What time of day is LinkedIn most active?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 810 million members worldwide as of January 2023. With so many professionals using LinkedIn to connect, find jobs, share content, and more, understanding when LinkedIn sees the most engagement and activity can be valuable for optimizing your own LinkedIn strategy.

In this article, we’ll explore what time of day tends to see the highest level of LinkedIn activity and engagement. We’ll look at factors like when people check their LinkedIn feeds, when they’re most likely to react to content, preferred times to post, and daily/weekly cycles.

When Do People Check LinkedIn?

Let’s start by looking at when people are just checking or browsing their LinkedIn feeds in the first place, which is a prerequisite for any engagement or reaction to happen.

According to LinkedIn’s own data and research, the peak time for LinkedIn usage and feed checking is during the morning commute. The 7-9 AM timeframe sees major spikes in LinkedIn traffic as professionals catch up on news and connections over breakfast or on their commute.

Many people also use LinkedIn over their lunch break, leading to a smaller secondary spike in traffic from 12-1 PM. Outside of the morning and midday usage, traffic remains relatively steady from 10 AM through 5 PM on weekdays.

In general, LinkedIn sees lower traffic outside of weekday business hours. Usage drops off significantly in the evenings and over the weekends. However, traffic on Sundays tends to be higher than Saturdays as some users prepare for the upcoming work week.

To summarize the daily cycle:

– Highest traffic: 7-9 AM
– Second highest: 12-1 PM
– Steady traffic: 10 AM – 5 PM
– Low evening and weekend traffic
– Sundays more active than Saturdays

So if you want your LinkedIn posts and activity to be seen by the most people, focusing on the morning commute and lunch hours makes sense. But it’s also worth noting that traffic remains substantial throughout the workday.

LinkedIn’s Data on Best Times to Post

In addition to usage data, LinkedIn itself has done extensive research on when its algorithm determines the best times to post content are.

According to their own post about this topic, the optimal times to post on LinkedIn are:

– Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5 AM, 6 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM, 5 PM or 6 PM.

– Thursdays from 1-4 PM.

This takes into account both user traffic patterns and how likely LinkedIn’s algorithm is to promote posts made at these times. Their data finds Tuesday morning at 7 AM to be the singular best time for posting to maximize reach and engagement.

When People Are Most Active and Engaged

Looking beyond just posting, Sprout Social dug into when people on LinkedIn are most likely to like, comment on, and share content posted by others. Their data found that while early morning was the best time to post, user engagement peaked later in the morning between 9-10 AM.

Lunch hours between 12-1 PM were also strong for user engagement. Engagement tapered off as the workday progressed before spiking again around 5 PM when people checked LinkedIn before heading home.

So while early morning may be ideal for posting, you may want to spend more time interacting with your network and curating content between 9 AM and 1 PM when engagement is hot. The more active your own engagement is during these windows, the more visibility you can gain.

How Engagement Changes By Day of Week

We’ve covered the daily cycles, but how does LinkedIn activity and engagement change across the days of the week?

As mentioned earlier, LinkedIn sees significantly lower traffic on weekends, especially Saturdays. But among the workweek, Tuesdays and Wednesdays appear to be the most active and engaging days on LinkedIn:

– **Tuesdays**: Many users are back in the swing of things after a slower start to the workweek on Mondays. LinkedIn notes higher post volume and engagement on Tuesdays.

– **Wednesdays**: The middle of the workweek sees sustained engagement. Wednesdays also have more steady traffic rather than major spikes.

– **Thursdays**: Usage and engagement start to dip as the week winds down. Thursday afternoons can still be active times.

– **Fridays**: Engagement drops off as people focus on wrapping up their week. Usage tends to skew later in the day as people check LinkedIn from home.

– **Mondays**: Mondays see relatively low traffic and middling engagement as people ease into a new workweek.

– **Weekends**: Dramatic decreases in both usage and engagement on Saturdays and Sundays, especially Saturday which sees minimal activity.

In summary, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are target days for high LinkedIn activity. Mondays tend to be slower but underrated. And weekends, particularly Saturdays, see very low traffic and interactions.

How Demographics Impact Peak LinkedIn Times

The times of peak LinkedIn activity we’ve covered reflect general trends across their full professional member base. But are there demographic differences that impact the ideal posting and engagement times for reaching certain audiences?

A few demographic factors that can influence ideal LinkedIn timing include:

Age

– Younger professionals may be more active later at night or on weekends. Millennials check LinkedIn more sporadically.

– Older professionals generate more traction during business hours. Baby boomers have more morning-focused routines.

Industry

– Corporate workers likely follow more traditional business hours in their activity cycle.

– Shift workers may not fit the stereotypical 9-5 schedule for usage.

Job Role

– Management and executives often interact more in the morning.

– Entry-level roles tend to check LinkedIn consistently throughout the workday.

The best practice is to test posting at different times and see when your target demographics are most responsive. But overall, the core times of peak LinkedIn activity hold up well across most age groups, industries, and job roles.

How to Use This Data to Boost Your LinkedIn Impact

Now that we’ve reviewed the research on LinkedIn’s daily and weekly cycles, how can you actually put this data into action? Here are some best practices:

Optimize Your Posting Schedule

Post your content during the peak windows identified by LinkedIn’s data, especially Tuesday and Wednesday mornings between 5-8 AM. This gives your posts the best shot at being seen and going viral.

Engage With Your Network at Peak Times

Focus your LinkedIn networking and content engagement between 9-11 AM and 12-1 PM when user interaction peaks. React to others’ posts, give endorsements, and share valuable articles.

Monitor Performance By Time

See when your followers are most responsive and what types of content resonate during different windows. Refine your approach based on these insights.

Consider Demographic Differences

If targeting younger professionals, try testing LinkedIn activity later in the day or during the weekday lunch hour.

Be Consistent and Active

The more consistently you post and engage during peak times, the more visibility and authority you can build over time.

Conclusion

By looking at both LinkedIn’s internal data and external research on user activity cycles, we can see some clear patterns emerge for when engagement peaks on the platform.

The core advice is to focus your posting in the Tuesday and Wednesday morning windows between 5-9 AM. Then spend time actively networking and reacting to content as engagement spikes between 9-11 AM. Showing up consistently within these peak activity windows can help maximize the return and visibility from your LinkedIn efforts.

Monitor your own audience’s responses for further insights on refining your timing. But following the demonstrated daily and weekly cycles provides a proven framework for succeeding on LinkedIn.