Despite the increasing popularity of short videos, I was surprised to discover this YouTube has the highest usage among social media platforms by video marketers, surpassing TikTok and Instagram.
Accordingly HubSpot blog researchYouTube was the most successful social media platform in 2023, growing 79% year-on-year.
95% of marketers surveyed said YouTube has average or high ROI and the majority will invest more in this social channel.
With so much importance placed on the platform, I thought it was important to find out what times and days video publishers performed best so you can optimize the best time to upload YouTube videos.
Read on to find out what I discovered.
Table of contents
When is the best time to post on YouTube?
Our 2024 Social Media Trends Report shows that the best times to post on YouTube are between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
I know that creating a video for YouTube is not an easy task. First comes the ideation, then the script, then the filming and finally the editing – and all at a high level. Imagine going through all the work just to upload a video that doesn’t get much traction.
When you first start out, you are bound to have difficulties. However, if you’ve been around for a while and your videos still aren’t getting traction, your upload time could be the culprit.
Use HubSpot’s AI Clip Creator to improve your YouTube video production.
We surveyed more than 1,500 marketers for our survey Social media trends report and asked her: “When is the best time to post on YouTube?”
Here’s the breakdown:
- 24% of respondents said 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- 22% of respondents said 12 p.m. to 3 p.m PM.
- 20% of respondents said 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Note: Respondents were instructed to respond in their current time zone.
As for the best days, the data shows this Saturday is the most popular tag for marketers, followed by Friday And Sunday.
I think one explanation for this is that consumers are burned out from the week on the weekends and are looking for entertainment. The weekend also gives consumers more time to explore the platform and discover their favorite content.
Other video platforms like TikTok and Instagram focus on short-form content, making it easy for consumers to get what they need during breaks in the day. However, YouTube requires more time investment if you create longer videos.
However, remember that YouTube is a priority YouTube Shorts and his short videos are becoming increasingly popular.
When is the worst time to post on YouTube?
I wonder when you shouldn’t post on the platform? According to our research, Monday and Tuesday are not that popular among marketers.
Only 9% of marketers surveyed said Monday was the best time to post on the video platform, and another 9% chose Tuesday, putting those two days tied for last place.
As for the worst times, here’s the breakdown:
- 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
- 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. (midnight).
- 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Only 22% of respondents said that publishing early in the morning (between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m.) produces the best results.
Does it matter when you post on YouTube?
I think the answer to that is both yes and no. Yes, it matters in the short term what time you post on YouTube as it affects how many views your video receives within the first few hours.
Optimizing your views during this period can help you drive more traffic to your content and support your channel’s growth.
However, in the long run it doesn’t matter much. Let’s say your video was posted at 3 a.m. This has little impact on how many views it can get in the next few months or years.
Unlike a platform like Instagram, where fresh content is the key to success, on YouTube, novelty is not the biggest ranking factor, but relevance.
This means that even though your video may not perform well initially, it can quickly gain traction if it is the most relevant video to a user’s search query. Therefore, the first thing I recommend you do is create videos that are relevant and of good quality.
I think another trend to consider is AI. In 2023 71% of marketers said they used generative AI for content creation and that it performed better than content created without it.
Fully 87% planned to use AI tools for content creation in 2024, and the majority (26%) said they believe YouTube will have the most promising generative AI capabilities.
If you want to use AI for your videos, check out HubSpot AI Clip Creator to improve and speed up your video production.
How to find the best time to post for your channel
If your channel generates enough traffic, you’ll get access to an advanced report that shows you when your viewers are most active on the platform.
I think this will be particularly insightful so you can post videos when your The audience is online, which may not align with the previously mentioned trends.
To access this page, follow the steps below:
- Open YouTube Studio.
- Click on Analytics.
- Open that audience Click the tab and view your report.
With this personalized information, you can find the best time to upload YouTube videos.
Publish videos on YouTube
Analyzing the data showed me that knowing the best times and days to post on YouTube is not a hard and fast rule for when to post.
Instead, I recommend you use this data as a guide to optimize your channel for short- and long-term success.
I learned that the most important part of using YouTube for your brand is creating high-quality content that is relevant to your audience.
And with YouTube growing in popularity and potential revenue, it’s worth the investment to get it right.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2022 and has been updated for completeness.