Ultra.
You’ve conceived a fantastic idea for your next YouTube video, and you used an editing tool such as Video Editor to bring your vision to life (learn more about the simple editing platform here). You hit the publish button on your upload, sit around waiting for the views to roll in, and to your surprise, they don’t. While it may be easy to blame yourself or your “lackluster” content, that may not be the issue. It’s possible you haven’t discovered the best time to post on YouTube to maximize your engagement and views.
Chances are you’ve asked yourself once or twice, “What’s the best time to post on YouTube?” but still haven’t quite landed on a definitive answer. Generally speaking, some posting times work well across the board. For example, case studies done by platforms such as Frederator Networks and InVideo have found 12-4 PM EST on weekdays and 9 AM-11 AM EST on weekends to be the best times to post on YouTube. However, the best time to post on YouTube may depend more on your specific audience, which is what we’ll focus on today.
How To Find The Best Time To Post on YouTube For Your Channel
As we briefly mentioned, the best time to post on YouTube depends more on your audience than anything else. One quick dive into your analytics can lead you in the right direction regarding finding the best time to post on your YouTube Channel. Below are some of the key analytics to look into.
When Your Viewers are on YouTube
In your YouTube analytics under the “Audience” panel, YouTube displays a statistic “When Your Viewers are on Youtube.” This analytic displays a graph showing what days of the week and hours of the day your followers are online based on their engagement on the platform. Take note of these days and times and post your content 2-3 hours before.
Most experts agree that posting ahead of your audience coming online is the key as YouTube’s algorithm is looking for new content to push them. Just think about it—if you were throwing a party, would you wait until your guests arrive, or would you set up ahead of time so all they have to worry about is enjoying themselves? Approach posting content for your audience the same way.
Top Geographies
Geography is also an excellent statistic for finding the best time to post on your channel. When you know exactly where most of your followers are located, you can use deductive reasoning to determine when would make the most sense to post. For example, if many of your followers are in the United States but more specifically on the West Coast, posting at 3 AM PST when many people aren’t online may not make the most sense.
Real-Time Views In the Last 48 Hours
In your analytics, Real-Time Views (in the last 48 hours) will tell you exactly what times your audience was the most active within that period. Monitoring this analytic over a couple of weeks or a month while you’re posting consistently can help you nail when your specific audience is online, so you can be sure to publish your content ahead of that time.
TubeBuddy Recommendations
If you need a little more help trying to find the best time to post on YouTube (or want some extra validation), you can use a Google Chrome extension such as TubeBuddy to help you determine your best time to post on Youtube. The recommendations will appear in YouTube Analytics under “When Your Viewers are on YouTube.”
Creating high-quality videos for your YouTube channel should be your number one priority. However, maximizing your engagement by posting at the right time for your audience to see your content is equally as important if you’re looking to grow your channel. Try out the tips mentioned in this blog post, and let us know what changes you see over time in your engagement.