The Best Time to Post on Tumblr

Trying to find the best time to post on Tumblr depends heavily on individual experience and the usage characteristics of your specific followers, but you can make use of Tumblr's peak hours to reach new viewers. Tumblr is most active in the late evenings -- that means there are more people online, but also that you're facing more competition from other posts. The queue and delayed post features can help you ascertain when the peak hours for your specific blog are even if you don't have constant access to Tumblr.

Tumblr Statistics

In a two-month study of over six billion Tumblr notes, Union Metrics concluded that Tumblr is most active at night, regardless of whether it was a week or weekend day; the numbers of notes peak at 10 p.m. EDT, while post activity peaked at 4 p.m. In fact, 42 percent of all activity on Tumblr happened between 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. Weekend days were the most popular, and Sunday had the most activity overall.

Publish On and Queue Features

If you're in a different time zone or simply don't have access to Tumblr during peak hours, you can make use of Tumblr's Publish On and queue features. When you make or reblog a post, you can click "Add to queue" or "Publish On" instead of posting it immediately. The Publish On feature lets you set a specific date and time when you want the post to be published. Posts you have set up in the queue will post at automatic intervals between time periods you set. For example, you could set posts in your queue to publish automatically between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. every day. Both are viable options for automatic posting while you are away from Tumblr.

Posting Strategies

With post activity peaking in the evenings and weekends, there are two different ways you can formulate your post strategy. Posting during peak hours means more people are using Tumblr, but also that your posts face more competition from other posts. Your posts will move more quickly down a user's dashboard and in tag searches. Posting during off hours means your posts will face less competition and stay up longer, but they may not reach as many new people. Posting during peak hours may be better for reaching new followers since more are online, while posting during off hours is better for your followers.

Individual Considerations

Union Metrics' statistics are for Tumblr users as a whole; individual use may vary. If you already have a stable follower base, the best time to post is when the majority of them are online. You can test this by adding many posts to your queue over a 24 hour period. Study the results over a number of days to see which posts at which times received the most views. Once you know when your own posts get the most attention, you can figure out the best times to post or queue for your own individual blog.