Find your best time to post from your own posts: the heatmap by day and 3-hour block, how many posts it needs, and how scheduling and Publish all use it.
Updated · 4 min read
The card Best time to post in Analytics is built from your own posts, not from a general chart. It groups them by day of the week and 3-hour block, in your time zone, and shows which slots bring more views per post. It needs at least 8 posts with numbers. With fewer, it tells you how many you have and waits. When there is a clear winner, it names it, for example "Strongest: Tuesday 6p to 9p, 40% more than your typical post" (an example).
Before you start
Accounts in Analytics that give numbers: Facebook Pages, Instagram, YouTube, Threads and Twitch. TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest and Kick give no numbers today, so their posts are not in the heatmap.
Enough posts. At least 8 posts with numbers in the period. A slot is named as the strongest only when it holds at least 2 posts, so one lucky post cannot decide.
Posts at different times. If you always post at 8 in the evening, the heatmap can only confirm 8 in the evening. Try a few other slots for two or three weeks to give it something to compare.
Steps
Open Analytics. Choose Analytics. The Overview tab opens.
Choose the accounts. In the account switcher choose All accounts, one network, or one account. A YouTube channel and an Instagram account often peak at different hours, so check each one alone.
Choose the period. 28 or 90 days gives the heatmap more posts. 7 days rarely has 8.
Find the card Best time to post. Rows are days of the week, columns are 3-hour blocks. Darker means more views per post. Hover a cell for its middle value and the number of posts behind it.
Read the line above the grid. It names the strongest slot and how much more it brings than your typical post. "No time stands out yet" means the slots are close to each other.
Check it per network. Further down, the deeper Analytics section shows the strongest day and hour for each network. For one account, the Audience view also shows when its followers are online, where the network gives that (Instagram).
Queue on the publish page. When you post, the When choice offers Now, Queue and Schedule. Queue picks the next best hour from Analytics, or 18:00 when there is not enough data yet, and says so.
Publish all Shorts. The Publish all bar spaces Shorts one a day, at your best hour by default: Publish all your Shorts at once.
How it is measured
Part
How
The value of a slot
The middle value of views per post published in that day and 3-hour block (interactions when the network gives no views)
Your typical post
The middle value of all your posts in the heatmap
"% more than your typical post"
The strongest slot compared with your typical post
Time zone
Yours, so a slot means the same hour on your clock
The middle value (median) is used on purpose: one post that went viral does not paint its whole slot dark.
Reading it honestly
It shows when your posts did well, not when people are online. A slot can be strong because your best topics happened to go out then. Treat it as a hint and test it.
Few posts, big swings. With 8 to 15 posts, one change can move the strongest slot. The picture settles as posts add up.
Formats differ. A Short and a long video can peak at different hours. Look at one account or network at a time.