Content on LinkedIn isn’t like any other social media. It’s polished and career-oriented, thought-provoking and thought-leadership-oriented. And for all that work you put into creating LinkedIn posts that will resonate with a professional audience, it might not even get seen because of the platform's complex algorithm.

Understanding the best time to post on LinkedIn can help you connect to your ideal audience and build a content standard of excellence. Let’s explore how to time your posts just right to get the most reach.

Is there a best time to post on LinkedIn?

Yes and no. Yes… but it’s not what you may think. We have a lot of answers that sound just like this, but here’s the catch when it comes to LinkedIn and social media in general. Timing isn’t everything, but it can mean a lot when you’ve gotten all your other elements right. The best time to post on LinkedIn depends a whole lot on who you're trying to reach.

You’ve done deep research into what your target audience desires and wants to see. You’ve created a brand voice that’s rich in authenticity and value for a specific audience. You have content standards that govern the quality of all your posts. Now is when timing is meaningful.

The LinkedIn platform is also changing. While standard business hours are still a good bet for figuring out when people are on, the nature of work is shifting. More people work remotely. More people are choosing flexible hours. The workforce as a whole doesn’t adhere as closely to the traditional 9-5-Monday-through-Friday job hours as they used to. High engagement might also vary alongside your audience's every day lives.

The best time for you to post on LinkedIn will be when your audience is most active. This requires data. But before you get to that point, we’ve compiled a list of general tips for knowing when to post.

What is the best day and time to post on LinkedIn?

Weekdays seem to have the highest engagement rates on LinkedIn, so posting on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays would probably give you a good start on your engagement. And out of these, Tuesdays seem to be the most active day on LinkedIn.

As far as hours, there are two distinct periods of time that see a lot of activity — 8 am to 10 am and 12pm to 2pm. These periods coincide with when people are trickling into the office and when they’re going to lunch. A worker might turn to their LinkedIn feed to see what's happening in the industry and to check on people in their network.

Not surprisingly, the worst times to post seem to be on the weekends. This is true for any social media platform. However, you should check what your specific audience data says using LinkedIn Analytics or a third party tool.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Monday

Mondays see high engagement between 2 pm and 4 pm. This might coincide with the rush to catch up from the weekend and a need to get started on work right at the beginning of the week. Think about all the team meetings happening on a Monday morning to help get started for the week. The later afternoon might be when LinkedIn users are finally able to sit down after their lunch breaks and slow their pace just a little bit.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Tuesday

Tuesdays, 10 am to noon, see a spike of engagement as well. Employees are over the initial hurdle of getting started on the week, they have their weekly goals set, and they’re maybe looking for some inspiration to get through the rest of the week.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Wednesday

12 pm to 2 pm is the best time to post on LinkedIn on Wednesdays. Your content will reach audiences as they’re settling down for lunch, and it’s likely that this midweek time is when they feel a little more comfortable taking an extended break in the middle of the day. They might be taking a long lunch or pausing to reflect on the work week so far and looking to their LinkedIn feeds for some inspiration.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Thursday

On Thursdays, 10 am to noon seems to be a very popular time for LinkedIn, with another quick spike in activity at around 5pm. Workers have made it through the majority of their week so far and could be looking for inspiration for that last little bit of week left. These times coincide with natural breaks in their day.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Friday

As users are wrapping up the work week and logging off to finish any last minute tasks before leaving (or signing off for the day), the engagement on LinkedIn seems to wrap up early as well. 11 am to 1 pm sees a quick burst of interest before most activity appears to slow down. Here, you can catch your audience right before they end their day but they’re likely looking to less formal social media later on, or ditching it altogether.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Saturday

We won’t lie to you. Saturday isn’t a great day to post on LinkedIn for most people. Refer to your own data to be sure, but it’s likely that you fall into this category. But what if you have an amazing opportunity to post something you’re proud of and that just can’t wait? 10 pm could be a good time to see a slightly earlier engagement spike.

You might also try the very opposite end of the day and post around 10pm. They’re either getting an early start to their weekend activities or getting into a late night groove.

Best time to post on LinkedIn on Sunday

Again, not to be the bearer of bad news, but Sundays are a really tough day to make posting work on just about all social media platforms. But yes, we know. You have an immaculate post ready. 7 am or 5 pm might be good times to try to make it past the great social media dead zone.

When is the best time to post on LinkedIn by industry?

These optimal posting times are all going to be relative based on your own audience data, but in some cases, your industry could flout those general guidelines as well. A B2B company that sells primarily to brick and mortar businesses will most likely see good engagement midweek and a drop off on weekends.

However, a fashion brand’s audience doesn’t behave the same way. They might be looking for good content on the weekends thanks to nontraditional hours, work from home or flexible options, or industry events that happen exclusively on the weekends.

Let’s see how this plays out in a few common industries.

Healthcare

Most weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm are good for engagement, with Wednesdays being especially good. Healthcare does follow a more traditional set of hours for those who are able to be online. Those that don’t follow traditional hours probably don’t have time to check their social media right then anyway.

Restaurants

Thursdays are the best days to post, followed closely by Wednesdays. On both days, 9 am to 3 pm are particularly good, with 11 am often seeing a quick boost. This makes sense. It’s lunch time in most places. People are thinking about food. Those in the restaurant and food industry are especially attuned to meal times and would be able to reach their target audience during, yes, a meal.

Education

Education sees engagement both at lunch time (12 - 2 pm) and also around 9 am and 5 pm. Earlier in the day, they may be updating their responses to group posts on LinkedIn but around 5 pm potentially just getting home from their work day and ready to find insights for their own industry. This happens throughout the week, but particularly on Tuesdays.

Hospitality

The best days to post in the hospitality sector are Tuesdays through Thursdays. Early afternoon from noon to 4 pm are the ideal time but on Tuesdays this also includes some time around lunch from 10 am to 12 pm.

However, the hospitality industry is another one where checking the data is going to be an important part of the process. Professionals in this industry may or may not keep traditional hours and in some cases, might be online at the opposite times of those in other fields. Additionally, considering time zones is also key because hospitality brings together a global cohort of companies with branches that span time zones.

Media

For the media industry, the best times to post on LinkedIn tend to be midweek mornings and certain evenings. Wednesdays at 11 AM are particularly effective, as midweek activity often sees a peak in engagement. Additionally, posts shared on Wednesdays and Fridays around 7 PM can also perform well, likely catching users as they wind down from the workday and have time to engage with content. These times align with when media professionals and enthusiasts are most active on the platform

What affects the best time to post on LinkedIn?

Now that you’ve got some good places to start, refining your strategy and breaking some of the rules based on your own data is critical. Here are a few other factors that could affect the average engagement on your LinkedIn page.

Your unique audience

It doesn’t matter how many thought pieces say that no one should post on Sundays. There will always be some audience members that are active on that day. They might be yours. Looking closely at when your posts seem to get the most engagement can help you shift all your posting to when your audience is most likely online.

This can also tell you when certain posts will break the timing rules as well. For example, your audience might stick to the more traditional work day schedule, but twice a year at a conference, they become really active during the weekend. Now you know ahead of time that this is an opportunity to engage with them outside your normal rules of posting.

Your industry

We’ve given some examples in the previous section, but industries all behave differently. The best time to post on LinkedIn for someone in the medical field might be very different from someone working in the travel and hospitality industry. Company culture is different. Traditional business hours may hold or vary. Where one might experience engagement drops going into the evening or weekend, the other might see above average engagement at exactly those times.

For example, a thought leader in the startup world might craft a LinkedIn post that drops in the early morning hours to coincide with others prioritizing hustle culture. The C-suite executives of a popular beverage company may find that it makes sense to avoid early morning hours and instead focus on high quality content that drops on a Friday evening.

Time zone considerations

Don’t forget about your audience members in different time zones. A post scheduled for 9 am in New York just won’t have the same impact on a London-based audience or those in Singapore. Even within the United States, the best time to post on LinkedIn might change when we're talking about 9 am in New York and 6 am on the west coast. When targeting a global audience, consider staggering your posts or using a third party scheduling tools to optimize for multiple time zones.

Also, for a global audience, posting during universally active times (like 8–10 am or early afternoons in your target regions) can make a significant difference in how much engagement you see on a post that goes out all at once.

Don't forget about events happening in other time zones as well. We'll talk more about the role of current events in the next section, but events happening in other time zones might also affect LinkedIn performance. Your typical east coast audience may not be very active in the evenings under normal circumstances, but LinkedIn content about breaking industry news or an event happening across the world might lure them onto social platforms at times when they aren't usually on.

The best time to post on LinkedIn isn’t just about the day of the week. We briefly touched on this previously, but understanding that certain trends or events can trigger an audience’s interest outside the usual peak engagement times can help you build a better posting strategy. Let’s imagine what a few different types of companies might do.

A hypothetical B2B tech startup spends a lot of time posting on LinkedIn about its SaaS offering and thought leadership around the field where it primarily works. However, once a year, the company’s founders attend the CDOIQ symposium in Massachusetts. This event draws leaders in data science every single year and many of the company’s followers are eager to find out what’s happening. They post during the event’s hours and see a spike in engagement.

A hypothetical healthcare administration organization takes a different approach. They primarily share regulatory updates and operational tips, but during open enrollment season in the U.S., they ramp up their activity. They post more frequently, focusing on deadlines, common pitfalls, and success stories that align with the concerns of their audience at that time. Because these posts address immediate needs and concerns, they see increased interactions, shares, and comments compared to their usual activity.

A large publishing house usually shares content like book announcements, author interviews, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of their editing process. But every April, they take advantage of National Poetry Month to share daily poems from their authors, paired with visually striking graphics or short video recitations. During this time, they also host a live Q&A session with poets on LinkedIn Live. By tapping into a widely celebrated cultural moment, they not only engage their existing audience but also attract new followers who are participating in or seeking content related to National Poetry Month.

Finding your best time to post on LinkedIn with Brandwatch

The best time to post on LinkedIn doesn't have to be a locked box. Brandwatch and similar analytics tools help you uncover your ideal posting schedule for maximum engagement on LinkedIn. By monitoring metrics like clicks, comments, and shares over time, you can identify patterns in audience behavior that might help you improve engagement rates — no more relying on a LinkedIn engagement tracking spreadsheet.

Brandwatch’s Social Media Management tool integrates directly with LinkedIn’s Marketing Analytics API, providing detailed performance insights for your sponsored posts. Within the content calendar, you can access metrics like cost per result for every action, helping you quickly determine which posts are delivering the best ROI.

This seamless integration allows you to fine-tune your strategy by identifying the messages that resonate most with your audience while staying budget-efficient. Once you aggregate these insights, you can align your content with peak engagement times, ensuring maximum impact for your efforts.

Frequently asked questions

Now to answer some other burning questions about the best time to post on LinkedIn.

Why does timing matter when posting on LinkedIn?

Timing affects how many people see and engage with your content. Posts shared during peak activity hours are more likely to appear in feeds, increasing their visibility. LinkedIn’s algorithm prioritizes posts that gain quick engagement, so posting at the right time can lead to a snowball effect, where your content reaches a broader audience.

What is the right time to post articles or ads on LinkedIn?

Articles perform best in the mornings (8 –10 am) when users are in a focused mindset and seeking valuable insights. Ads, on the other hand, may perform better during lunch breaks or evenings (12 pm and 5 – 6 pm), when users are casually browsing LinkedIn. However, this is an excellent chance for you to test what your own data says about how both of these types of content perform.

How many times a week should you post on LinkedIn?

For most users, posting two to three times a week is a good balance of consistency without overwhelming the audience. Thought leaders with a lot to share may benefit from posting up to 5 times a week, provided the content remains high-quality and relevant.

It’s more important to focus on consistency and quality rather than sticking too strongly to a specific amount of days to post.