Between 2020 and 2021 social media use by Jamaicans jumped by more than 200,000, to roughly 1.50 million. That has forced businesses to step outside their usual means of reaching customers. In this Covid-19 era, businesses have to be really smart about where and when they promote. For social media, promotions must be targeted with the right messages and at the right time. Social media users are online at different times of the day. Knowing when to capture their attention may decide whether you make a sale or not.  We humbly offer some suggestions about the best times to post on your preferred platform for reaching your customers.

Facebook
For businesses that use Facebook to sell their products or services, Wednesdays at 11 am and also, between 1 pm and 2 pm are great times for posting. There is a surge in activities then that you can use to your advantage. Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8 am and 3 pm are also good days to post. The demographic that uses social media are mostly free during their lunch periods. The worst days and times to post on social media is early workday mornings and on weekends.

Instagram
Instagram in Jamaica has 708, 400 users,  or 24.03% of our population. You won’t capture all these users in one go, but timely posting will get your message to most of them.  The best days and times to post on Instagram are just before lunch on Wednesdays and Fridays. The worst days to post are on weekends. 

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is often the choice of professionals.  You can expect to find recent graduates, managers, key experts and business owners there.  Many of them use the platform to discuss topical business matters, recruit employees, find job opportunities, and sell their products or services to potential clients or customers. Engagement on this platform is best on Wednesdays at 8 am and 10 am, and at noon.  Thursdays at 9 am and between 1 pm and 2 pm, and Fridays at 9 am are also good times to post. As with other social media, weekends tank.

Twitter
Twitter social platform is seen as a conversational landscape where topical matters are thrown out on the medium and persons tend to make a conversation out of it. These same topics are normally made into trending topics which would have people talking about them for a period of time. 
From where we sit, the ideal time to post on Twitter seems to be Wednesdays and Fridays at 9  am. Fridays also see an increase in engagement between 7 am to 9 am. 

Youtube
Youtube now lets businesses run ads to reach a wider audience. As in other platforms, however, knowing when people watch their videos is important. The best times to run your advertisements would be in the afternoons between  2pm - 4pm, and 7pm -10pm. Those are the times many people choose to listen or watch their favorite music or YouTuber/influencer.