There are over 1.074 billion active Instagram users all over the world. With so many people using the platform daily to communicate and entertain, the best a business can do is showcase itself and market its brand at the right time.
If you are looking forward to getting the most results out of Instagram, you should know the right time to post content, share, and comment.
Ideally, the right time to post on any social platform is when your target audience is active online. You should find out what time most of your followers go online and target posting content they can engage with.
To get the best out of Instagram, apply different strategies as time changes. You should not use the same strategy and expect different results. If you feel like you are getting it wrong on Instagram, this article is here to sort you out.
How You Find The Best Time To Post On Instagram
Finding the best time to post on Instagram is one of the most challenging things if you are new to social media marketing.
If you want to find the best time to post on Instagram, use Instagram insights to find your time zone and what time most of your followers are active online.
You can also use spreadsheets to track the progress as you experiment with different posting times.
Every brand has its trick for posting content on Instagram. That means what works for others may not work for you. The reason is every brand has a unique audience with unique behaviour patterns on social media. However, posting when most of your followers are online is key to getting the best results.
Related: Top Instagram Marketing Stats
Instagram is built to prioritize fresh content. That means your followers will only get the latest feeds on their timeline, depending on what time they log in.
A newer post on Instagram is more likely to show up higher on the audience newsfeed than an older post. Therefore, when it comes to maximizing results on Instagram, recency is one of the quickest and easiest wins for all brands.
What Is The Overall Best Time For Posting On Instagram?
One of the best Instagram management and scheduling tools, Latergramme, analyzed over 61,000 posts on the platform to determine the best time to post, like, and comment.
According to the Latergramme analysis, it turns out that the best time to post on Instagram is 2 am and 5 pm. At these times, most of your followers are likely to pay attention to your content. And what’s more important? Having your post before the right people. The worst time to post on Instagram if you want results is 9 am and 6 pm.
Additionally, 2 am, and 5 pm are the best times to post on Instagram because there is less activity on other platforms in terms of sharing content, so most people are likely to engage.
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Most people are probably procrastinating at 5 pm as they wait for a busy workday to end. The best day to post on Instagram turns out to be Wednesday compared to other days. Here is a breakdown of each day and what is the best time to post on Instagram, according to the Later study:
- Monday: 11 am – 2 pm
- Tuesday: 10 am – 3 pm
- Wednesday: 7 am – 4 pm
- Thursday: 10 Am – 2 pm, 6 – 7 pm
- Friday: 9 am – 2 pm
- Saturday: 9 am – 11 am
- Sunday: 8 am – 2 pm
Engagement is generally low on Sunday because most people are on holiday and sharing with friends and family. On Wednesdays, user engagement on Instagram peaks at 11 am – 2 pm, making it one of the best days to post, although with a slight margin compared to other weekdays.
If you want some easy results based on the above data, you should generally post from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. This way, you can get the most results out of your content.
6 Tips For Finding The Best Time To Post On Instagram
The best time to post on Instagram will depend on your target audience and what you want to achieve. That is whether you are looking for engagement or awareness. What approach you choose will vary depending on what is most important for your brand.
Ask yourself which of your posts has earned you the most views, likes, and comments. What time did you post such content? Are your posts any different from those with more likes?
Tip #1: Find When Most Of Your Audience Is Online
The first tip to determining the right time to post on Instagram is finding out what time is your target audience active online. Check your analytics to determine what time your audience is scrolling their newsfeed.
Know your audience’s behaviour when they are online. For instance, if you target Gen Z on Instagram, your approach should be different from someone targeting executives who wake up at 4 am to go through media feeds.
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Tip #2: Know What Time Your Competitors Are Posting
When you have difficulty finding the right time to post on Instagram, you can look at what your competitors are doing. Find out what time they post their content on Instagram and the kind of results they get.
Social listening and keeping an eye on what others are doing to succeed on Instagram can help you pick the right strategy for your brand.
Related: Best Instagram Influencer Marketing Strategies
All you have to do is ensure you track results from brands in the same industry as you. Ideally, most of the big brands will usually post on the hour mark. That means, to avoid the stiff competition for shelves, you can post afterward.
Tip #3: Post Based On Time Zone
Again if you are going to post on Instagram, you should know the time zone for your audience. You don’t want to be posting when most of your audience is asleep.
If you target a global audience, the best time to post is 3 am. That means you have to set the alarm to wake up and post the content or simply automate your Instagram posts.
Related: Best Instagram Marketing Tools For Your Business
Use an Instagram scheduler to automate your posts based on different time zones to not miss your audience’s active time.
Tip #4: Monitor Your Progress And Adjust
It takes a lot of effort to optimize Instagram posts. You have to crunch the numbers and ensure your content makes it to the right eyes. It is more than choosing the right filter for your posts.
Set a reminder on your content calendar to review what is working and what doesn’t. Audience habits keep changing, and you should be ready to adjust to such changes.
Related: Instagram Ads: The Definitive Guide
Tip #5: Remain Consistent
Consistency and quality are key to getting the best results on any social media platform. That said, if you want to get positive results from Instagram posts, you should be systematic about your posting. You probably want to see what time gives the best results when you post, but it’s essential to be consistent and avoid changing your posting time.
Your audience should know what time you post so that they get online expecting your content. When you are consistent on Instagram, you build trust, credibility, and a lasting relationship with your audience. This is what you need to remain successful on Instagram and other social platforms.
Tip #6: Post More On Off-Work Hours
Instagram is all about engagement, and most people are most likely to engage with your content when they are done with work. Therefore, the best time to post on Instagram is during lunchtime and late in the evening when most people take breaks from work.
Schedule your Instagram posts during workdays so that you don’t interfere with your leisure time. The average engagement rate shifts on Instagram depending on the days. Therefore, if you want good results from your posts, you should save your posts for Wednesday.
If you are a blogger, the right time to post on Instagram is on weekends, when your audience can create time to go through your posts. Most B2B companies have the highest engagement rates during weekdays when most of their audience is at work.
Related: Top Benefits of Blogging
Final Thoughts
Every brand is unique in its way. That means if you are looking forward to getting results from Instagram and other platforms, you should look to know how your audience behaves. The best time to post on Instagram is when your audience is active online, and they are likely to access your content.
Create quality content and only publish them at the right time when your audience is more likely to surf. Note that Instagram works on recency, and your audience will only get your most recent posts when they come online. With these tips, you should take that step to market your brand on Instagram now.
