These Are The Best Times To Post On Instagram
9 October 2018, 14:27 | Updated: 9 October 2018, 15:27
Every Instagram user wants their posts to get as many likes as possible. While it's not an exact science, there are ways to figure out the best time to post on Instagram for the most likes and engagement.
We're willing to bet you're an avid Instagram user, which means you already know the tricks of the trade. Like how to get the perfect vintage 90s aesthetic or how to put white borders on your pictures before uploading. When it comes to curating your Instagram feed, timing is just as important as aesthetics. What is the best time to post on Instagram for optimal engagement? What is the best day of the week to post content on Instagram?
Here's what the experts say about the best time to post on Instagram.
Data from Similar Web in June 2018, showed that Instagram Android users spent about 53 minutes in the app per day. This suggests that, at many points during the day, people were checking their Instagram accounts, either for short bursts or slightly lengthier stretches of time. So, when is the best time to post so that you can scoop up those likes?
According to research from Sprout Social, the best times to post are 3 pm (on a Wednesday), 5 am, 11 am, 3 pm, and 4 pm (on a Thursday), and 5 am (on a Friday).
Research around this hard to pin down, however, because of differences in age, location, and other demographic variances.
Later.com, has shared their own research, which suggests that 11 am-1pm and 7-9pm are solid times to post for engagement. Coschedule says that, generally, 8-9 am, 2 am, and 5 pm are the best times to post.
Of course, there is no one size fits all approach to reaching your audience on Instagram. Instagram for business (and also for high engagement accounts) has insights that allow users to see when their audience is most engaged and where they're located.
Once you know where your audience is located and the times they're most engaged, you can start planning your posts around that data.
For instance, if you notice that the best time to post on Instagram for your audience appears to be Thursdays at 5 pm, you can use Instagram planning apps like Later to make sure you're taking advantage of these patterns.
Again, Instagram's insights tool can show you things like "top locations" and age breakdowns which will allow you to make educated inferences about the best times of the day to post on Instagram (commute times, lunch time, out-of-work hours etc) in addition to all the social media research.
Some times to consider based on the data:
5-8 am: Sprout Social cites 5 am as a good time, while Coschedule suggests 8-9 am. This hits the commuters just before they get into work or school when they are most likely to be on their phones. People at work or school don't tend to check their phone excessively during the busier hours of the day.
11 am: - 1 pm: Later suggests 11 am - 1pm and Sprout Social also suggests 11 am. This is when people tend to go on their lunch breaks. Think of how often you instinctively flick through Instagram while waiting in a queue for your lunch.
5 pm: The logic here is that people on their commute home will be on Instagram and other social media sites to pass the time.
7-9 pm: Later also suggests 7-9 pm. Generally, this is a post-work time slot that comes just before people are winding down for bed. You may be able to catch them just as they are watching television and catching up on social media.
2 am: For someone with an international audience, 2 am is highly cited as the best time to post on Instagram. Of course, if your followers are friends and family who tend to live in the same time zone as you, 2 am might not make much sense.
It might be an obvious thing to consider, but if the majority of your audience lives in a different time zone than you, it's a smart idea to schedule and plan according to where they are. Not just where you are.
What are the best days to post on Instagram?
When it comes to the best and worst days to post on Instagram, experts almost universally agree on one thing. Sundays are, generally, the days with the lowest engagement, making it the worst day of the week to post on Instagram.
According to Adespresso, weekdays have higher engagement than weekends. While Thursday is largely cited as the best day of the week for engagement, there seems to be some disagreement about whether Monday is actually one of the better or worst days for engagement. Some say it's among the best, while others say it's a low engagement day.
So, what have we learned about the best time to post on Instagram? Generally...
Best day to post on Instagram: Thursday
Best time to post on Instagram: 11 am - 1 pm, 5 pm, 7-9 pm
Worst day to post on Instagram: Sunday
Are weekdays or weekends better to post on Instagram?: Weekdays
Remember, a lot of this research varies based on the audience you're actually trying to reach. Of course, nothing beats the data and patterns you've noticed from the people who already regularly engage with your posts on Instagram.
