When Is The Right Time To Tweet?

I often get asked what is the right time to post things on Twitter. Well, it goes without saying that, unless 50% of your target audience live in Australia a post between 11pm and 8am would be pretty much wasted! 

So what is the right time to post? 

I have read lots of data showing that you should not tweet after 8pm. I personally disagree with this as a) Many hashtag hours take place at this time and b) This is a time where people socially scroll through twitter. Maybe the 9 - 5 businesses are not always on at this time (which obviously shows up on the data) but are they the people you are targeting? 

If the general public are your desired audience then you have to understand their habits. Do they check twitter during a coffee break at 10am? Do they then check at lunch between 12pm and 2pm? Are they driving home from work between 4.30 and 6pm? Do the sit down after dinner between 7pm and 10pm and take a look at twitter? This could apply for many but for others their habits might be completely different. 

The reason that Twitter is so good is because it is very unpredictable. I always tell people that you never really know where your next client is going to come from as you never really know who is on Twitter at any one time. 

So is there a right time to tweet?

If your target audience are businesses I think 9am - 5.30pm would be your ideal time to tweet although many businesses are active on twitter "out of hours". If your aim is to attract the general public then tweeting any time between 8am and 11pm could attract attention. I would suggest to never always stick to the same times in the day and use common sense to think of what is the most likely time in the day that people will be active. 

TIP  

I often use Facebook chat as a loose guide to see what time my friends are most active on social media.