Timing Is Everything: Best Days and Times to Post on Social Media

Most restaurants have a social media presence, but a strategy around the times and days of the week to post on each platform can have a tremendous impact on your brand’s engagement.

When planning your social media marketing, it’s important to assess the data provided by the platforms, but it’s also essential to tailor your strategy to fit your brand, location, and audience demographics.

If your restaurant has a two-for-one special on Tuesdays, for example, but strategists say that that day of the week isn’t one of the best days to post on Facebook, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post about it. While many studies have said the best times to post on X (AKA Twitter) are in the morning, you shouldn’t hesitate to post in the evening if you know that’s the best time to reach your target audience.

Finding a balance between what works best for your brand and the data provided is critical. This balance requires tracking and analyzing the performance of your local social media efforts.

How to Create an Effective Social Schedule

According to a 2022 HubSpot survey, the best times to post on social media across all platforms are 6 PM to 9 PM and 12 PM to 3 PM and the best day of the week to post is Friday. But for restaurants, each platform serves its own unique purpose.

For the food and beverage industries, it’s important to examine the networks for their audience and format when determining what days and times work best. You might find that TikTok and YouTube videos, for example, perform better in the morning while posting images on Facebook and Instagram may do better in the late afternoon.

Although each social media platform sees its engagement increase at specific hours and days of the week, it’s important to tailor your approach to suit your brand and target audience.

We’ve put together this guide to help get you started but it’s important not to just throw posts into the wind and see what sticks. Creating a content calendar and calculating what time slots seem to do best for you is the best way to measure each network’s effectiveness. Once you start posting regularly and have collected enough data, review it regularly to determine when your audience is most active on the platform and what posting schedule they respond to the most.

The Best Times to Post on Facebook

Facebook remains a powerhouse platform in 2025. While your restaurant should maintain local profiles across multiple social networks, Facebook is one you can’t afford to overlook. With 3.065 billion monthly active users, it’s still the largest social media network in the world. Even better, peak engagement consistently happens in the mornings—every single day of the week, weekends included—making it an ideal time to capture your audience’s attention.

The best times to post on Facebook for food and beverage industry in 2025 are:

• Tuesdays: 9–11 a.m.

• Wednesdays: 10 a.m.

• Thursdays: 10 a.m.

• Fridays: 10 a.m.

• Best days to post on Facebook for food and beverage industry:Tuesdays, Fridays

• Worst days to post on Facebook for food and beverage industry: Sundays

The Best Times to Post on Instagram

In 2022, Instagram surpassed 2 billion monthly users, with most of its base accessing the platform via mobile. Because Instagram tends to have a younger audience, the best times to post are later in the day than on Facebook.

The best times to post on Instagram for food and beverage industry in 2025 are:

• Mondays: 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

• Tuesdays: 11 a.m.

• Wednesdays: 11 a.m.

• Thursdays: 11 a.m.–noon and 2 p.m.

• Best days to post on Instagram for food and beverage industry: Mondays, Thursdays

• Worst days to post on Instagram for food and beverage industry: Saturdays

  
  

The Best Times to Post on X (AKA Twitter)

Previously known as Twitter, X is a text-based social media platform that differs from other social platforms in terms of posting frequency. While your restaurant brand would likely want to keep posting limited to one or maybe two daily posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, your posting frequency on X should be slightly higher.

Unlike Facebook and Instagram, X, focuses on sharing brief informational messages. With a 280-character limit, X allows your restaurant to share information about menu updates, specials, promotions, and events. With 450 million monthly active users, much of your target audience is likely on this platform.

Because X is also more of a communal social media platform than others, consider favoriting, retweeting, and replying as long as you stick to your social media and brand guidelines.

• The best times to post on X for food and beverage industry in 2025 are:

  
  

  • Tuesdays: 11 a.m.

  • Wednesdays: 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

  • Thursdays: 11 a.m.–noon

  • Best days to post on X for food and beverage industry: Wednesdays, Thursdays

  • Worst days to post on X for food and beverage industry: Saturdays

    
    

The Best Times for Restaurants to Post on LinkedIn

With about 31% of U.S. adults using LinkedIn to network, it’s no surprise that it’s the only social platform to report weekdays as the top days to post. LinkedIn can increase your restaurant brand’s investment opportunities and partnerships. Depending on the type of restaurant, you can also leverage LinkedIn to find potential employees.

The best times to post on LinkedIn for food and beverage industry in 2025 are:

• Tuesdays: 10–11 a.m.

• Wednesdays: 10 a.m.–noon

• Thursdays: 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

• Best days to post on LinkedIn for food and beverage industry: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays

• Worst days to post on LinkedIn for food and beverage industry: Sundays

  
  

The Best Times for Restaurants to Post on YouTube

According to a Pew Research study, 82% of U.S. adults use YouTube.

The best times to post on YouTube for food and beverage industry in 2025 are:

• Mondays: Noon–1 p.m.

• Wednesdays: 10–11 a.m.

• Thursdays: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

• Best days to post on YouTube for food and beverage industry:Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays

• Worst days to post on YouTube for food and beverage industry:Saturdays, Sundays

The Best Times for Restaurants to Post on TikTok

Since 2020, TikTok has become the go-to short-form video platform for GenZ and Millennials. Quickly rising from a social media app for pre-teens posting viral dance videos to a critical marketing tool for small businesses, the platform reached 500 million monthly active users in year one.

Understanding the best times to post on social media, especially on TikTok, allows you to maximize your visibility, boost engagement and capitalize on trends.

The best times to post on TikTok for food and beverage industry in 2025 are:

• Mondays: 5 p.m.

• Tuesdays: 4 p.m.

• Wednesdays: 4 p.m.

• Thursdays: 3 p.m.

• Fridays: Noon–5 p.m.

• Best days to post on TikTok for food and beverage industry: Fridays

• Worst days to post on TikTok for food and beverage industry: Sundays

Take Away

While every social platform has its own “prime time,” the key for restaurants in 2025 is consistency and testing. Facebook mornings, Instagram evenings, TikTok late nights, and LinkedIn midweek business hours can serve as a strong starting point, but your audience may behave differently.

Track your analytics, experiment with timing, and adjust based on engagement. The right post at the right time doesn’t just boost likes—it brings diners through your doors.

By Eileen Strauss