What Is The Best Time to Post on Instagram?

8 min read

Businesses that market through Instagram should consider peak hours when user activity is skyrocketing. Whether you’re posting a story, reel, or an actual post, there are a few things to keep in mind.

For instance, there is actually a best time to post on Instagram, and sticking to these recommendations can boost activity. By posting at peak hours, businesses that utilize Instagram can capture an audience’s attention given that their content is fresh, original, and captivating.

Granted, Instagram stores posts and reels that often appear in a user’s feed if they’ve already scrolled through their daily content and are “all caught up”. Even though this is the case, you’ll want your posts, reels, and your stories to get the most views and likes possible. This means that you should account for when your target audience/followers are on the app.

By knowing when to post and who will see your posts, you can also create better content. This typically all begins with understanding the tendencies of your audience. Understanding your audience’s tendencies is made relatively simple through insights, but businesses on Instagram should also understand the general times that are best for posting.

Here we will cover the specifics of when to post on Instagram and how to convey your message properly.

Let’s get started.

The Best/Worst Day and Time to Post on Instagram

According to metrics, each day has a specific time frame in which individuals and businesses alike can grab the most attention from their posts.

Data collected by Sprout Social indicates that Mondays at 11 a.m., Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. are the best times to post on Instagram throughout the week. With this in mind, businesses and individuals alike can spend time crafting their unique content before these times in order to post original content that entices the maximum number of viewers.

While there are best times to post on Instagram, there are also times that don’t garner the attention users seek. For instance, the best time to post on Instagram on Monday is not in the early afternoon, as is the case with Tuesday and Sunday.

The worst time to post on Instagram on Wednesdays and Fridays are during the morning, and on Thursdays and Saturdays, you’ll want to avoid posting after 8 p.m. If you avoid posting at these times, you’ll see a tremendous boost in views, likes, comments, and other interactions with your stories, reels, and posts.

The goal is to stick to the best times to post, which also means that your content should be ready to go prior to posting. Always be sure to utilize as much time as you can beforehand to perfect your content prior to posting between 2 p.m. — 3 p.m. on Thursdays, 11 a.m. on Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. on Fridays.

Just as there are ideal times to post on Instagram, one should also consider the best day to post on Instagram. According to Sprout Social, and the data they have collected, the best day to post on Instagram is Thursday.

In reality, Thursday is often the day of the week when most people are ready for the weekend. Friday is right around the corner, people want to see what others are doing, and people get bored!

Now that we’ve covered when and when not to post on Instagram, let’s get into some tips and tricks that will help your posts get the most attention and interactions possible.

When to Post on Instagram: Tips & Tricks

There are a few other key things to consider when getting ready to post on Instagram. Granted, not everyone is going to wait until Thursday from 2 p.m. — 3 p.m. to post. which is why every user should consider the following.

Breaks in the workday

It’s insane how common it is for workers to check their Instagram accounts/feeds when on break. This is especially the case on lunch breaks. Similar to this, people’s interest in their work decreases as the day goes by, which is why posts in the early/mid-afternoon often garner so much attention. Knowing this, users should post between the early/mid-afternoon.

Time zones

The greater the geographic reach of your audience is, the less important the timeframes mentioned in this article become. However, one should check their Instagram insights to figure out when people are interacting with their posts to determine how much their geographic reach really influences their posts. Whatever the case, users should always keep the time in which they post specific to their time zone for maximum effect.

Frequency

It’s vital to update your Instagram account regularly in order to keep your account looking new. This means changing descriptions, profile pictures, saved stories, etc. This also means posting either on your feed or on your story one to three times a day for maximum effectiveness. Be sure to use a mix of posts, but don’t appear to be primarily focused on selling. As always, it’s important to create fresh, quality content ahead of bulk volume.

The Takeaway

Use the above information as a sort of blueprint or roadmap rather than strict law. In order to remain relevant, you’ll want to post regularly and consistently engage with your audience. Be sure to craft and create unique and original content that captivates your viewers and makes the most of how many people will be seeing your content.

By using these timeframes and our tips and tricks as a guide, you will see a monumental increase in views, likes, comments, and you may even drive some more traffic to your business’ website!

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Feb 10, 2022

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.