Your cover photo is the biggest image on your Facebook Page, and it's usually the first thing people see when they land there. It's also super easy to get wrong. A design can look great on your laptop, and then you open the Facebook app on your phone, and the edges of your headline are gone (or your profile picture is sitting right on top of an important detail).

That happens because Facebook shows the same cover photo in a different frame on desktop and mobile. So it's worth spending a few minutes on the dimensions before you upload, rather than a lot of time repositioning after.

If you want to jump right to changing your picture: The recommended Facebook cover photo size is 851 × 315 pixels, according to Meta's Help Center. Upload it as an sRGB JPG under 100 KB, and keep text and logos near the middle so nothing important gets cropped on mobile or desktop.

Below, I'll walk through how cropping works on each screen, how to design a cover that fits the rest of your Facebook marketing, and 11 brand examples to borrow ideas from.

Key takeaways

1. Upload your Facebook cover photo as an sRGB JPG under 100 KB, or as a PNG if it includes a logo or text. Meta says PNG files can give you a better result.
2. Facebook won't accept a cover photo smaller than 400 × 150 pixels.
3. Facebook fits your cover photo to a 16:9 frame on computers and a 2.4:1 frame on mobile, aligned to the left, so the same image shows differently on each screen.
4. Keep text and logos in the middle of your Facebook cover photo. Your profile picture covers part of the left side, and Facebook may crop the edges to fit different screens.
5. Facebook group covers use 1640 × 856 pixels, and event covers use 1920 × 1005 pixels.
6. The strongest Facebook cover photos do one clear job, like explaining what you do, promoting an event, or announcing a launch. The 11 brand examples below show how.

Jump to a section

What’s the ideal Facebook cover photo size?

The recommended Facebook cover photo size is 851 × 315 pixels, according to Meta's Help Center. Upload it as an sRGB JPG under 100 KB, and it'll load fastest. (sRGB is the standard color profile for screens, so it's worth checking your export settings aren't set to Adobe RGB.) Anything smaller than 400 × 150 pixels won't meet Meta's minimum requirement.

Once it's uploaded, Facebook fits your cover to each screen. On computers, it shows in a 16:9 frame, and on phones it's 2.4:1. Both are aligned to the left, and your profile picture covers part of the left-hand side (it overlaps the cover by about 40 pixels on mobile). So the middle of your cover is the safest spot for text and logos.

⚡ Sizing ads instead? Our Facebook ad specs guide covers those, and our social media image sizes guide has every other network.

Pro tip: Facebook's reposition tool opens automatically when you upload a new cover, so you can drag the image into place before you save. It's the quickest way to nudge anything important away from the left edge.

💡 Posting to Facebook regularly? With Buffer, you can schedule posts to Facebook Pages and Groups, see how they perform, and keep on top of comments from one dashboard. Learn more →

How Facebook crops your cover photo on mobile and desktop

Facebook doesn't show your cover photo the same way on every screen. According to Meta's Help Center, covers display at a 16:9 aspect ratio on computers and 2.4:1 on mobile. In both cases, the image is aligned to the left and fills the frame edge to edge, so parts of it may be cropped or resized to fit.

Your profile picture sits on top of the cover too. It covers part of the left-hand side, and on mobile it overlaps the cover by about 40 pixels.

Here's how one cover looks on desktop:

And here's the same Page in the Facebook app:

How to make your Facebook cover photo fit

1. Design at 851 × 315 pixels, and keep text, logos, and faces in the middle, away from the left edge where your profile picture sits.
2. Upload your cover and drag it into place with the reposition tool before you save.
3. Check your Page on a computer and in the Facebook app on your phone.
4. If anything important is cropped or hidden behind your profile picture, move it in your design file and upload it again.

People see your profile picture and cover photo together, so it's worth designing them as a pair. Our guide to choosing a profile picture covers what makes one work.

How to design a Facebook cover photo that stands out

A Facebook cover photo works best when it has one clear focal point, feels like your brand, and keeps any text short enough to read on a phone. Since Facebook crops the cover and puts your profile picture over it differently on each screen, simple designs tend to hold up better than busy ones.

Start with one clear focal point

The images that get shared most on social media tend to make people feel something, and they feel relevant to whoever's scrolling. Both apply to your cover photo.

So pick one thing for people to look at: your product, your team, or a scene your audience will recognize. Burger King's cover, for example, shows a group of friends sharing a meal, which says more about the brand than a burger on a plain background would.

Color does a lot of the work too. For more on how colors shape what people feel about a brand, our piece on the science of colors in marketing is a good place to start.

If you add text, keep it to a few words in a clear, readable font. It has to work at phone size, where a short headline will do more than a full sentence.

Use visual cues to point people where you want them

People tend to look where other people in an image are looking, and arrows pull the eye in a similar way. Researchers call this the gaze-cueing effect.

So if you want people to notice a particular spot on your cover, like a call to action, you could add an arrow, a circle, or a person looking toward it.

Pick a tool to make it

• Canva is the quickest route if you don't design. It recommends 851 × 315 pixels for Facebook covers (the same as Meta), and its Facebook cover templates give you a starting point to swap your own photo, colors, and text into.
• Photoshop, or any design tool you already use, gives you pixel-level control. Set your canvas to 851 × 315 pixels and export as an sRGB JPG, or a PNG if your cover has text.
• Your own photos often work best, especially of your team or space. If you don't have any, try a free stock photo site and check that the license allows editing.
• AI image generators like Midjourney or Canva's AI image generator can fill the gap when you need something specific. AI images can come out with odd details, so look closely before you use one. Our guide to AI image generators has more options.

11 Facebook cover photo ideas and examples

So what should yours actually look like? Here are 11 ideas, each with a real brand's cover photo, so you can see how they work in practice.

11 examples and ideas for your Facebook cover photo

So what should your cover photo actually look like? Here are 11 ideas, each with a real brand's cover photo, so you can see how they work in practice.

1. Sum up what you do

If someone lands on your Page without knowing who you are, your cover can tell them in one line. Motion, a task management app, puts a product screenshot and a short description right in its cover photo. is a task management app that automatically schedules your tasks. They describe this right in their cover photo, so there's no question about what they do.

It's a simple move, but it means nobody has to scroll to figure out what Motion does.

2. Share your mission or values

Your Facebook cover photo is an excellent opportunity to showcase your brand values and encourage people to join and support your cause. The Rainforest Alliance works to protect forests and the people who depend on them, and its cover says that plainly.

3. Show off your product

Sometimes the product is enough. Ferrari's cover is just two of its cars, without a single word of text.

This luxurious image speaks for itself!

4. Introduce your team

Putting your team in your cover photo is one of the quickest ways to make a Page feel human. It works especially well for service businesses, where customers meet your team in person. Physical therapy clinic Helix Sport and Spine uses its cover to show patients who they'll be working with.

5. Reinforce your brand identity

If your brand has a look, a tagline, or a phrase people already know, your cover is the place for it. Nike uses "Just do it," which anyone visiting its Page will recognize straight away.

6. Announce something new

Launching a product or feature? Your cover photo is prime space to tease or announce it. When we launched Buffer's API, we updated our own Facebook cover accordingly.

7. Promote an event

Your cover can work like a billboard for something coming up. UFC uses its cover to show who's fighting and when to tune in.

8. Change it with the seasons

A lot of brands swap their cover photo for holidays and seasons, which also gives returning visitors something new to see. For fall, Starbucks went with pumpkin-shaped disco balls.

9. Promote a social media campaign or hashtag

If you're running a campaign, putting the hashtag in your cover photo helps people find it. Lego did this with #SuperpowerOfPlay.

10. Make a statement

Your cover can carry a message as well as a picture. Skillshare's cover reads "The world is full of surprises. But so are you," which is a nice nudge for anyone who follows the Page to go and make something.

11. Have some fun

It doesn't always have to be serious. The Chicken & Rice Guys recreated The Beatles' Abbey Road album cover with their staff in costume, which tells you a lot about the brand before you've read a word.

Start creating

Once your cover photo is sorted, it's worth giving your posts the same attention. Our social media image sizes guide has the right sizes for Facebook posts and the other major networks, and our guide to the Facebook algorithm explains what helps those posts get seen.

And if you're posting to Facebook regularly, Buffer can help you schedule your posts, see how they perform, and keep up with comments in one place.

Frequently asked questions about Facebook cover photo sizes

Is a Facebook cover photo 16:9?

On computers, yes. According to Meta's Help Center, Facebook Page cover photos display at a 16:9 aspect ratio on computers and a 2.4:1 aspect ratio on mobile. The recommended upload size is still 851 × 315 pixels.

What size is a Facebook cover photo without cropping?

There isn't one size that avoids cropping completely, because Facebook shows covers in a 16:9 frame on computers and a 2.4:1 frame on mobile. Upload at 851 × 315 pixels, keep important content in the middle, and check your Page on both screens after you upload.

What's the minimum size for a Facebook cover photo?

A Facebook cover photo must be at least 400 pixels wide and 150 pixels tall, according to Meta.

What file type should I use for a Facebook cover photo?

Meta says Facebook cover photos load fastest as an sRGB JPG under 100 KB. If your cover includes a logo or text, a PNG file may give you a better result.

What size is a Facebook event cover photo?

Facebook event cover photos use 1920 × 1005 pixels, a 1.91:1 aspect ratio.

What size is a Facebook group cover photo?

Facebook group cover photos use 1640 × 856 pixels.

How do I make my Facebook cover photo fit?

Upload your cover at 851 × 315 pixels, then use the reposition tool that opens on upload to drag the image into place. Keep text and logos away from the left edge, where your profile picture overlaps the cover, and check the result on both a computer and your phone.

More Facebook resources

Looking to grow your audience on Facebook? Here's our latest guidance:

📚 How to Get More Followers on Facebook: 13 Tried-and-true Tactics

📚 How to Create a Facebook Group That Your Audience Loves: The Ultimate Guide

📚 Decoding the Facebook Algorithm in 2024: Everything You Need to Know

📚 The Best Time to Post on Facebook: A Complete Guide

https://buffer.com/resources/facebook-cover-photo-size/

Meta took days to remove ads containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Facebook and Instagram. Some ads featured photos of real kids, including a press photo of a young member of a European royal family and images swiped from a popular Instagram profile of a preteen girl deemed an influencer.

In an investigation published Tuesday, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) reported that Meta failed to detect 332 ads containing CSAM this year. The “vast majority” of ads promoted AI apps made in China, while many ads promoted so-called “nudify” apps that make it easy for bad actors to use AI and digitally alter images of children.

TTP matched “multiple CSAM ads to photos of real children that appeared online.” These ads seem to violate federal child pornography laws, since the Justice Department has clarified that AI CSAM is just as harmful as CSAM. The young royal’s image was “animated into a video of her performing a graphic sex act,” TTP found. Other ads animated a photo of a 14-year-old Instagram influencer “showing off her new sports club uniform” into “a video of her performing oral sex.” A third “preteen” victim “posing in a pink athletic outfit with pigtails” in a series of stock photos was morphed into a video where she looks frightened as she’s molested by an adult male, TTP reported.

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https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/real-photos-of-young-girls-were-in-nudify-app-ads-on-facebook-instagram/

Several people said Wang had also advocated placing greater emphasis on proprietary models over Meta’s longstanding open source approach.

Wang has tried to build support for his vision by cultivating a non-hierarchical start-up culture inside TBD. On a recent podcast, he argued that “the very small team where everyone is ‘cracked’ is always going to move faster than the large org where responsibility is distributed,” using gamer slang to describe highly talented engineers.

He also hosts regular boba tea-fuelled happy hours to foster camaraderie inside the secretive group, according to insiders.

Meta’s broader workforce has experienced a less convivial period. Wang’s first year has coincided with restructurings and rounds of layoffs across the company, seeking to offset the cost of its AI spending spree.

Some employees have also protested company plans to install tracking software that would capture their computer usage in order to train AI models. Meta on Tuesday told staff in a memo, seen by the FT, that it would roll back parts of the plan following the backlash.

Muse Spark has also been deployed primarily inside Meta’s own products, making it difficult for outsiders to assess. Wang had indicated that some external companies would receive access through a private API, but that rollout has been limited.

The model was trained using some third-party open-source models, including Chinese ones. Some insiders have compared aspects of the system with DeepSeek’s latest model, although the extent of any similarities remains disputed.

Muse Spark has been praised for visual understanding, but Wang has acknowledged it trails rivals in coding. Several employees said staff asked to test the model for software development tasks continued to prefer Anthropic’s Claude.

Future Meta models are expected to focus on coding, completing agentic tasks, and more advanced multimodal capabilities, including video generation.

“It was a rough start for him to find his power at the company,” said one associate. “But he’s found his groove.”

© 2026 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/06/inside-metas-attempts-to-play-catch-up-with-ai/

La guerra fredda tecnologica tra Stati Uniti e Cina si arricchisce di un nuovo, fondamentale capitolo. Non parliamo più solamente di dazi sui microchip o di divieti di esportazione di hardware strategico da parte di Washington, ma di un vero e proprio intervento a gamba tesa di Pechino sulle dinamiche societarie dell’Intelligenza Artificiale. Il governo cinese ha infatti opposto un veto insindacabile all’acquisizione da 2 miliardi di dollari della promettente startup IA Manus da parte del colosso americano Meta.

Per assicurarsi che il messaggio venisse recepito senza fraintendimenti, le autorità hanno inoltre imposto un divieto di espatrio ai fondatori dell’azienda. Un monito chiaro: il libero mercato, a certe latitudini, termina esattamente dove iniziano gli interessi strategici del Politburo.

La chiusura della “Scappatoia di Singapore”

Fino a ieri, la prassi per molte startup cinesi di successo era ben collaudata. Un’azienda nasceva in patria, sviluppava la propria tecnologia sfruttando l’eccellente bacino di talenti STEM locali a costi competitivi, e poi, al momento di capitalizzare, creava una holding a Singapore. Questo escamotage giuridico e finanziario permetteva di aggirare i rigidi controlli del Partito, rendendo l’azienda “digeribile” per i giganti della Silicon Valley pronti a staccare assegni miliardari.

Con il caso Manus, Pechino ha deciso di chiudere questa porta, e lo ha fatto sbattendola. L’innovazione strategica non si vende agli americani, tantomeno tramite comode triangolazioni nel sud-est asiatico. Il governo cinese si è evidentemente stufato di fungere da incubatore a basso costo per tecnologie che finiscono per arricchire il portafoglio brevetti degli avversari geopolitici.

Le ricadute economiche: il Keynesismo tecnologico di Pechino

Lasciar fuggire un’eccellenza nell’IA significa perdere non solo capitale umano, ma un fondamentale moltiplicatore di produttività futura. Trattenere Manus con la forza è un atto di “protezionismo strategico” che mira a mantenere le esternalità positive dell’innovazione all’interno del mercato domestico e che corrisponde a quanto fanno gli USA con Nvidia, a cui è vietato esportare certi chip particolarmente avanzati.

Tuttavia, c’è un rovescio della medaglia tutt’altro che trascurabile. Bloccare le exit milionarie rischia di disincentivare pesantemente i futuri investimenti di venture capital nel Paese. Quale fondo di investimento estero, o anche locale, vorrà rischiare capitali nelle startup di Pechino sapendo di non poter monetizzare l’investimento vendendo al miglior offerente sul mercato globale? Il rischio è un progressivo inaridimento dei capitali di rischio privati, che costringerà lo Stato a intervenire massicciamente con fondi pubblici per sostenere l’intero ecosistema dell’innovazione.

Il colpo alla strategia di Meta

Dall’altra sponda del Pacifico, Mark Zuckerberg incassa una sconfitta strategica notevole. Il modello di crescita di Meta (e di gran parte di Big Tech) si è storicamente fondato su un principio semplice: se non riesci a sviluppare un’innovazione internamente in tempi rapidi, compra chi lo ha già fatto. Basti pensare a Instagram o WhatsApp.

L’impossibilità di fagocitare Manus e le sue tecnologie IA “chiavi in mano” avrà ricadute dirette sui bilanci di Menlo Park. Nello specifico:

• Aumento del CAPEX: Meta sarà costretta a dirottare maggiori capitali verso la Ricerca e Sviluppo interna. La crescita organica è intrinsecamente più lenta e assorbe più risorse liquide rispetto a un’acquisizione netta.
• Ritardi sul Time-to-Market: In un settore dove i mesi equivalgono ad anni, dover ricostruire internamente le architetture sviluppate da Manus potrebbe far perdere a Meta terreno prezioso nella rincorsa contro concorrenti come OpenAI o Google.
• Fine dello shopping asiatico: Le aziende americane dovranno rassegnarsi a cercare (e pagare molto più care) le acquisizioni in Nord America o in Europa, riducendo i margini di manovra finanziaria.

Il veto su Manus certifica la completa “balcanizzazione” dell’Intelligenza Artificiale. Si va verso due ecosistemi tecnologici separati e non comunicanti. L’IA non è più considerata un semplice software, ma un’infrastruttura critica di sicurezza nazionale. E in questo nuovo scacchiere, le acquisizioni internazionali libere sono ormai un ricordo del passato.  Il blocco cinese potrebbe significare la fortuna per altri poli avanzati dell’informatica, dalla

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https://scenarieconomici.it/pechino-alza-il-muro-tecnologico-stop-alla-vendita-di-manus-a-meta-la-fine-dellhub-di-singapore/

Meta’s “future of the Internet” of the recent past.

Meta’s partially self-inflicted Quest pricing situation is particularly striking given how recently the company changed its name and threw vast sums of money at its vision for a VR-based metaverse—one it said would form the basis of “the next version of the Internet.” That hasn’t panned out how CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisioned five years ago, though, as $73 billion in cumulative losses for Meta’s VR-focused Reality Labs division can attest.

But while Meta was more or less alone among big tech companies in making significant investments in the metaverse, it’s just one of many companies throwing boatloads of money at the AI revolution. And Meta’s yearslong spending spree on the metaverse pales in comparison to what the company is throwing at AI this year alone.

Still, with Meta reportedly planning spending cuts of up to 30 percent for its metaverse division, it’s clear where the company’s focus lies for the immediate future. So when you look at the rising prices for the VR headsets that now seem to be a waning part of Meta’s focus, just remember that Meta’s own ever-shifting priorities have helped lead us to this point.

The new prices for Meta’s Quest headsets in the US are as follows:

• Quest 3S (128GB): $350 (previously $300, up 16.7 percent)
• Quest 3S (256GB): $450 (previously $400, up 12.5 percent)
• Quest 3 (512GB): $600 (previously $500, up 20 percent)

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/metas-ai-spending-spree-is-helping-make-its-quest-headsets-more-expensive/

Facebook wasn’t really on my radar as a place to make money. Instagram, sure. TikTok, absolutely. But Facebook felt like the platform I used to keep up with my high school friends, rather than the one I’d turn to for creator income.

But things are changing! Facebook has been making a lot of effort to lure over creators from other platforms — especially when it comes to monetization.

As a nano creator, I’ve been keeping a close eye on this for several months now. Brand partnerships make up a small part of my income, but most platforms’ native monetization features are woefully out of reach for me as a small creator.

So Facebook piqued my interest. The idea that I could earn money from content I’m already making was enough to send me down a research rabbit hole.

This article is what I came back with. Down the rabbit hole we go!

Can you actually make money on Facebook?

Short answer: yes, and increasingly so.

Facebook paid creators nearly $3 billion in 2025 through its monetization programs — a 35% increase from the year before, and the platform’s highest annual payout ever. The number of creators earning more than $10,000 a year on Facebook grew by over 30% year-over-year, too.

What’s changed recently is that Facebook no longer limits payouts to video creators. Through its Content Monetization program, creators now earn from reels, stories, photos, and text posts. In 2025, about 60% of total payouts went to reels, with the remaining 40% split across other formats. So even if you’re not making videos, there’s still a path to earning.

Whether you’re a creator exploring a new platform, a small business owner looking for an additional revenue stream, or someone (like me) who’s curious about making money as a nano creator, Facebook has more options than most people realize.

How Facebook monetization works

There are four different routes to native monetization on Facebook (that is, earning money from Facebook itself). The most straightforward is Facebook Content Monetization, but creators can also earn by joining the Creator Fast Track Program, earning Stars, or setting up subscriptions.

Let’s start with the main one, Facebook Content Monetization. It’s an invite-only program that pays creators based on how their content performs. It used to be limited to in-stream ads on longer videos, but it’s expanded a lot in recent months to include reels, photos, text posts, and even stories.

It works a bit like YouTube monetization — you post eligible content, and Facebook places ads in and around that content. You earn a share of the ad revenue based on performance.

Then there’s the Creator Fast Track program, which seems to be a bit of a sub-program for eligible folks. No performance-based earnings here — creators get paid just to post. Still, it’s a bit trickier to get into than general monetization.

Stars are completely different — and ‘gifted’ to creators by fans. They’re a bit like tips. For every star earned, Meta pays out $0.01 USD.

Then, subscriptions are a bit like having an exclusive Patreon for your Facebook superfans.

Subscriptions are the only one of these native monetization options that are exclusive to Facebook pages. The rest are available to Facebook professional mode profiles as well.

In all cases, creators can check (and withdraw!) their earnings in their dashboard or in the Meta Business Suite (pages only), along with metrics to help them understand which posts made bank, and which didn’t.

These aren’t the only ways to earn, however — more on that in a sec.

Facebook monetization requirements

Before you can earn from Facebook’s official programs, you’ll need to meet a couple of requirements. These vary depending on the monetization tool you’re going after.

Here’s a big-picture look at them all, but I’ll give the comprehensive list in the section below.

In all cases, you’ll need to have either a professional personal profile or a Facebook Page and be in good standing with Partner Monetization Policies and Community Standards.

Almost all these programs are available pretty widely globally, except Fast Track — that one’s only open to folks in the US and Canada (🥲).

• Stars (fan tipping) is the most accessible — you need 500 followers for 30 consecutive days and to be in an eligible country.
• Facebook Content Monetization program is invite-only and… less clear. Facebook says invites are ‘sent out periodically,’ but has not shared eligibility criteria.
• Fan subscriptions require at least 10K followers (or 250+ return viewers), plus 50K post engagements or 180K watch minutes in the last 60 days.
• The Creator Fast Track program is really for established creators on other platforms. You need at least 20K followers on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, and at least 30K video views in the last 60 days.

When you’re eligible, you’ll see an invite like the one below in Meta Business Suite (for pages) or in your creator dashboard (for professional profiles).

Yes, there are a couple of hoops to jump through (I’m right there with you!), but there are other ways to make money on Facebook we haven’t touched on yet.

Here’s a comprehensive list on all the ways to make money on Facebook as a creator.

7 ways to make money on Facebook

Here’s a full round-up of all the ways creators and influencers and earn on Facebook.

1. Join the Content Monetization program

This is the big one — Facebook’s flagship monetization program that pays creators for all types of content, not just video. If you can get invited, it’s the most direct way to earn from content you’re already posting.

The program works by placing ads around your content, and you earn a share of that ad revenue. What makes it really cool is the format flexibility. While reels are the highest earning format, photos, text posts, and stories all qualify.

Eligibility: Content Monetization is currently invite-only. The best way to improve your chances is to switch to a professional profile, use a page, or post consistently and build engagement. Facebook has been gradually expanding access, so it’s worth checking your Professional Dashboard regularly.

2. Apply for Creator Fast Track

This is brand new — Meta launched Creator Fast Track in March 2026, and it’s designed specifically for established creators who are new to (or returning to) Facebook. The pitch: guaranteed pay just for posting reels, plus increased reach to help you build a Facebook audience faster.

The program pays out monthly, with tiers based on your follower count on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube:

• 20,000-99,999 followers: $100-$450/month
• 100,000-999,999 followers: $1,000/month
• 1,000,000+ followers: $3,000/month

To unlock your payout each month, you need to post 15 eligible reels on Facebook, uploaded across at least 10 separate days. There are no Facebook view counts to hit.

Bonus: You can crosspost content you’ve already made for other platforms. It just needs to be your original work and not already posted on Facebook. So you may not even have to make new content.

On top of the guaranteed pay, accepted creators get increased reach on eligible reels (very appealing as well) and immediate access to Content Monetization. That means you can earn even more from the performance of your content, and you stay in the Content Monetization program after Creator Fast Track ends.

Eligibility: To be eligible, you need to live in the US or Canada, be 18 or older, have (or create) a Facebook Page with an account that’s at least 30 days old, and not have posted a Facebook reel in the past six months. You’ll also need at least 20K followers and 30K video views in the last 60 days on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.

3. Collect Stars from fans

Stars are Facebook’s tipping feature — viewers can buy Stars for $0.01 each and send them to creators during live streams, on reels and for other content. If you get 5,000 Stars, that’s $50.

It might not mean loads of money, but it’s pretty accessible. You only need 500 followers for 30 consecutive days to be eligible, which puts it within reach for a lot of creators who aren’t close to the thresholds for other programs yet. It’s especially valuable for creators who do live content — Q&As, tutorials, behind-the-scenes streams — where audiences feel personally connected enough to tip.

To enable Stars, head to Creator Studio, select Creative Tools, then Live Dashboard, and toggle Stars on.

Eligibility: You need at least 500 followers for 30 consecutive days, and you need to be in an eligible country (though it’s pretty widely available!). Stars are available on both Facebook Pages and professional mode profiles, and there’s no minimum view count or engagement threshold — which is why it’s the most accessible of Facebook’s native monetization options. You do need to be 18+ and have a payout account set up to actually receive earnings.

4. Set up fan subscriptions

Fan subscriptions let you put some content behind a paywall for a monthly fee that you set. Think of it as a mini-membership: subscribers might get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, early access to posts, subscriber-only Lives, or special badges.

The eligibility requirements are steeper — you’ll need at least 10K followers and strong recent engagement. But if you’ve built a dedicated audience, the recurring nature of subscriptions makes your income a lot more predictable than ad revenue (which can swing wildly month to month).

A word of advice from creators who’ve done this well: make sure the subscription price reflects the value. Research what other creators in your niche charge. Too high and you’ll alienate followers; too low and you’re undervaluing your work.

Eligibility: You’ll need at least 10K followers (or 250+ return viewers), plus 50K post engagements or 180K watch minutes in the last 60 days. Subscriptions are only available on Facebook Pages — not professional mode profiles. You also need to be 18+ and in an eligible country. Availability is broad; there are only a handful of countries that aren’t on the list. Check here for your specific country’s status.

5. Partner with brands on sponsored content

If you take one thing away from this article, let it be this: You don’t need to have thousands of followers to earn from brand partnerships. As a creator with under 30K followers on all my platforms combined, I can personally attest to this! gets off soap box

You don’t need to be in any official monetization program, either — you just need an audience that a brand wants to reach. This is how a lot of creators (including me, as a nano creator) earn the bulk of their income.

My best partnerships have come from one of two ways:

1. Personally reaching out to a brand I love and want to create content about
2. Tagging a brand in content I’ve already made about their product

There’s a third option, and that’s applying for a creator program or marketplace like Collabstr, Passionfroot, or Aspire.io — there are hundreds of marketplaces out there that help match brands with creators, and they’re worth exploring for sure.

Once you’ve landed a partnership (yay, you!) you should explicitly label it as such on Facebook. When creating a post, tap the handshake icon at the bottom of the composer, search for the brand’s Page, and tag them. This adds a “Paid partnership with [Brand Name]” label to your post. There’s also a toggle to let the brand boost the post as an ad, which many will want — it’s worth discussing upfront.

Eligibility (for paid partnership label): Any creator with a professional mode profile or Facebook Page can use the paid partnership label. Creator Marketplace has its own thresholds (1,000+ followers and engagement minimums). For the brand deals themselves, there’s no official follower minimum — it comes down to what brands are looking for.

6. Set up a Facebook Shop

If you have an established product line (physical or digital), a Facebook Shop lets people browse and buy without leaving the app. You can tag products directly in your posts, reels, and stories to make content shoppable.

This pairs well with the creator monetization tools — imagine earning ad revenue on a reel while also driving product sales from tagged items in that same reel. For small business owners, it turns Facebook from a marketing channel into a direct sales channel.

Eligibility: Facebook Shops are available in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, and most of Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and others), plus Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. You’ll need to comply with Meta’s Commerce Policies, have an online store or product catalog, and demonstrate trustworthiness through an authentic, established presence on the platform.

7. Promote affiliate products

Affiliate marketing involves sharing products you use and earning a commission when someone buys through your link. Commission rates typically fall between 5% and 25%, depending on the program and product category.

The setup is simple: find affiliate programs in your niche (search “[your niche] + affiliate program” or check whether your favorite brands offer one), get approved, create your referral links, and share them in your Facebook posts and video descriptions. Just be transparent about affiliate relationships — your audience will appreciate the honesty, and it’s required by law in many countries anyway.

You can also tap into Facebook Affiliate Partnerships, a native system that lets creators tag shoppable products directly inside posts and reels and earn commissions on qualifying stuff. It’s currently available with Amazon (US), Shopee (Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Taiwan), and Mercado Libre (Brazil, Mexico), with eBay and Temu in the US expected to follow.

Eligibility: There’s no follower minimum for traditional affiliate marketing — anyone can share affiliate links in their posts. You can link existing affiliate accounts through Meta Business Suite and manage everything from your Professional Dashboard.

How to get paid on Facebook

Once you’ve earned money through any of Facebook’s official programs, you’ll need to set up your payout account.

Here’s how it works:

Facebook processes payments monthly, usually between the 17th and the 22nd of each month for earnings from the prior month. There are two payout thresholds depending on the monetization tool: $25 for some features and $100 for others. Payment options vary by country but typically include bank transfer and PayPal.

To set up your payout information: go to your Professional Dashboard, navigate to Monetization settings, and follow the prompts to add your bank account or payment method. Make sure your tax information is up to date too — Facebook requires this before processing any payments.

A few more bits and bobs to help you earn and grow

Getting monetized is the first step — growing what you earn comes down to a couple of things I keep coming back to in my own research.

The biggest one is consistency across formats. Facebook rewards creators who show up regularly, and with Content Monetization paying for reels, photos, text posts, and stories, you’re not boxed into video.

Our data on the best times to post on Facebook can help you figure out when to publish for maximum reach. And if you’re already creating for other platforms, crossposting to Facebook is one of the easiest ways to expand your earnings without doubling your workload — tools like Buffer make that pretty painless (have you tried our duplicate feature? swoon).

The other thing worth mentioning: Facebook is actively prioritizing original content and cracking down on reposted and spammy stuff. Original content qualifies for higher monetization rates too, so there’s a direct financial incentive to create for the platform rather than just reshare.

Understanding how the Facebook algorithm works helps here — the more your content gets distributed, the more qualified views you earn, and the more you get paid.

I’m still early in my own Facebook experiment, but the monetization options are more developed than I expected going in — and they’re growing fast. If you’re a creator who’s been sleeping on Facebook (like I was), it might be worth a second look.

Facebook monetization FAQ

How many followers do you need to make money on Facebook?

It depends on which monetization tool you’re using. Stars has the lowest bar at 500 followers for 30 consecutive days. Fan subscriptions need 10K (or 250 return viewers). The Content Monetization program’s exact threshold isn’t publicly listed, while the Creator Fast Track Program requires at least 20K on other platforms.

How many views do you need to start earning on Facebook?

For in-stream ads, you need at least 600K minutes viewed in the last 60 days. For the Content Monetization program, Facebook uses “qualified views” as the metric — not every view counts toward earnings. Only unique views that last around 5 seconds will count as qualified, for example.

Do Facebook Reels make money?

Yes — and they’re the top earner. Reels accounted for about 60% of total creator payouts on Facebook in 2025. They’re monetized through the Content Monetization program via ads that play before, during, or after your reel.

Can you make $500 a day on Facebook?

Technically possible, but not where most people start. Earning $500 daily would take some combination of very high view counts, strong CPMs, a successful product operation, or solid brand deals. Most creators start small and build — which isn’t a bad thing. Consistent smaller earnings from content you’re already making add up faster than you’d expect.

What’s the minimum payout on Facebook?

Either $25 or $100, depending on the monetization feature. Payments go out monthly, usually between the 17th and 22nd.

Should I switch to a professional profile on Facebook?

If you’re looking to earn money, you’ll need create a Facebook Page, or convert your personal Facebook profile into a professional profile. If you already have followers there, I’d go this route. It unlocks monetization tools, audience insights, and the Professional Dashboard.

How do I switch to a professional profile on Facebook?

Open the Facebook app, go to your profile, tap the three dots (⋯) menu, and look for Turn on professional mode. It takes about 30 seconds, and you can switch back to a personal profile at any time. Once it’s on, you’ll see a new “Professional Dashboard” option in your menu — that’s where you’ll manage monetization, check eligibility, and track your content’s performance.

One thing to know: turning on professional mode makes your profile public by default. Your existing posts stay with their original privacy settings, but new posts will default to public. If you’d rather keep a separate presence for your creator content, setting up a Facebook Page is the other option — and the only one that supports fan subscriptions.

How do I check if I’m eligible for Facebook monetization?

Open your Professional Dashboard on Facebook, go to the Monetization tab, then Content Monetization on Meta Business Suite (for pages), navigate to All Tools > Monetization. If you’re not eligible yet, you’ll be able to turn on a notification for if (when!) you get invited.

More creator resources

https://buffer.com/resources/how-to-make-money-on-facebook/

Facebook is a new frontier for me. I’ve been having loads of fun over the past few months experimenting with the shiny new features Facebook has launched to woo creators.

Facebook itself may not be all that shiny, but there’s no denying that it’s enormous. And for a lot of creators, small business owners, and marketers, it’s a great place to find new audiences.

I’ll be honest, though: even Facebook has over three billion monthly active users, and I’m… not reaching even a teeny tiny fraction of them. My content performance has been hit and miss.

So when Buffer’s senior data scientist, Julian Winternheimer, dug into over a million Facebook posts as part of his cross-platform comment engagement study, I was really curious to see what he’d find.

Could being super on top of replying to comments help me boost my reach?

Short answer: Yes! Long answer: Yes, potentially… Let’s unpack that.

Posts where creators replied to comments received about 9.5% more reactions than posts where they didn’t. That might not sound like a jaw-dropping number — especially compared to the 42% lift Julian found on Threads or the 30% on LinkedIn — but on a platform as mature and broad as Facebook, a consistent single-digit lift across a million posts is nothing to wave away.

What I find most interesting about this data is what it reveals beneath the surface. The raw numbers actually suggest the opposite at first glance — and it took some smart statistical analysis to uncover what’s really going on.

How we analyzed the data

Let’s get nerdy. Julian pulled around one million Facebook posts that received at least one comment, spanning accounts of all sizes and niches.

Rather than comparing big Facebook Pages to small ones (which would tell us very little), he compared each account to its own performance over time. The method — called a fixed-effects regression model — holds constant all the things that make each account different: audience size, niche, location, posting frequency. All of that gets baked into the baseline.

So instead of asking “Do Facebook Pages that reply get more engagement than pages that don’t?” we’re asking: “Does this specific Facebook Page perform better when it replies versus when it doesn’t?”

He also ran a Z-score analysis as a second check — measuring how far above or below “normal” each post performed for that specific account. Both methods pointed in the same direction, which gives us a lot more confidence in the finding.

(If you’re interested in the full methodology — and want more charts — you can check Julian’s full analysis on his blog.)

A few things worth keeping in mind before we get into the numbers: we can’t say with absolute certainty that replying causes higher reactions. It’s possible that posts that naturally perform well attract more activity, and creators are simply more motivated to reply when there’s a buzzing comment section.

Julian’s dataset also measures reactions specifically (likes, loves, hahas, etc.) rather than total engagement — a deliberate choice to avoid the circularity of including comments in an engagement metric that’s testing the effect of comments.

That said, the pattern shows up across all six platforms Julian analyzed, with lifts ranging from 5% to 42%. That kind of cross-analysis consistency is something data scientists love to see. It makes the findings that much more convincing.

Julian’s fixed-effects model — covering over 1 million posts across 97,427 Facebook profiles — found that posts with replied-to comments receive approximately 9.5% more reactions on average.

The effect is statistically significant (p < 0.001, for the stats-inclined among us).

The Z-score analysis backed this up. About 53.8% of Facebook Pages performed better when they replied. In other words, posts with replied-to comments sat slightly above each account’s usual performance level, while posts without replied comments hovered right at baseline.

That “53.8%” number is worth pausing on. It’s a slimmer majority than what Julian found on Instagram (63%) or LinkedIn (83%). Facebook’s effect is statistically significant, but it’s more modest — which tracks with the platform’s broader, more mature engagement patterns.

Some fun behind-the-scenes stuff: If we just looked at the raw median numbers, posts without replied-to comments actually have slightly higher median reactions (22) than those with replies (16). On the surface, that seems to contradict everything I just said.

But that comparison is misleading — it’s mixing together Facebook Pages of wildly different sizes and activity levels. Once Julian controlled for those differences and compared each account to itself, things looked very different (and gave us the numbers I shared above).

Why this matters for Facebook

Facebook is a different beast compared to newer, more conversation-forward platforms like Threads or LinkedIn.

The Facebook algorithm prioritizes what it calls “meaningful interactions” — and comments, particularly back-and-forth exchanges, are one of the strongest signals of that. When you reply to a comment, you’re creating a conversation thread that signals to the algorithm that your post is sparking real discussion, not just passive scrolling.

There are a few reasons why this likely translates into higher reactions:

Extended visibility. Comment threads keep posts active in the feed longer. Every reply is another signal fire to the algorithm that might resurface the post for the commenter’s connections — and for anyone else who’s previously interacted with your page.

Relationship signals. Facebook tracks interaction history between accounts. When you consistently reply to someone’s comments, the platform registers that connection and is more likely to show your future posts to them. Over time, these micro-interactions compound.

Social proof. An active comment section with replies from the creator or brand signals that there’s a real person behind the Page. People are more likely to stop scrolling and react when they see that the creator is actually present in the conversation.

The 9.5% lift might feel modest next to Threads’ 42%, but context matters. Facebook’s sheer scale means that even a small percentage increase in reactions can translate to meaningfully more people seeing and engaging with your content. And unlike some platform-specific tactics, replying to comments is something you can start doing right now with zero additional tools, budget, or strategy overhaul.

If you’re managing a Facebook Page alongside other platforms (who isn’t?), keeping up with comments can feel like another full-time job.

Here are a few approaches that have helped me keep on top of my comments across Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook:

Time block your replies

Rather than trying to respond to every single comment (which can quickly become unsustainable as you grow), dedicate two 10-to-15-minute windows each day for comment engagement. Mid-morning and early evening tend to work well — you’ll catch comments from both the morning scrollers and the after-work crowd.

Prioritize conversations

A “thanks!” reply is fine, but it’s not what drives the engagement flywheel. Try asking a follow-up question or adding a detail that keeps the thread going. “Great question — have you tried…” or “That’s a good point, we actually found that…” are the kinds of replies that tend to generate more activity.

Reply while the post is fresh (if you can)

Like most platforms, Facebook’s algorithm gives early engagement heavy weight. If you can get into the comments within the first couple of hours after posting, you’re more likely to spark additional reactions while the post is still being distributed. (This is where posting at times when you’re actually available to engage becomes a real strategic advantage.)

Use a tool that keeps everything in one place

If you’re active on Facebook and a couple of other platforms, bouncing between apps to manage comments gets old fast. Buffer’s Community tab pulls all your comments across platforms into a single dashboard — and you can reply directly from there without opening Facebook and getting pulled into the feed. It’s free for up to three social accounts.

There’s also a Comment Score feature that tracks your reply consistency over time — think of it like a streak tracker for engagement. It helps turn commenting from something you remember to do sporadically into an actual habit.

Julian’s cross-platform analysis covered millions of posts, and Facebook’s 9.5% reaction lift sits at the lower end of the spectrum. But “lower end” doesn’t mean it’s not helpful — it’s fitting for a platform where engagement patterns are broader and more varied than on conversation-first networks like Threads.

What I keep coming back to with this data — across Facebook and every other platform Julian analyzed — is how refreshingly simple the takeaway is. You don’t need to crack some secret code or find a loophole in the algorithm. You’re just showing up for the people who showed up for you.

The 9.5% lift isn’t guaranteed for every Facebook Page (remember, around 54% of profiles in Julian’s study saw positive effects), but the odds tilt in your favor if you’re willing to put in the time. And on a platform with Facebook’s reach, even a modest, consistent boost in reactions can make a real difference over time.

For the full breakdown of Julian’s findings across all six platforms, check out our cross-platform engagement study.

More Facebook resources

https://buffer.com/resources/replying-to-your-comments-on-facebook-boosts-engagement/

On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay $3 million in damages to a young woman who successfully argued that the companies’ social media apps were designed to addict children.

Meta will pay the majority of the fine, 70 percent, while YouTube-owner Google is on the hook for 30 percent, the jury decided.

During the six-week trial, the jury heard that Meta and Google designed apps with features like auto-play, infinite scroll, and algorithmic recommendations to keep kids online. Feeling trapped in a cycle of constantly using these apps caused the plaintiff, known as K.G.M., “crippling mental distress,” CNBC reported. She developed “severe body dysmorphia, depression, and suicidal thoughts,” and every notification that came through made it harder to stop logging in.

At the trial, Meta and Google tried to deflect from the role that apps played in K.G.M.’s mental decline, arguing that she used the apps to cope with mental health problems that “stemmed from a turbulent childhood and related family issues,” CNBC reported.

Internal documents revealed to the jury showed that Meta’s employees openly discussed how addictive design features were, bragging that “teens can’t switch off from Instagram even if they want to.” One employee even declared, “oh my gosh yall IG is a drug,” while likening all social media platforms to “pushers.”

However, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri declined to acknowledge on the stand that K.G.M. had become addicted to Meta apps, instead suggesting that her usage was merely “problematic.”

Along similar lines, YouTube Vice President of Engineering Cristos Goodrow argued that YouTube could not be liable for her harms because it was “not designed to maximize time.” The platform also maintained throughout the trial that it is not a social media site.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/meta-youtube-must-pay-3m-to-woman-who-got-hooked-on-apps-as-a-child/

A jury has been deliberating for more than a week in that case, and though they’ve reached a decision on liability, they’re currently deadlocked on the amount of financial damages to award. On Monday, they confirmed to a judge that they can’t reach consensus for one of the defendants, a Los Angeles NBC affiliate reported, but it’s unclear which.

In a separate federal trial in California, parents and multiple school districts are targeting Meta and other apps for allegedly causing mental health harms to kids.

While some social media companies have chosen to settle rather than endure costly legal battles over child safety, Meta has stuck these fights out. Unsurprisingly, Meta’s spokesperson confirmed to Ars on Tuesday that the company plans to appeal the New Mexico verdict.

“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,” Meta’s spokesperson said. “We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”

Torrez remains intent on proving that Meta can and should do more to protect kids, he told CNBC Tuesday. He’s hoping that any changes required in New Mexico will alter how Meta’s apps are used around the world.

“One of the things that I am really focused on is how we can change the design features of these products, at least within New Mexico, and that would create a standard that could then be modeled elsewhere in the country, and, frankly, around the world,” Torrez said.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/meta-loses-trial-after-arguing-child-exploitation-was-inevitable-on-its-apps/

Every few years, someone declares that Facebook is dead. And then 3 billion people log in anyway.

When it comes to social media platforms, Facebook is as crowded as they come. The social network currently has 3 billion active users — so almost a third of the world’s population has a Facebook account they use regularly.

Crowded as it may be, it’s still a powerful social media marketing platform for businesses and creators — it’s why I’ve recently added Facebook into my social media crossposting strategy.

I already have some Instagram content that I think will resonate on Facebook, and I’m experimenting with crossposting it there. With all that solid content locked and loaded, one of the first things I defined in my shiny new Facebook social media strategy was when to post for maximum engagement.

When it comes to the Facebook algorithm, engagement — reactions, comments, shares, and likes — is a strong signal that your content is valuable and that more people will enjoy having it in their Facebook news feeds.

The higher your engagement, the higher your reach tends to be — and the greater your chance of achieving your social media goals, whether that means driving traffic to your website, making a sale, or simply growing your Facebook following.

So, how do you pinpoint the best time to post on Facebook for your audience, especially if you’re just starting out (or you’ve dusted off an old Facebook account, like me)?

The first place I looked was our data.

The Buffer data team has analyzed the performance of more than 14 million Facebook posts sent via Buffer by businesses, creators, and influencers to pinpoint the best time to post on Facebook, the best day to post on Facebook, and which days and times are best avoided.

Ready to jump in?

Key takeaways

• Peak posting time: The single best time to post is Thursday at 9 a.m., with Wednesday and Sunday mornings also delivering strong engagement.
• Best day: Wednesday is the top-performing day for Facebook engagement overall, with Thursday and Tuesday following close behind.
• Morning advantage: Engagement peaks during morning hours (6 a.m. – 11 a.m.) on weekdays, with afternoons (12 p.m. – 5 p.m.) consistently showing the lowest engagement across most days.
• Avoid the weekend: Saturday is the worst day to post on Facebook, with engagement dropping significantly compared to mid-week — Sunday performs slightly better but still trails weekdays.

Is there a best time to post on Facebook?

There’s no magic, universal best time to post on Facebook, during which your content is guaranteed to go viral (if only it were that easy).

The best time to post on Facebook — or any social media platform — always depends on your audience and how they engage with your content.

That said, our data analysis has picked up some definitive links between posting times and high engagement rates, which could be a great starting point if you’re new to Facebook.

My advice is to use these times as a springboard for experimentation — that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks. Luckily, we have plenty of high-engagement times on Facebook, so there are plenty of options for your posting schedule.

The best times to post on Facebook

According to Buffer data from analyzing 14 million posts, the best time to post on Facebook is 9 a.m. on Thursday. Our analysis showed that mid-morning on Thursday consistently delivers the highest engagement of the week.

The data reveals that morning posting times tend to perform best — we pinpointed other hotspot times on Thursday at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., which round out the top three posting times.

🌅 Overall, posting in the morning hours between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. on weekdays gets solid engagement, as you’ll see from our analysis.

The data shows that engagement remains strong through mid-morning, with a slight peak around the 8-10 a.m. window. Performance tends to drop off during the afternoon hours (12 p.m. – 5 p.m.), making these generally the worst times to post.

It’s helpful to consider these posting times in the context of general audience behavior as part of your overall posting strategy — which is why I always tend to turn to demographics.

The largest demographic of Facebook users is aged 25-34 (closely followed by ages 35-44). This suggests that users are more likely to check their Facebook News Feeds during their morning routine or early work hours, making it an ideal time to post.

A fascinating report by the Pew Research Center found that an overwhelming majority (93%) say keeping up with friends and family is a reason why they use Facebook. By comparison, the primary use case for other social media platforms like Instagram (86%) and TikTok (95%) is entertainment.

With this in mind, it makes sense that morning hours see strong engagement on Facebook, where users check in to catch up with loved ones — a higher priority than a mindless scroll through, say, some Instagram Reels.

Weekend behavior shows lower performance overall, with Saturday and Sunday seeing notably less engagement than weekdays (more on this below).

The best time to post on Facebook at a glance

• Monday: 9 p.m., 10 p.m., 7 p.m.
• Tuesday: 8 a.m., 7 p.m., 7 a.m.
• Wednesday: 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 6 p.m. 🥈
• Thursday: 9 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m. 🥇
• Friday: 8 a.m., 7 a.m., 6 a.m.
• Saturday: 10 p.m., 6 a.m., 9 p.m.
• Sunday: 10 a.m., 9 a.m., 8 a.m. 🥉

The best time to post on Facebook on Monday

The best time to post on Facebook on Monday is 9 p.m., followed by 10 p.m., and then 7 p.m. Monday evening sees strong engagement, though it’s worth noting that Monday overall ranks among the lower-performing days of the week.

The best time to post on Facebook on Tuesday

The best time to post on Facebook on Tuesday is 8 a.m., followed by 7 p.m., then 7 a.m. Tuesday shows a strong morning performance, with early hours delivering solid engagement rates.

The best time to post on Facebook on Wednesday

The best time to post on Facebook on Wednesday is 8 a.m., followed by 9 a.m., then 6 p.m. Wednesday consistently shows strong performance throughout the day and ranks as the second-best day overall for Facebook engagement.

The best time to post on Facebook on Thursday

The best time to post on Facebook on Thursday is 9 a.m. — the single best posting time across the entire week. Other peak times on Thursday include 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., making Thursday morning the golden window for Facebook engagement.

The best time to post on Facebook on Friday

The best time to post on Facebook on Friday is 8 a.m., with other strong posting times at 7 a.m. and 6 a.m. Friday maintains solid morning engagement, though performance begins to taper as the weekend approaches.

The best time to post on Facebook on Saturday

The best time to post on Facebook on Saturday is 10 p.m., with other peak times at 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. However, Saturday overall shows significantly lower engagement compared to weekdays, making it one of the least optimal days to post.

The best time to post on Facebook on Sunday

The best time to post on Facebook on Sunday is 10 a.m., followed by 9 a.m. and 8 a.m. While Sunday morning shows decent engagement, overall Sunday performance is lower than weekdays, making it the third-best day of the week but still trailing significantly behind mid-week posting.

The best day to post on Facebook

The best day of the week to post on Facebook is Wednesday — posts shared on the platform mid-week tend to see the highest engagement overall.

Thursday comes in a very close second, with Tuesday rounding out the top three. The data shows that mid-week posting (Tuesday through Thursday) consistently outperforms both the beginning and end of the week.

There is a noticeable dip in content posted on the weekend. Saturday is the worst day of the week to post on Facebook, with engagement dropping significantly compared to weekday performance. Sunday shows slightly better engagement than Saturday, but still falls well below the mid-week sweet spot.

The pattern is clear: if you’re looking to maximize engagement, focus your posting schedule on the middle of the week, particularly Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Get the best times to post on Facebook right in Buffer

You could add these times to a spreadsheet or set reminders on your phone, whatever works for you. But if you really want to work smarter, not harder, you can create an automatic optimal posting schedule right in Buffer. It’s really easy to set up, too.

You can automatically set these recommended times for Facebook and your other social media platforms. They’ll appear as posting slots in your queue and calendar, making it super easy for you to schedule posts at the best times.

It’ll take you less than a minute to set up:

1. Select Facebook on your channels list on the left.
2. Click on the settings (gear) icon above the calendar.
3. Scroll to Posting Schedule and under Posting Times, click the Generate New Posting Times button.
4. Then Use Recommended Posting Times.

The schedule will automatically update to include the best posting times for the week, based on our latest analysis of millions of Facebook posts.

The next time you schedule a post, you can easily choose one of these high engagement slots. No more guessing!

Your checklist for high-performing Facebook posts

Figuring out the best time to post on Facebook can be helpful, but it’s not the ultimate secret to Facebook success (again, if only it were that simple!).

As we unpack in our guide to the Facebook algorithm, there are several other things you can do to give your content the best possible chance of reaching more people. Here’s a high-level overview:

1. Share content that prompts conversations: Producing high-quality content should always be your priority on social media. Tap into your Facebook Insights or analytics in Buffer to stay on top of the content that resonates most with your audience. Remember: Facebook likes authentic accounts that contribute to their community and create meaningful interactions.
2. Cultivate authentic relationships with your fans: Reacting and replying to comments and always responding timeously to DMs is only half the battle — be sure to be thoughtful and authentic in your replies to really connect with your audience.
3. Experiment with different content types: While photos generally perform best, your target audience might respond better to something else. Text, photos, GIFs, Reels — be sure to try them all more than once.
4. Tap into user-generated (UGC) content and mentions: When people tag you in posts, take notice. This is a perfect opportunity to share their content as user-generated content — with their permission, of course.
5. Aim to be on users’ ‘Favorite’ lists: Facebook users can take more control of their feeds with the Favorite list feature. Encourage your fans to add you to that list so they never miss your content.
6. Don’t resort to clickbait or engagement bait: Clickbait is exaggerated, over-sensationalized content that doesn’t deliver on its promise. Engagement bait uses captions or photos that contain phrases like, “Like this if you like dogs better, share this if you like cats better.” Facebook regularly updates its algorithm to downrank content like this, making it a terrible way to attempt to get maximum engagement.
7. Verify all the news you share: Another thing the Facebook algorithm doesn’t like: fake news. Facebook is vigilant in identifying misinformation and takes strict action against violators, potentially leading to removal from the platform.
8. Stick to Facebook’s Community Standards: Facebook takes its Community Standards seriously. The algorithm is pretty good at weeding out posts that violate these rules, but even if a post manages to skirt under the radar, Facebook users can report it and have it taken down anyway. Getting strikes against your account like this could impact future content performance.

When in doubt, always remember: Facebook’s algorithm values what users value.

“Facebook’s goal is to make sure that you see posts from the people, interests, and ideas that you find valuable,” the company says. “Whether that content comes from people you’re already connected to or from those you may not yet know.”

While our data shows that Thursday at 9 a.m. is your best bet for maximum engagement, the real magic happens when you combine optimal timing with quality content and authentic community building. Use these insights as your starting point, then fine-tune based on your unique audience’s behavior. Tools like Buffer can help you schedule posts at these peak times and track what works best for your specific community — taking some of that admin work off your plate so you can focus on creating content that truly resonates.

More Facebook resources

https://buffer.com/resources/best-time-to-post-on-facebook/