Best Time And Day To Run Facebook Ads

The best time and day to run your Facebook ads is when your target audience is most active on the platform. You’ll know this by studying their demographics, interests, and behavior. Your product/service and industry will determine the best time to run your Facebook ads. 

Running Facebook ads helps you promote your products (or services) and connect with your audience. But you shouldn’t run your ads when your target audience can’t see or engage with them. That would be a waste of money, time, and effort.

This guide helps you determine the best day to run Facebook ads. Read on to learn when to place your ad to get the highest engagement and conversion rates.

What’s the best time of day to run Facebook ads?

The best time of day to run Facebook ads is when your target audience is most likely to engage with them. Facebook users are active on the platform at different times. For instance, millennials are active from 6 – 9 a.m. when commuting to work, during lunch breaks (12 – 2 p.m.), and from 5 – 6 p.m. when going home.

I’ve seen many ads on Facebook at different times of day. Some were relevant to my interests, while others were not. This got me thinking: How do advertisers know when to schedule and run their Facebook ads?

Determining the best time to run your Facebook ads can be challenging. But considering the factors below will help you know when to schedule your ads:

• Your target audience. Every ad you place should target a specific customer. You must understand their demographics (age, gender, occupation), interests, and online behavior. For example, Gen Zs and entertainment fans are likely to be online at night. So they’ll most likely engage with your ads during those hours.
• The product or service you’re promoting. What you’re selling will determine the best time to run your ads. If you own a restaurant, place your ads from mid-morning to noon when most people are looking for places to eat.
• Your industry. It helps to consider your industry when scheduling your ads. If you’re in the media and entertainment industry, evening hours ( from 5 pm) are the best time to place your ads. But if you’re in the Tech or SaaS niche, you’ll get more engagement if you run your Facebook ads in the morning hours.

I interviewed Ndegwa Ngunjiri, an HR specialist and the founder of Panaqia Limited. Ndegwa also owns a real estate business and runs hundreds of Meta ad campaigns to promote it.

Here’s what our interview was like:

…

Me: What is the best time to run Facebook ads?

Ndegwa: There’s no right time to run ads per se, from my experience with Meta ads. Meta doesn’t recommend that you place one-day ads. So, run your ads for about four days (or more) to allow the algorithm to understand your ad and place it where the right people will see it. Then, analyze the ads’ performance to know when your ads got the highest engagement and the kind of people who engaged with them.

Me: What factors do you consider when choosing when to run your ads?

Ndegwa: My target market and what I’m selling.

Me: Okay. Please tell me more about this.

Ndegwa: If I’m promoting real estate products in a specific town, I must consider when my target audience will most likely see my ads. In this case, I have gotten quality leads on weekdays (Mondays). So, placing my ads on Friday evenings will not be a good idea. But experiment to see when the ads get the highest engagement from my ideal customers.

…

What’s the best day of the week to run Facebook ads?

The best day of the week to run your Facebook ads is when your ideal customers will most likely see and interact with them. Generally, ads perform well from Tuesdays to Thursdays and during weekends. But this varies depending on your target audience’s habits, what you’re promoting, and your niche.

We’ve identified factors that determine the best time of the day to run your Facebook. It’s the same case when you want to know the best day of the week to place your ads. You should consider your target audience, product (or service), and industry.

For instance, if you are a B2B SaaS business, your target audience includes companies that use your software in their operations. So they’re more likely to engage with your ads on weekdays.

Here are more factors that will determine the best day to run Facebook ads:

• Your advertising goals. What do you want to achieve from your ads? Run your ads several times a week, including weekdays and weekends, to increase brand awareness. But if selling a product, running your ad on a day when people have the highest purchasing power would be best. For instance, if you sell alcoholic beverages, Fridays and Saturdays would be the most suitable days to place your ads.
• Past ads’ performance. If you’ve run ads before, insights from their performance will help you know when to schedule future ads. For instance, after running an ad for several weeks, you could notice that most people engage with your ads on Wednesdays and Fridays. That means that your ads perform well during those weekdays. But you must also consider if you got quality leads from the ads. Did they reach the right people and compel them to take the desired action?

I talked to Vincent Munderu, a microfinance and credit management specialist who runs hundreds of Facebook ads. Here’s what he says about the best day of the week to run Facebook ads:

“Knowing the best day of the week to run your Facebook ads will depend on several factors. What are you selling? Who are your customers, and what are their behaviors? Where are they located? What is their purchasing power?

After answering these questions, create buyer personas and ads for specific audience groups. Then, run A/B tests for about three days to know what ads your audience will engage with. From these tests, you’ll observe a pattern that will help you determine the best day to run your ads.

From my experience, ads in the entertainment industry do well on weekends. Real estate and finance ads will get the highest engagements from Sunday afternoon (2:00 pm) to Monday (9:00 am). I’ve also observed that clothing (or fashion) ads perform best from Thursday through the weekend.”

How does the Facebook Ads Algorithm Work?

The Facebook ads algorithm uses machine learning to place ads for maximum engagement. It chooses what ads to deliver to specific users based on factors like the ad’s relevance, its quality, and how users interact with the ad. The system maximizes ad value to help businesses reach their ideal customers affordably and offer the best user experience through personalized ads.

The Facebook Ads Algorithm provides the highest value possible to advertisers and users by showing relevant ads to the right audience. It follows this process to select, rank, and deliver ads.

1. Review stage: When an advertiser creates an ad, it goes to the ads database. The Facebook algorithm picks each ad and checks if it meets the requirements of Facebook’s advertising policies. Then, the system selects all ads with a user’s buyer persona to enter into the auction process.
2. Auction stage: At this stage, the algorithm filters ads based on their quality and relevance to different target audiences. It selects the ad with the highest total value to deliver to a specific user. The algorithm calculates this value by adding the ad’s quality score to the advertiser’s value (estimated action rate multiplied by the advertiser’s bid). 

The Facebook algorithm uses machine learning to estimate two things:

• Ad quality score: This is the overall quality of an ad. The algorithm determines this score by analyzing users’ feedback and the quality of ad elements (like visuals, text, and language). If an ad has high-quality elements and many people interact with it positively, it’ll have a high score. 
• User’s action rate: This is how likely the user is to complete the desired action to meet the advertiser’s objective. This estimate is based on the advertiser’s goal (for example, brand awareness) and the user’s online activity. 

Facebook ads algorithm considers the factors below when placing and ranking ads:

• Audience targeting settings. The algorithm analyzes the advertiser’s buyer persona and current customers (for example, from their newsletter email list).
• Advertiser’s ad objective. The algorithm considers what the advertiser wants to achieve from their ad campaigns. Examples include building brand awareness, driving website traffic, and making sales.
• Advertiser’s bid (budget). The algorithm considers what advertisers will pay (per click) for anyone who sees their ads.
• User’s online activities. The system checks what content users like, share, or comment on. It also considers off-Facebook activities, like what websites they’ve visited or bought from.
• Ad quality score. The Facebook algorithm ranks high-quality ads higher than those with low-quality scores.
• Ad relevance. The algorithm delivers relevant or personalized ads to users.
• Users’ feedback: Ads with the highest engagement will have a better reach than those with lower engagement.

Learn more about how the Facebook ads algorithm works here.

How to find the best time to run your Facebook Ads 

Find the best time to run your Facebook ads by considering who you’re targeting, what you’re promoting, and your ads performance. 

There’s no hard or fast rule on finding the best time to run Facebook ads. But you’ll see what time works best for you after considering factors like your ideal customers, your products (or services), and your industry.

Let’s find out below how to determine the best time to run your Facebook ads.

Study your target audience’s behavior

Determine your ideal buyer’s persona by studying their demographics (age, gender, occupation), online behavior, and interests. Also, consider their location and time zones, especially if you’re targeting a global audience.

Knowing who you’re targeting helps you determine their peak activity hours on Facebook. It also tells you what kind of shoppers they are. For instance, if your target audience is a millennial who works 9 to 5 and loves visiting real estate business pages, they’re likely to engage with ads promoting real estate products. Plus, their peak hours could be during work breaks or commuting hours.

Facebook analytics is a good place to analyze your ideal buyers. The insights will help you know their demographics and what time they’re online. You can also use social media management tools to determine your target audience’s peak activity hours and the most suitable ads to deliver.

Run ads at different times and test their performance

Schedule your ads to run throughout the day and week. The algorithm will place them at different times based on their relevance to the target audience. 

After a week or two, analyze how the ads performed. At what time and day did they get the highest engagement? At what time did the ads bring in quality leads? After determining what hours and days worked best for your ads, use Facebook’s Ad scheduler to schedule your ads at specific times of day and week.

Another way to test an ad’s performance is through A/B testing. Divide your target audience into two and run the same ad at different times of the day. Run the tests for several days while analyzing their performance.

Repeat the process by interchanging the times for each target audience. Compare the results to determine which time the ads performed best with each audience.

Use industry insights to detect trends and patterns

Industry insights will tell you how and when people engage with ads in your niche. Research industry reports and analyses to identify peak engagement hours for audiences in your sector.

For instance, ads in the tourism and travel industry generally perform best during evenings and weekdays. But ads in the B2B industry get the highest engagement in the morning and on weekdays.

Optimize ad schedules for holidays and special events

If running ads during holidays and special events, optimize them with season-specific messages and creatives. Your audience’s online activity might shift depending on the season, so schedule your ads frequently to boost engagement.

If your objective is to increase sales, offer special season discounts. Examples of holidays and special events include Christmas, Easter, Black Friday, and New Year’s.

Use ad automation tools

Ad automation tools relieve you of the hassle of determining the best time to post (manually). These tools use data-based insights to predict the most suitable hours and days to place your ads. For instance, they’ll analyze your audience’s online habits to determine when they’re most active and what interests them.

Examples of tools you can consider include Hootsuite, AdEspresso, and SproutSocial.

Monitor and adjust ad schedules

Monitor your ads’ performance at different times continuously to identify patterns and trends. Use the Ads Manager Breakdown feature to see what hours and days your ads got the highest clicks and conversions. Review the insights regularly and test different schedules to determine what works best for your ads.

Here’s what Daniel Larsen, a Growth Consultant, says about how to find the best time to run your Facebook ads.

“Run multiple campaigns, multiple objectives, multiple audiences, and varied creative. Run them 24/7 until you have at least 500,000 impressions.

Then, analyze your results. If you notice a pattern in engagement and/or conversions during certain windows, run some tests using only those time windows.”

FAQs

Should you pause your Facebook ads at night?

You can pause your ads at night if they get low engagement during those hours or if you are working on a limited budget. There’s no need to pause your ads if your target audience is active on Facebook at night.

Here are some questions to ask before you pause your Facebook ads at night:

• Who is my target audience? Are they young or old? Do they work during the day or night? Are they in a different time zone?
• What time of day did my previous ads get more clicks, engagements, or conversions? Did more people engage with them during the evening hours?
• Will I save more if I pause my ads during non-peak hours?
• What industry is my business? (Ads by companies in the entertainment or fashion industry may get higher engagement at night).

How often should you advertise on Facebook?

The number of times you advertise on Facebook depends on factors like your budget and campaign objectives. There’s no fixed rule for how often you should advertise on Facebook because what works for you may not work for another business.

The factors below will determine how often you advertise on Facebook:

• Your budget. If working with a large budget, aim for maximum ad placement at specific times to ensure your ad reaches most of your target audience. For instance, you can run one ad per day or several times every week. 
• Campaign objectives. If you aim to reach more people, advertise more often. You can run your ads twice a week, depending on your budget.
• Your target audience size: Advertise more frequently (once per day or week) if you’re targeting a broad audience. For a smaller audience, once or twice per month would be reasonable.
• The campaign length. For short-term campaigns, you can advertise several times a week, but for long-term campaigns, spread your ads a few times per month.
• Audience fatigue. Avoid running the same ad several times daily, especially when targeting a small audience. Your audience will become tired of seeing the same ad, leading to low engagement and conversions. And, it’s expensive.

Should I run Facebook ads on weekends?

Run your Facebook ads on weekends only if:

• Your target audience browses and shops during weekends
• Your past ad campaigns have performed well during weekends
• Your products are in the B2C industry

Advertisements that do well on weekends target consumers in the following niches:

• Media
• Leisure and entertainment
• Food and beverage
• Tourism and travel
• E-commerce, e.g., fashion and clothing

Avoid running Facebook ads during weekends if:

• You target customers in the B2B industry (especially SaaS, Technology, and Finance) 
• Past ad campaigns haven’t performed well on weekends.

Note: Test weekend ads and measure their engagement and conversions to know if they work best during weekends.

Check out more reviews on Quorage.com:

• Facebook advertising case studies
• Best Facebook advertising agency