Best Time and Day To Post On Facebook In The Philippines
Two years ago, I started an experiment about the best time and day to post on Facebook in the Philippines. It garnered quite an attention. The article even became the number one search result in Google.
I was surprised by the result of the experiment that I wanted to do it again this 2019. Why?
Objectives
- I wanted to help other businesses who are starting to use Facebook as their main platform in marketing their product but don’t know how to use and maximize it organically.
- Because of the constant change in algorithm and the birth of different social media trends, the experiment I did in 2017 might not be applicable to 2019 and beyond, so I have to update it.
- I wanted to try the experiment with a different business model (the previous experiment focused on online selling and was product-centered). This time I wanted to try experimenting with a service-centered business.
So to get started with the experiment, I used this accounting firm’s Facebook page.
Things to consider
This is a service-centered business and has been in the industry for 3 years now. I have been managing this Facebook page since the beginning. For 3 years, it has a small number of followers.
A small number of followers in 3 years? Quite frustrating right?
But let me tell you this, and you have to remember it because these considerations are part of the experiment:
- This Facebook page never used paid ads. It has been using organic strategies since it started. Thus the low number of followers. And I know, most brands and businesses out there are NOT YET keen on using paid ads, so this Facebook page is the same as everyone else out there.
- In this day and age, “likes” and “shares” are not really important. Yes, they increase your engagement. But they won’t guarantee sales or instant customers. They are just icing on the cake. And besides, Facebook will soon remove the number of people who “likes” and “shares” your post. So it really does not matter.
- What you really need is REACH. How far can your post go? Thus, the main goal of this experiment. Finding the best time and day to post on Facebook can help you maximize your content until it reached your market. The higher the REACH, the higher the chances of meeting your next customer on Facebook. Great right!
So let’s start with the experiment.
Limitations
In any kind of experiment, there will always be limitations that we cannot avoid. And these limitations will help us better understand the result. So to find out the best time and day to post on Facebook, here are the limitations of my experiment:
Days
- The days included in the experiment are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I did not include Monday as based on previous insights of the page, Monday is a dead day for the page. I also did not include Saturday and Sunday, simply because the firm is not operating during these days and no one is really keen to answer inquiries during weekends, which is considered a family day.
Time
- The time blocks included in the experiment are divided into three – the morning (am) block, the noon (nn) block, and the afternoon (pm) block. Based on previous Facebook insights, these are the times that usually get the highest reach.
Content
- The content that will be used in this experiment are about services, business tips, and some inspirational quotes. I will also use some shared posts or links from other pages. But most of the content will be visuals.
Planning
I created a social media calendar for September 09 to September 27. I have created different content on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Having a wide variety of content will give us an idea of what kind of social media content resonates with our audience.
Here’s how it look:
To find out which is the best time that gains a lot of REACH, I decided to post the content at different times without changing the content type per day. I decided to change the time per week based on our time block.
Here’s how I did it:
Execution
I don’t have the luxury of time to manually create posts every single day. So what I usually do (which is also a practice of most social media managers out there) is I create a social media calendar. I use Google Sheet in doing this.
Here’s a format of my 5-year-old social media calendar that you can also use in plotting and scheduling your content.
Tips!
In doing visual content, Canva is my best friend. It is FREE, easy to use, and easy to download. They also have a mobile app, so you can create visuals while on the go. They have ready-made templates for Facebook posts and other social media. You can also create other marketing materials here. It is basically a design heaven for non-designers.
Here’s how the dashboard looks like
For scheduling your content, Facebook has a built-in publishing tool that you can use already. You don’t have to use other third-party social media scheduling tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Hubspot, etc.
I personally use Facebook Publishing since it is very easy to use and it gives you lots of insights, which we will use later in this experiment.
Here’s how Facebook publishing tools look like. You can also view here your published posts, drafts, expiring posts, and also your video library.
You can find the publishing tool under the “More” menu.
Results
I was a bit surprised by the result of this experiment. I thought 5 pm would be the best time to post since most people would have time after work to use Facebook. And Friday would be the best day since it is the last day of the week. But I was wrong.
Before we go to the result, here’s where I got the data for this experiment. Under the Insights menu, and on the left panel, the Post section.
Here, you can get the reach and engagement of your post. You also have the option to Boost Post for posts that are not working well.
So using this, I was able to know the REACH of the content I have set for the month of September.
So without further ado, here is the REACH insight results for September 2019.
As you can see, Wednesday garnered the highest reach. And Friday (what I assumed was the best day) was the day with the lowest reach.
In terms of time, 10am seems to be the best time to post since it garnered the highest reach, while 12nn has the lowest reach.
And the content with the highest number of reach which is 925 is content about the company’s services.
Note that, the number of reach and engagement of posts continues to increase as the day passes. Meaning, if you do the report at the end of September, there is still a big chance that the data that you will get will change the next month and the month after, etc. Your previous posts are still active and continue to be published on other people’s Facebook pages. Thus getting a higher reach.
As you can also see, Savvi’s Facebook page only has 200+ followers and yet it was able to get 925 reach. This means anyone on Facebook has the chance to see your posts whether they are your followers or not. Facebook may have suggested it or if a post was liked by a follower, the friends of that follower have the chance to see your post as well.
Conclusion
From this experiment, we can conclude that for a service-oriented Facebook page:
- Wednesday is the best day
- Content about company services gets higher attention
- 10 am is the best time to post on Facebook, no matter what day it is
Cool right!?
But let me remind you again with the limitations. This experiment only included Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Also, the times used are 10am, 12nn, and 5pm. And the content were not changed per day.
Also, this is for a service-focus page. The result might be different for other types of business or industry.
But if you are lost on what is the best time and day to post on Facebook, you can use this as a good starting point. Then from there, you can see if this works for your business or not. Facebook Insights is an accurate tool that you can rely on.
Final Advice
Knowing the best time and day to post on Facebook does not mean that your Facebook marketing will focus on it. You need to be as active as possible on Facebook if you want to meet your next customer.
When I started populating Facebook with content every day, we started to get inquiries on Messenger.
Populating your Facebook page relevant content will help you increase your reach. So make sure to create the best relevant content as frequent as possible, and don’t forget to always experiment to maximize the reach of your content.
Last note…
Hope you enjoyed this experiment as much as I did. And I hope that you learned more about Facebook in marketing your business. Facebook is free so use it well. It has also paid options for those with the budget. But with the right strategy, you can maximize Facebook without spending any single cent.
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On the other hand, if you want to know more about social media management, make sure to book a free consultation with us or ask us a free quote about this service.
Cheers!
Crisel Blenda Fernandez
Digital Marketing Strategist