LinkedIn has become a cornerstone for B2B marketing and company branding, audience engagement, and business growth.

However, although most companies focus on posting on weekdays, often-overlooked weekend posting is full of untapped potential, a recent analysis by Oktopost of thousands of LinkedIn company page posts in 2024 revealed.

Although weekday posts dominate in volume, the study found that weekend posts can deliver higher engagement, better reach-per-post, and untapped opportunities for impressions, especially when using native content.

Here are the key insights:

• Posts without external links average significantly higher in reach, impressions, and engagement per weekend than posts on weekdays.
• Weekend posts face less competition for attention in the LinkedIn feed, allowing brands to stand out.
• Although performing better on weekdays, posts with external links remain valuable for weekend posting, too, and still drive traffic with clicks.

By incorporating a weekend strategy into your LinkedIn content calendar, your brand can capitalize on this underutilized opportunity to connect with audiences when they are more relaxed, engaged, and likely to consume content.

Organic (Nonsponsored) Social Posts Without vs. With External Links

We analyzed four types of LinkedIn posts across the same company pages

1. Weekday posts: Those published on a weekday—Monday through Friday
2. Weekend posts: Those published on the weekend—Saturday and Sunday
3. Posts without external links: Those that include text, videos, polls, and images but do not prompt for further reading with a link leading outside of LinkedIn.
4. Posts with external links: Those that drive users to the company websites or other external websites where they can read blog posts, articles, guides, or reports, or reach landing pages.

We focused on average impressions, reach, and engagement per post to better understand performance differences.

Why Weekend Posts Should Be Part of Your Social Strategy

1. Post Without External Links: Weekend Posts Outperform Weekday Posts

Posts without external links perform significantly better on weekends than on weekdays:

• Impressions per post: Weekend posts average 2,554 impressions, a 53% increase over weekday posts, which average 1,667 impressions.
• Reach per post: Weekend posts reach an average of 1,853 users—a 51% improvement over weekdays, when posts reach 1,224 users, on average.
• Engagements per post: Weekend posts average 340 engagements, more than double the 145 engagements of weekday posts.

Those findings highlight the power of LinkedIn's algorithm during weekends. Because fewer companies post, your native content is more likely to surface in users' feeds, and audiences are more likely to engage. After all, LinkedIn members go to LinkedIn on weekends, too.

2. Posts With External Links: A Weekend Traffic Opportunity for Your Website

Although posts with external links perform better on weekdays overall (see Social Funnel 2 image), weekend posting still offers a valuable opportunity to drive clicks and traffic to your website:

• Impressions per post: Weekday posts with external links generate an average of 1,886 impressions, but weekend posts are close behind at 1,607 impressions.
• Clicks per post: Weekday posts drive 19 clicks, on average, whereas weekend posts still generate 12 clicks per post—a difference of 7 clicks on average.
• Engagements per post: Engagement drops; weekend posts with external links average 68 engagements, compared with 95 on weekdays.

Although weekend external-link posts slightly underperform in engagement and clicks, they remain effective for delivering traffic—particularly for high-value or time-sensitive content, such as reports, gated resources, and event registrations.

3. Native content dominates weekend engagement

Native content (with no links) delivers far better results on weekends.

Engagement rates for native posts are more than five times higher than those with external links, underscoring LinkedIn users' preference for conversational, on-platform content during downtime.

To maximize weekend engagement, post thought-leadership content, behind-the-scenes updates, and other native formats that encourage conversation and interaction.

Why are companies avoiding posting on weekends?

Despite the opportunities that weekend posting afford, companies overwhelmingly focus on weekday posting, with 96% of posts in our dataset occurring during weekdays.

Posting predominantly on weekdays likely stems from a longstanding perception that audiences are less active on weekends. However, our findings reveal the opposite: LinkedIn users engage actively on weekends, and lower competition in the feed makes it easier for your content to stand out.

Also, companies may assume weekend posting requires extra resources, but that is a misconception: Tools like Oktopost allow social media managers to schedule posts in advance, ensuring consistent weekend activity without requiring staff to work outside standard hours.

Practical recommendations for weekend posting

To unlock the potential of weekend posting, here's how your company can adjust its LinkedIn strategy.

1. Prioritize native content on weekends

Native content (with no external links) performs exceptionally well on weekends, with higher impressions, reach, and engagement per post. Use weekends to share:

• Short thought-leadership updates
• Posts about stories that spur debates and conversations
• Polls or questions that encourage interaction
• Behind-the-scenes stories or team highlights

2. Attach external links strategically

While engagement is lower, external-link posts still drive meaningful traffic on weekends. Focus on high-value resources or time-sensitive campaigns:

• Share whitepapers, reports, or gated resources.
• Use clear calls to action to encourage further reading by clicking links.
• Pair links with compelling visuals or videos to boost engagement.

3. Leverage automation tools

Use LinkedIn's scheduling features or tools like Oktopost to plan and automate your weekend content. Prescheduling ensures consistency and allows your team to focus on weekdays without missing the weekend opportunity.

4. Track performance and optimize

Analyze your post metrics regularly to determine which formats, times, and messaging styles resonate most with your weekend audience. Build on what works and continue experimenting to refine your strategy.

Don't turn off your company's LinkedIn on weekends

The data is clear: LinkedIn audiences are active and engaged on weekends, creating a unique opportunity for your brand to connect with professionals.

Weekend posts, especially those without external links, deliver higher engagement, better reach-per-post, and more efficient impressions than weekday posts. By planning your content calendar to include weekend posts, your brand can stand out, foster engagement, and drive measurable results.

Oktopost, a platform built especially for B2B social media, makes it easier than ever to implement this strategy, ensuring your content calendar works for your brand 24/7.

It's time to seize the weekend opportunity and make LinkedIn an even more powerful channel for your B2B marketing success.