 global marketers to discern the best times to post on social media. For its Instagram-specific data, it partnered with Mention to analyze over 37 million posts.
More resources:
Featured Image: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock
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