The Best Time to Post on Instagram to Boost Engagement
At some point in their career, every content creator faces the question of "when is the best time to post on Instagram to boost engagement?"
Let's be real here, there are various answers to this question, and they are not all the same.
Many people think that posting time is based on where you're located. Others think it's based on when the majority of your following is online, and to be fair these are both valid answers.
You feel like you've tried everything: quality content, video marketing, running targeted ads. And your engagement rate could still be better.
Consider posting at optimal times to give your accounts a boost.
When is the best time to post on Instagram overall?
There are too many factors to give a definitive time on the best overall time to post on Instagram. When it comes to video marketing and content creation, ideally you want to post when your followers are online and active. Some other factors to consider when deciding on the best time to post are:
- Day of the week and any trends or holidays associated with the day
- Activity level your followers
- The goal of your post and who you're trying to reach
- The type of post–whether it's a video, reel, static image, or Instagram story
- The Instagram algorithm and profile analytics
- The return of the chronological setup
According to several studies about the Instagram algorithm and connected social user behavior, some analytics indicate that the best time range to post generally is between 11 AM to 1 PM. This could be because this time range is the universal 'lunch time' indicator. However, it should not be the only factor you follow when figuring out what works best for your Instagram account.
Best times to post on Instagram by days of the week
The best times to post on Instagram on Monday
The best time to post on Instagram on Mondays to boost engagement on your posts according to some studies by popular social media analytics apps, such as Later and Hubspot, is either between 11 AM and 12 PM or at 7 PM in your timezone.
These suggested times are based on data and analytics that determined those times ideal for Mondays. The reason for this could be that since Monday is the start of the workweek for many people, the majority of your followers will either be active on Instagram during their lunch breaks or after typical work hours.
The best times to post on Instagram on Tuesday
It's been shown that the best time to post on Tuesdays is between 11 AM and 2 PM. Tuesdays are also viewed as a superior day to post, based on the highest engagement.
The best times to post on Instagram on Wednesday
ExpertVoice suggests that Wednesday might be the best overall day of the week for posting on Instagram. Specifically, Wednesday at 11 AM or 3 PM. A long belt of engagement stays on Wednesdays starting from 10 AM to 11 PM, which is also the longest stride in the entire week.
Wednesday being the middle day of the week makes it ideal for posting as internet users have already caught up on posts from the beginning of the week and are eagerly waiting to see what's new on social media.
The best times to post on Instagram on Thursday
Thursdays have a smaller optimal window. The best time to post is between 11 AM and 12 PM. After all, lunch breaks are when people whip out their phones to scroll through social media!
The best times to post on Instagram on Friday
Friday's can be hit or miss, considering they can be the start of the weekend.
According to the social media management and intelligence tool Sprout Social, the best times to post on Fridays are between 9 AM to 11 AM or 1 PM to 2 PM. On Fridays, social media engagement starts later than most days of the week. People are looking forward to their weekends and are probably not bothered enough to get an earlier head start to their day.
The best times to post on Instagram on weekends
Contrary to the suggested best posting times for Mondays, posting times on the weekends seem to take quite the opposite direction. This makes sense considering people do not follow their regular workweek habits and behaviors during the weekend.
The best times to post on Saturdays are ideally between 3 AM to 6 AM or after 11 PM, while the best times to post on Sundays are between 6 AM to 9 AM or after 8 PM.
Consider what most people in your target audience do on the weekends. Are they looking for nighttime social events? Are they perhaps staying in and relaxing? Or maybe they’re too busy going on adventures?
These questions play a major role when deciding on the best time to post on Saturdays and Sundays. Later in the evening is usually a safe option since if most of your audience was busy during the day or sleeping in, they have time to catch up on social media later in the evening.
Best times to post on Instagram by industry
Each industry and niche is different when it comes to social media engagement. Therefore, posting times differ by industry. For example, if you're a healthcare professional or simply a worker in healthcare, the best days to post are Mondays and Tuesdays. While the best times to post on those days are 8 AM to 12 PM or 5 PM to 8 PM.
There are several reasons for these times being the best posting times for healthcare employees. The main reason is that shift changes usually take place between those hours. Therefore, more people in the healthcare industry are likely to be active on Instagram.
The best time to post in the media industry
The best days to post on Instagram to boost engagement in the media industry are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The best times to post during those days are between 1 PM to 5 PM or 8 AM to 9 AM.
You're probably wondering why the media industry gets more days and flexible times than the healthcare industry. This is due to the nature of the industry being very reliable on social media. Thus, a lot of people who work in digital media tend to spend more time on their phones scrolling through Instagram for instance.
The best time to post in the tech industry
The best time to post on Instagram for better engagement in the tech industry is on Mondays between 10 AM to 11 AM or 2 PM to 5 PM. Similar to the media industry, people in tech spend a lot of their time online which gives them better flexibility in posting on social media.
How to find the best time to post on Instagram for your business
The best time to post on Instagram for your specific business is something you have to find out for yourself based on past research data and industry standards. Take into account the Instagram algorithms and the type of content you’re posting. To help you find the best posting time for your specific business you should:
Use Instagram insights
It's a good idea to study how your posting trends affect the engagement on your Instagram posts to find the best posting time customized to your specific business. Try different posting times throughout the week, and based on the Instagram insights for those trials, decide what time would be the best to increase engagement.
Use a third-party tool
Using a third-party Instagram integrated tool such as Buffer, Hubspot, Hootsuite, and Later, can give you a better understanding of what Instagram posting times work best based on previous data. Some of these third-party platforms also have analytics tools that help you identify the best posting time based on your behavior trends on the platform.
Stay updated on Instagram changing algorithms
Educate yourself on how the constant changes in Instagram's algorithm can affect your posting times and level of engagement. The most recent update to Instagram’s algorithm indicates that Instagram will be adopting a similar feed to that of Tiktok.
This means that they will introduce a version of the 'for you page' where you can find all kinds of new content you have not seen before, in addition to the current 'following' feed with the option to switch between them.
What to consider when finding the best times to post on Instagram?
When finding the best time to post on Instagram, keep in mind that what works for others might not work for you. Here are some things to consider when trying to figure out the best time to post on Instagram:
Day of the week
The day of the week is a major determinant of how well your post will perform on Instagram. Some days such as Wednesdays are better than others for posting. Also, keep in mind that the day of the week correlates with the type of industry you're in and various other outside factors.
Breaks in the workday
Breaks in the workday are another important determinant for finding the best posting time. More people tend to scroll through social media when they are on lunch breaks or need a little distraction in the middle of their day. A good question to ask yourself is whether many people are online when you're online. This can help you determine when your target audience is on Instagram.
The different time zones
It's important to know whether the majority of your following is located in the same timezone as you or not. This can help you understand the trends in engagement better as well as whether your posting times align with how their days are arranged or not.
For example, if you're located in California following pacific standard time in posting while the majority of your audience is located on the east coast, you might not get the engagement that you wanted on your posts since the majority of your audience won't be online on Instagram during those hours.
The frequency of posting on Instagram
Posting on Instagram multiple times per day can be a great growth strategy for many people. However, the frequency of your posting on Instagram plays a major role in determining the best posting times for you. Usually, you don't want to post all your content at the same time so that your audience stays engaged. Spread out your content based on the best time ranges to post during the day.
Other ways to increase engagement on Instagram
Publish more videos
Video content is currently Instagram’s priority when pushing content to more people. Ever since Instagram introduced Reels, they've been giving it more attention and focus.
As a result, short-form video content is being shown to more people thus creating higher engagement and reach. The more videos you post on Instagram, the higher your chances of gaining more followers and engagement.
Quickly create videos for Instagram Reels by using templates like this one. Tease your followers with new content in your feed.
Run Instagram ads
Running ads is a great way to reach a very targeted audience that is more likely to convert and engage. In addition, you do not need to figure out posting times when it comes to ads as Instagram takes care of that for you.
Video templates like this one make it fast and easy to conceptualize and create ads for Instagram.
Use Hashtags strategically
Successful hashtag strategies can lead to high engagement and overall better success when it comes to posting on Instagram. A tip when choosing hashtags is to mix between high, medium, and low reach hashtags to reach as many people as possible.
Use keyword-heavy captions
Instagram recently adopted SEO making it the second strongest Image-based search engine after Pinterest.
Search engines rely heavily on keywords as portrayed in one of Instagram's newest features in the search tab. Therefore, when writing a caption for your post, use relevant keywords when possible to increase your post’s visibility and engagement.
Time to schedule your post
While posting times are important for engagement on social media platforms such as Instagram, the quality and relevancy of the content are more important than deciding on the best time to post. Use these recommended times as a guide, but ultimately find the unique posting times and content that works best for your business.
With Animoto's easy-to-use video editor, you can create high-quality video content that will help you boost your engagement on Instagram.