What's the Best Time of Day to Change a Profile Picture on Facebook?

Is there really a "best time" of the day to change a profile picture or post on Facebook? While there is no specific date, time, or day of the week that will guarantee you more than the optimal numbers of likes, shares, and comments, some trends show when your posts have the best chance of success.

Knowing when your friends and fans are on Facebook is a start. Still, it's not enough if you want them to engage with your posts. Here are some points to consider when deciding when to make a post.

Post In the Morning Until Late Afternoon

While there's no specific data around the optimal time to change a Facebook profile picture, reports from SocialBee, Buffer, SocialSprout, and HootSuite show that the best time, generally, to post on Facebook is:

• First choice: Between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

While all the sources vary slightly on the exact morning hours, the consensus is that posting around the 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. window yields the best results.

These platforms also suggest that posting later in the afternoon but before the end of the end of the work day could also help your engagement:

• Between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Second choice)

What about the evening? According to SocialPilot's findings, audience activity peaks after the dinner hour:

• Between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. (Third choice)

Avoid posting anything late at night—particularly after 10:00 p.m.—if clicks and shares are important to you.

Post on Weekdays, but Especially Monday and Friday

In an average week, you can expect to see better engagement on certain days compared with others. When it comes to Facebook, you're better off posting on weekdays compared to weekends.

The reports mentioned above list Mondays and Fridays as the top days to post on Facebook. Some include Thursdays on the list and say Mondays are best, while others say Fridays result in the highest overall engagement.

Weekend posts tend to receive less engagement because more people are out and about doing things instead of being at work or school and checking their devices for updates.

But you might have luck adhering to the same morning time frame. According to Buffer, engagement on Saturdays and Sundays peaks around the 10:00 a.m. hour.

Tips for Getting Your Posts Seen by More People

If you run a Facebook Page as opposed to a Profile, you can see how many people your post reached and an option to "boost" your post. You'll pay for audience targeting if you want your posts to be seen by more people.

When you don't have the funds to pay Facebook for showing your posts to more people, there are a few techniques you can use. Many Facebook users and Page owners work the platform's algorithms to their advantage and boost their posts without spending money.

Post Links Rather Than Photos With Links in the Descriptions

It used to be that photo posts got more exposure than link posts. That doesn't seem to be the case since Facebook got serious about clickbait and found that users prefer to click links in link-formatted posts.

So if you regularly post photos with links in the descriptions, experiment with direct links to see if they get more clicks and interactions.

Upload Videos to Facebook Rather Than Posting YouTube Links 

Forbes reported that videos uploaded directly to Facebook get ten times more shares than links to YouTube videos.

Even if you have a video hosted on another platform, like YouTube or Vimeo, you're probably better off uploading it directly to Facebook. You can always include the original YouTube or Vimeo link in the description.

Post During High Engagement Time Periods to Get Your Posts Pushed Up in People's Feeds

Posts that get more engagement signify to Facebook that it must be important, so they automatically get pushed up in people's feeds and increase their chances of being seen by more people.

The highest engagement occurs between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. If you want to post on weekends, between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. is best, according to HubSpot and SocialBee.

Don't Ignore Your Facebook Insights

If you run a Facebook Page, your Insights provide you with valuable information you can use to get more interaction on future posts. You could use all the tips in this article to increase engagement, but ultimately your fans and friends are unique to you and the posts you make.

Keep track of your fans' engagement and look for trends to get clues about what works well.