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What is the best time to post on Instagram to ensure maximum visibility? Additionally, which days are ideal for posting there to achieve the highest number of likes and comments?
Well, I often hear such questions from many people. When seeking to determine the best time to post on Instagram, it typically indicates that you must be wanting to achieve a particular objective. It could involve maximizing the number of likes garnered per post or aiming to enhance your brand awareness and engagements by attracting new followers.
If you’re a social media novice, you might initially resort to posting as frequently as possible and hope for the best. However, what if I told you there’s a way to approach this with a touch of scientific prowess?
Picture this: you embark on an experimental journey, strategically posting at various times throughout the day. As you observe the outcome, you meticulously record the number of likes per minute for each post. This analytical approach adds a new dimension to your social media strategy, allowing you to understand the patterns.
Well, this experiment is no doubt time-consuming. But don’t worry! This post has got you covered with all the essential insights. Get ready to maximize your impact on this popular social media platform Instagram! So, keep on reading this space to know more.
And the answer is ‘YES.’
While you have the freedom to post on Instagram at any given moment, if your main objective is to boost engagement, it is crucial to align your presence on the platform with that of your audience.
Optimizing the timing of your Instagram posts, as per your best knowledge and research enhances the probability of your followers viewing and interacting with your content. By posting at the appropriate time, you increase the chances of receiving a surge in likes, comments, saves, and shares, as your audience is actively present and browsing through their feeds.
Furthermore, engagement plays a significant role in Instagram’s algorithm. The greater the level of engagement your post gets, the higher the probability that it will be presented to a larger audience.
Considering this, achieving your goals on Instagram is best accomplished through a combination of consistency, creating captivating content, and posting during your most advantageous time slots.
According to statistics and trends, Wednesday at 11 AM emerges as the optimal time to post on Instagram. During this specific time and day of the week, posts have the potential to reach a wider audience and generate the highest level of engagement.
Here’s a list mentioning the best posting times on Instagram based on the respective days of the week:
All are expressed in CST (Central Standard Time)
If you aim for consistent engagement in terms of the likes, comments, and shares on your Instagram postings, consider scheduling them at the below-mentioned times throughout the week.
For optimal Instagram engagement on Mondays, your best time to post is between 11 AM and 1 PM. Consistent engagement can be expected starting from 8 AM and lasting until 8 PM. After that, there is a gradual decline in Instagram usage, with the lowest observed activity occurring between 11 PM and 6 AM.
Tuesday’s Best time to post on Instagram is from 10 AM to 5 PM. During this period, you can expect the highest level of engagement. A substantial amount of engagement continues until 10 PM, after which the engagement rate gradually decreases.
Similar to Monday, Wednesday’s best time for posting on Instagram is from 11 AM to 1 PM. Wednesday boasts an extended period of consistent engagement, spanning from 6 AM in the morning to 11 PM at night. This prolonged stretch of engagement makes Wednesday the longest and most promising day of the week for Instagram activity.
On Thursdays, the best time to post on Instagram is from 11 AM to 12 PM. During this timeframe, you can expect a significant level of engagement. There is a consistently high amount of engagement from 10 AM to 4 PM, after which it gradually declines. The engagement rate reaches its lowest point between 12 AM and 4 AM.
Friday’s best time to post on Instagram is between 11 AM and 1 PM. Engagement on Fridays starts early, as early as 7 AM, and gradually declines by 5 PM. The lowest level of engagement is observed on Friday nights, specifically from 10 PM to 7 AM.
For optimal Instagram posting on Saturdays, the best time is between 10 AM and 1 PM. However, it’s important to note that Saturdays are considered the second-worst day to post on Instagram, following Sundays. Even during peak hours, the engagement rate tends to be lower compared to weekdays. The lowest engagement rate on Saturdays is typically observed from 4 PM to 8 AM.
On Sundays, the best time to post on Instagram is from 9 AM to 4 PM. However, it is important for you to note that the quality of engagement on Sundays tends to be lower compared to other weekdays. Consequently, Sunday is considered the worst day to post on Instagram if you desire the maximum exposure for your posts. The least favorable time to post on Instagram on Sundays is from 6 PM to 8 AM.
Having data on the optimal posting times for Instagram can be immensely valuable, especially when you’re initially establishing your brand presence on the platform. However, as you progress and aim to enhance your outcomes, conducting your own research on posting times can be highly beneficial. The following tips serve as valuable starting points for your exploration.
By keeping track of your top posts, you can gain insights into the content that resonates the most with your audience and the topics that generate the highest engagement. Additionally, tracking your posts allows you to observe the influence of posting time on these factors.
For instance, you may discover that it received the highest number of likes last month because it was posted on a Saturday evening, which happens to be a prime time for e-commerce engagement.
Utilizing Instagram Insights, you have the opportunity to examine your top-performing posts and various factors that contribute to their success, including:
While delving into your social analytics, it’s easy to get fixated on the numbers. However, when assessing your top posts, it is crucial to maintain a balance with your creative perspective and examine the numbers from your customer’s standpoint. As you review your top posts, consider the following questions:
By accumulating data over a few months, you can gain a clearer understanding of the content that consistently performs well and the optimal times to present that specific type of content to your audience. This approach helps you make more informed decisions and tailor your content strategy accordingly.
It’s essential to tailor your posting times to suit the specific characteristics of your audience.
If you have a Business Instagram account, which is recommended for businesses and influencers, you can leverage Instagram Insights to gain valuable information. Navigate to the Followers section in Instagram Insights, where you can access data about when your audience is most active on the platform.
This information should guide you in structuring your posting practices to align with your audience’s behavior and maximize engagement. By utilizing Instagram Insights, you can obtain insights unique to your own audience and make informed decisions about the optimal posting times for your account. This approach ensures that your content reaches your audience when they are most likely to be active, enhancing the effectiveness of your social media strategy.
Determining the ideal posting time for your audience can be achieved by examining the activities of your competitors and who else captures their attention. By analyzing your top competitors, you can identify when to post and which content resonates with audiences on different days and at various times.
Additionally, the competitive analysis provides several other benefits, such as:
There are several approaches you can take.
Firstly, simply scrolling through Instagram can provide you with a plethora of competitor insights. Take the time to explore a brand’s posts and pay attention to factors such as the number of likes they receive, the copy they use for hashtags, and the number of hashtags employed.
These observations can provide a snapshot of the brand’s followers and the keywords they utilize, offering valuable hints about the competitor’s overall strategy.
The geographical distribution of your audience plays a significant role in determining the importance of specific posting times. If your audience is spread across various time zones, the significance of set posting times diminishes to some extent.
However, when your target audience is concentrated in a specific location, it is crucial to align your Instagram posting times with that particular time zone, even if it differs from your own.
If you aim to make an Instagram post at wake-up time, it is advisable to schedule it at the moment when the majority of your audience is just waking up and starting their day. This ensures that your post reaches them at the most opportune moment for engagement and visibility.
Monitoring and making adjustments to find the best time to post on Instagram can help you maximize your reach and engagement. After you’ve posted consistently for a while, switch to an Instagram business account (if you haven’t already) to gain access to Instagram Insights.
This feature provides valuable data about your followers’ activity, including the times they’re most active on the platform. Analyze the data from Instagram Insights to identify any patterns or trends. Look for commonalities in terms of the days and times when your posts receive higher engagement.
Continuously monitor the engagement metrics for your posts after making adjustments. Keep track of the likes, comments, shares, and overall reach for each post. This will help you assess the effectiveness of your timing adjustments.
Remember, finding the best time to post on Instagram is an ongoing process that requires monitoring, analysis, and adaptation. By following these steps and staying attentive to your audience’s behavior, you can optimize your Instagram posting strategy for maximum engagement. You can follow the same procedures to repost reels on Instagram.
Knowing the best time to post on Instagram in India is really important for capturing the attention of its significant user base, as the country leads with an extensive audience of 230 million users engaging with the photo-sharing and editing app.
During September 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) accounted for approximately 32.3 million Instagram users. Notably, women are significant in driving 40% of football conversations on Instagram in the UK. Given the passion of football enthusiasts and other Instagram users, it becomes crucial to determine the optimal posting times to capture their attention in their Instagram feeds.
Finding the best time to post on Instagram in India and the UK is contingent upon the activity patterns of your specific target audience. Here is an estimated guideline for the optimal posting times on Instagram in India and the UK:
Determining the ideal timing for your Instagram posts relies on factors such as your target audience, content type, industry, and post objectives. To unveil these insights, conducting your own research and experiments is important.
Initiate the process by leveraging Instagram analytics to gain a deeper understanding of your follower demographics. Analyze the posting patterns of your key competitors within your industry to discern effective strategies for your specific niche. Subsequently, maintain a consistent posting schedule while conducting your own experiments to refine your approach.
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Suvashree Bhattacharya is a researcher, blogger, and author in the domain of customer experience, omnichannel communication, and conversational AI. Serving as a content marketing strategist at REVE Chat, she develops contextual and interesting content for customers from different industries and segments like customer service, customer satisfaction, engagement, messaging platforms, etc. Passionate about writing and designing, she pours her heart out in writeups that are detailed, interesting, engaging, and more importantly cater to the requirements of the targeted audience. Her interests include reading, painting, and traveling.
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