The Best Time to Post YouTube Shorts in 2024

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11 min read

Posted:

June 16, 2024

Updated:

August 27, 2024

In 2024, YouTube Shorts, the platform's answer to the short-form video craze, is still gaining traction. With millions of users consuming bite-sized content every day, understanding the best times to post on YouTube Shorts can be a game-changer for creators and businesses alike.

In this article, we'll look at how you can make the most of posting your videos on YouTube Shorts. We'll explore the best days, hours, and frequencies to get the highest engagement and reach from your target audience.

Why Does Timing Even Matter on YouTube Shorts?

When it comes to content on social platforms, figuring out what time to post on YouTube Shorts is everything. If you manage to upload at the right moment (and that’s not necessarily on weekends), your content will stand out from the crowd. Furthermore, you might capture your audience when they're most engaged.

How YouTube Shorts recommends videos is influenced by factors like views, engagement, and viewer retention. These, in turn, can be affected by the time you upload.

YouTube Shorts recommendations would also depend on the following:

The channels or shorts that the viewer has enjoyed in the past
The topics the viewers seem to engage with the most
The trending songs that were present in the content that the viewer watched, and so on

Becoming Best Friends with the Algorithm

YouTube's algorithm is set up to show content that users will like, and when it's shown is pretty important.

In a nutshell, if you post when your target audience is most active, you'll get recommended to them more often, and get more views and engagement. But if you post at a time that's not popular with your audience, your content might get lost, which means it won't get recommended, and people won't see it. And the answer to the question “How often should you post on YouTube Shorts?” won’t even matter.

So, by uploading at the right time, you won’t be changing YouTube’s algorithm, but you’ll make it work in your favor. The platform will still end up recommending your Shorts to the audience that might potentially like it. The main difference is that the size of the audience during the perfect hours is considerably bigger.

Get to Know More About Your Audience's Habits

Creating successful content on YouTube Shorts is about more than just beating the algorithm. It's also about understanding your audience's habits and preferences. Different groups of people tend to watch videos at different times of the day or week. This is often influenced by factors such as work schedules, leisure activities, and time zones. Though it might seem logical that the best time to post YouTube Shorts Sunday, that’s not always the case (as well as Friday, by the way).

By aligning your posting schedule with the times when your audience is most likely to view your videos, you increase the likelihood of them seeing your content and engaging with it, fostering a stronger connection with your followers.

Best Days and Times to Post Shorts

It’s tough to say what the best time to post on YouTube Shorts 2024 is. But when should you upload, in such a case?

We’ve done some research and found out a bit more about what works best.

A quick tip: no matter when you decide to post, you should make sure that you’re doing it on a regular basis. Simply uploading a few videos during the right time won’t work. You need to stay consistent for at least a month.

Weekdays vs. Weekends

Generally, weekdays get more engagement with YouTube Shorts than weekends. People tend to watch videos on the weekends too, but during work breaks, commutes, and leisure time after work, they’re more likely to watch videos than on weekends.

Mondays and Tuesdays have shown to be the best days to post. Viewers are often looking for new videos to start off the week.

Also, bear in mind that the same schedule might not work for long-form content. The reason why Shorts are performing so amazingly well, especially during the weekdays is because even those who are working can find a minute or two to watch a few quick videos. But the best time to post YouTube Shorts Sunday and on weekends in general can still work, in some cases.

Peak Hours

The best time to post on YouTube Shorts 2024 is during two different periods on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, or any other day:

12 PM to 3 PM: This mid-day period is great for reaching viewers during their lunch breaks or brief work breaks, as it's a time when people are usually free to tune in.
7 PM to 10 PM: Evening is the time of day when people are most likely to be watching content, as they're winding down from their day and looking for something to relax to. It's a great time for entertainment or even informative content. During the evening, some may choose to watch longer videos, while others might fall down the Shorts rabbit hole.

It's worth keeping in mind that peak viewing times might vary depending on where your primary viewers are located and when they're usually awake. So, for instance, if your main audience is on the West Coast, adjusting your posting times to match their schedule could lead to better results.

Content-Specific Timing Is Also a Thing

The kind of content you make can also help you decide when to post on YouTube.

For instance, if you're creating educational or instructional videos, you might find that they do better at work when people are more open to learning new skills or looking for informative content. Conversely, if you're making comedy sketches or reaction videos, they might do better on evenings or weekends, as people might be looking for something fun and relaxing to watch.

Frequency: How Often Should You Post YouTube Shorts?

Only figuring out what time to post on YouTube Shorts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday is not enough to make your channel popular.

When it comes to building and maintaining an engaged audience on YouTube Shorts, consistency is key. While frequent uploads are rewarded by the platform, it’s important to strike a balance between quantity and quality. Overloading your audience with low-quality content might cause them to tune out, while infrequent posting might make them lose interest.

The Sweet Spot

So, how often to post YouTube Shorts, and when should you do that?

Industry experts and successful creators say that the sweet spot for posting frequency on YouTube Shorts is usually two or three uploads a day. This helps you stay visible in your audience's feeds without overwhelming them, but it's important to make sure each one has a high enough quality to engage viewers and add value.

2-3 videos per day might seem like a lot, but remember that you don’t necessarily need to create every Short from scratch.

In fact, you can:

Make Shorts from existing YouTube videos
Repurpose your short videos from Instagram, TikTok, or other platforms
Every now and then use the same video sequence but add different captions, etc.

Don’t Be Afraid to Adjust Frequency as You Go

What’s the best time to upload and how often should you post on YouTube Shorts?

The two-to-three uploads per day guideline is a good place to start, but it's important to keep an eye on how engaged your audience is and adjust your posting frequency accordingly.

If you notice a drop in engagement or viewer retention, it might be because you're posting too often, and your audience is getting tired of your content. On the other hand, if your engagement rates are consistently high, you might want to consider increasing your posting frequency to take advantage of your audience's appetite for your content (but remember to maintain the high quality).

Come Up with a Strategy by Analyzing Your Audience

While general guidelines and industry best practices can help you get started with your YouTube Shorts strategy, the real key to success is tailoring your approach to your specific audience.

Look at your audience's demographics, interests, and what they're watching, and use that information to adjust your posting schedule so you can engage your audience and reach the right people at the right time.

Take Advantage of YouTube Analytics

YouTube's built-in analytics tools can be really helpful for getting insights into your audience's behavior and finding out the best time of day to post YouTube Shorts. The "Audience" tab within YouTube Studio provides detailed info on when your viewers are most active (that might be on a Friday). This helps you identify peak viewing times, which you can then use to adjust your posting schedule as needed.

And the best part is that you can check all these metrics in YouTube Studio for free.

To access the data, simply log into your account, click on your profile icon, and select “YouTube Studio”. From there, you can select “Analytics”. On the page with the data, you can toggle between a few tabs, each of which has plenty of important metrics (the Overview tab, the Audience tab, and so on).

Know Your Audience

Knowing who your audience is and what kind of things they do is key to figuring out YouTube Shorts upload time. Deciding when to post will depend on your audience’s habits.

Like, say, if your target audience is mostly made up of working pros, posting during work hours might not be the best idea. It'd be better to focus on evenings or weekends when your audience is probably more likely to check out what you've put up.

Or, on the contrary, the working pros might be more willing to consume content during luck breaks, for example. So, in reality, it’s all about testing out different options and finding out what works best for your specific audience.

Don’t Forget About the Audience’s Interests

In addition to demographics, think about what your audience likes to see. If your channel has a focus on a certain topic or niche, see when your viewers are most likely to be interested in content on that topic. For example, if your content is fitness-related, your audience may be more engaged in the morning or evening hours, when they're probably more likely to be working out or seeking motivation.

Time to Put Your Knowledge to the Test!

You can get a good start with some basic guidelines and audience research and knowing the best time of day to post YouTube Shorts.

However, to really succeed, you'll need to keep testing and tweaking. Analytics tools can assist you with this. They can also help you figure out what time of day and how often to post to reach your audience.

YouTube Studio Insights

YouTube Studio has got a ton of analytics tools that can help you figure out what your audience is up to and how they're engaging with your content. The "Real-Time" section gives you a detailed breakdown of how your videos are doing, including views and engagement metrics. This lets you find out when your audience is most engaged and adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

Various Third-Party Analytics Tools

YouTube's built-in analytics tools are great, but there are also several third-party analytics platforms out there that can provide valuable insights and data-driven recommendations for your strategy and YouTube Shorts upload time.

Here are just a few examples of such platforms that will help you decide when to post:

They offer advanced analytics and optimization features that can help you identify the best times to post based on your audience's behavior and preferences. Do bear in mind, however, that the tools mentioned aren’t free. Some, however, offer a free trial, so you might want to check a few out before choosing the platform that works best for you.

Remember About A/B Testing and Experimentation

Analytics can give you some useful info, but to really get ahead, you've got to keep testing and tweaking. By running tests on different posting times, frequencies, and content types, you'll be able to see what works best with your audience, so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

By using data to inform your decisions, you'll ensure that your YouTube Shorts strategy stays fresh and flexible, so you don't miss out on any opportunities and can react to changes in viewer behavior.

Just make sure to keep track of all the metrics, and know that it’s not a fast process. Now that you know what’s the best time to upload and how often to post YouTube Shorts, ideally, you would want to continue consistently uploading for at least a month. And even after you think you have found the perfect strategy, continue keeping an eye on the numbers, and tweaking your schedule whenever there is such a need.

In a word, your YouTube strategy should never be set in stone.

Create Stunning YouTube Shorts for Your Audience with Screen Story

If you're a creator or business owner looking to make the most of your success on YouTube Shorts, having the right tools can make a real difference. Screen Story, our powerful screen recording tool for Mac, can help you create amazing video demos, GIFs, tutorials, and social media posts with ease.

Screen Story has all the features you need to streamline your video creation process and make your YouTube shorts stand out. With automatic zoom-in, smooth cursor movement, and the ability to record your voice, it'll make your life so much easier. No more hassle of complex video editing software - the creation of 60+ Shorts per month will be a breeze!

No matter if you’re a small-biz owner, designer, marketer, developer, or tutor, Screen Story has got you covered with tailored solutions that will help you drive engagement, boost your visibility, and create awesome content for your YouTube Shorts.

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