PINTEREST
IDEAL POSTING
FREQUENCY
3+ tweets per day
PROFILE PICTURE
180 x 180
COVER PHOTO
820 x 312
SHARED IMAGE
1200 x 630
HIGHLIGHTED IMAGE
1200 x 717
IDEAL POSTING
FREQUENCY
2 posts per day
IDEAL POSTING TIME
Sprout Social found that Thursday was the best day to post (specifically at 1 p.m.) and
that 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. were strong posting windows. As far as days, Sprout recommends
Wednesday to Sunday as optimal for driving engagement.
Your guide to how much, how
often and how big your photo
posts should be on the world’s
most popular social networks.
BY GREG SCOBLETE
Thanks to the magic of scheduling tools like Bu;er and HootSuite, you don’t need to be chained to a desk
at all hours to keep your social media feed
humming, but you still need to optimize your
posts by timing them to reach the largest
possible audience. It wouldn’t really be true to
say that we’re all glued to screens, scanning
social media feeds 24/7. Rather, people
tend to be active on social networks at given
times. Knowing when and how frequently to
populate your social media feed can help you
fire o; posts, tweets and status updates like
precision-guided munitions.
To compile our quick cheat sheet of
optimal posting times, frequencies and
image sizes, we’ve leaned on the research
of companies like Sprout Social (which
makes social media software tools) and the
aforementioned Bu;er (which makes a social
media scheduler).
It’s important to note that these are broad-brush guidelines distilled from the experience
of millions of users. One of the best guides
to your social media activity are your own
analytics. Making a close study of when your
fans and followers are active and when they’re
engaged with your social media content is the
best way to refine these generalities into your
own specific best practices. And remember:
Social media is a fickle beast. The algorithms
that govern engagement and the visibility of
your content can (and do) change frequently;
what works today may not indefinitely. But who
doesn’t like being kept on their toes?
*All measurements are in pixels.
IDEAL POSTING TIME
According to a survey of social media managers by the software firm Later,
ideal posting is lunch ( 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and the late evening ( 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.).
Weekends are also ideal for reaching consumers, but important posts should also
be scheduled for weekdays, especially if you’re marketing to a business.
INS TAGRAM
THE SWEET SPOT
Weekdays at 4 p.m. is good
for audiences on both U.S.
coasts: It’s near the end of
a workday for the East and
lunch time out West.
PROFILE PICTURE
110 x 110
PHOTO THUMBNAILS
161 x 161
PHOTO SIZE (APP)
1080 x 1080
IDEAL POSTING
FREQUENCY 1-2 posts per day
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
PROFILE PICTURE
400 x 400
HEADER PHOTO
1500 x 500
POST PHOTO
506 x 253
A tool like Tweriod can
analyze your Twitter feed
and suggest ideal posting times
based on your followers
and activity.
IDEAL POSTING TIME
Bu;er found that posting tweets in the early morning hours ( 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.)
will get them the most clicks. Posts at noon and at 6 p.m. also generate higher-than-average click-throughs. Tweeting during the evening and nighttime will
earn more favorites and retweets, and click-through rates in general are highest
during the weekend.
IDEAL POSTING TIME
Pinterest users tend to be a later crowd. Adobe
Spark noted that the best chance for a re-pin
occurs at 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and between 8 p.m. and
1 a.m. It also makes sense to avoid after-school
hours and dinnertime. Sprout Social found that
Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the best days to
post, and that late-night posts in the 2 a.m. and
3 a.m. time slot also performed well.
PROFILE PICTURE
165 x 165
PINS+BOARDS:
MAIN PAGE PINS
236 x 192
BOARD PINS
236 x 238
EXPANDED PINS
600 x 735
ENLARGED PINS
500 x INFINITE
LARGE THUMBNAIL
PIN BOARD
222 x 150
SMALL THUMBNAIL
PIN BOARD
55 x 55
IDEAL POSTING
FREQUENCY
4-10 posts per day
SOCIAL
MEDIA
CHEAT SHEET
THE
SOCIAL
ISSUE