When is the best time to post on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok?
SMEs are now among the UK’s most active social media users. While an estimated 40% of them used social media in 2010, that figure reportedly reached more than 90% in 2025.
Many UK SMEs achieve excellent results from using social media. It can provide a cost‑effective way to increase brand awareness and visibility, engage customers and build long-lasting relationships, while ultimately driving sales (which is the whole point).
So, what should you be posting on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and when is the best time to post to achieve the highest engagement?
With more than 1.2bn users worldwide and a reported 47.6m users in the UK, millions of UK businesses use LinkedIn for networking, recruitment and B2B marketing. LinkedIn gives SMEs direct access to decision-makers, potential clients and partners. It also allows them to showcase their expertise, share insight and build authority, both in their sector and the wider business world.
- When: Post on Mondays at 11am or 10:00am–12:00pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- Why: LinkedIn users are most active during midweek late mornings. Another recommended time is Monday 11am, when professionals have settled back into their working week, checking for updates before lunch.
- Avoid: Fridays, evenings and weekends, because engagement drops off significantly outside of normal work hours.
- Content: Carousels, videos, thought-leadership articles and authentic company culture stories drive the highest engagement and follower growth.
Aside from its huge global reach (2bn monthly active users, 33m in the UK alone), businesses use Instagram for its strong visual storytelling tools. It can be a highly cost‑effective way to increase brand awareness, engage customers, build website traffic and drive sales.
- When: Post at 6:00am–8:00am and 7pm–9pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
- Why: Many Instagram users check their feeds first thing in the morning, so making sure your content is the first fresh content they see can really pay off.
- Avoid: Saturdays tend to have the lowest engagement.
- Content: Attention-grabbing reels, carousels, polls and Q&As work well, as well as authentic behind-the-scenes content. Static posts are more popular in the morning; stories and reels in the evening.
Worldwide, Facebook has more than 3bn monthly active users, with more than 38m of them living in the UK. Small businesses post on Facebook to gain free or low-cost access to a massive audience and build brand awareness, while some engage customers directly using powerful Facebook advertising to drive sales.
- When: Post at 9:00pm in your audience’s local time zone. Midweek evenings (Tuesday–Thursday) can deliver strong engagement.
- Why: Facebook users are most active when winding down after the rigours of the day, with large numbers scrolling just before they go to sleep.
- Avoid: Don’t post after 10pm or before 6am; weekends (especially Saturdays) can also bring low engagement rates.
- Content: Popular business content includes short-form videos, reels, carousels, behind-the-scenes posts, polls and live streams.
TikTok
TikTok is believed to have 1.6bn active users worldwide, including a reported 24.8m active users in the UK (up from 16m in 2024). TikTok offers massive reach among younger audiences, the go-to social platform for short‑form video marketing. TikTok can provide creative marketing opportunities and direct sales via social commerce.
- When: Post on weekday mornings (6–10am) and evenings (7–11pm), with Tuesday, Thursday and Friday providing the strongest engagement.
- Why: Many users check TikTok before work or school. Posting early ensures your content is fresh in their morning feed during their breakfast or commute. Success comes from your content gaining traction in the crucial first 30 minutes.
- Avoid: The midday lull (11am–5pm), when many users are at work or school. Posting during these hours will leave your content buried, so it won’t be seen when users become active again.
- Content: TikTok’s algorithm favours engaging content over follower count, making it easier for small brands to go viral and reach new audiences. Fun, creative, authentic content works best on TikTok. You need to showcase your personality, not just your products.
Social media top tips
Choosing the right social platforms is critical. Most businesses take a multi-platform approach, guided by their target audience’s social media habits. As regards LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, you could be active on one, two, three or all four, but you must tailor your content and messaging accordingly. Content that works well on TikTok might not work at all on LinkedIn, while LinkedIn posts are unlikely to be right for the other three platforms.
As a general guide, aim to post between three and five times a week on Instagram and Facebook and once or twice a week on LinkedIn. TikTok can reward daily or multiple weekly posts, but consistency and quality are more important than volume. As well as posting your own content, it’s important to like, share and join conversations.
As with most things in business, your timing must be right. Tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, Later, Sprout Social and SocialBee help you to plan, automate and analyse posts across multiple channels, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Each has their own payment plans for businesses. And as with all marketing activity, try different things, measure your results, make changes where necessary and spend your valuable time doing what works.
If you're ready to scale your social media presence and turn traction into qualified leads, sign up for Tech Adoption for Growth today.