Back in the days of a chronological feed, users guessed and played around with finding the best time to post in Instagram. Many attributed increased Instagram engagement to their carefully planned Instagram posting times. These were the good ol’ days before everyone’s goal became finding ways to “outsmart” the algorithm in digital marketing.
Today, to gain more Instagram followers, you must create and post compelling content that other users will crave. With Instagram’s ever-changing and ever-evolving algorithm, if you don’t post at the right time, your followers may never see your posts.
So, how do you figure out the best time to post on Instagram?
If you’re unsure of where to start in terms of posting on Instagram, don’t fret. I Concept Singapore, your choice social media agency, scoured the web of info to give you the complete guide to Instagram posting times, including the best time to post by day of the week and industry. With this, you’ll soon be posting like true aces in social media management.
Best time to post on Instagram by day of the week
All Instagram accounts have unique audiences from different cities and in various time zones, so breaking down the best Instagram posting times is essential to every account.
While finding the best time to post on Instagram is unique to every account, certain times generally correlate with increased Instagram engagement. An analysis of 12 million posts in different time zones around the world from accounts with varying Instagram followers to see if they could find the secret to posting on Instagram.
The extensive survey concluded the following best Instagram posting times:
(All times here are in Eastern Standard Time)
- Monday: 6 am, 10 am, and 10 pm EST
- Tuesday: 2 am, 4 am, and 9 am EST
- Wednesday: 7 am, 8 am and 11 pm EST
- Thursday: 9 am, 12 pm, and 7 pm EST
- Friday: 5 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm EST
- Saturday: 11 am, 7 pm, and 8 pm EST
- Sunday: 7am, 8am, and 4pm EST
While this information showcases a general “best time to post on Instagram”, the truth is the best Instagram posting times will be unique to your account and audience.
Best time to post on Instagram overall for ‘Likes’
This article is full of Instagram insights about the best time to post based on your particular location, time, industry and more. But, if you’re just looking for the overall best time to post on Instagram for likes, you’re going to want to post on the weekend. Believe it or not, according to another study of 35 million posts, the highest average engagement was for posts published on Sunday at 6 am (EST).
The weekends are often good times to post because many people aren’t working, so they have more time to be on their phones. Sunday, in particular, is a good day, because Saturdays are often filled with plans. Many people take Sunday as a day of rest, and if they’re looking at their phones early to mid-morning on Sunday, they’re likely going to see the posts that were posted around 6 am that morning.
Worst time to post on Instagram
On the flip side, the overall worst time to post on Instagram is during the day on Wednesday (between 10 am and 4 pm) or Thursday night (between 9 pm and 11pm). Wednesdays can be busy for people who work during the week, as they’re halfway through the week and trying to get things accomplished. Thursday nights are often seen as the start of the weekend, so many people have plans with their friends and families.
Best time to post on Instagram by industry
As mentioned above, the best time to post on Instagram varies by account, however there are more ideal times for posting on Instagram based on specific industries. It’s crucial to alter your Instagram posting times based on industry to optimise engagement. You’ll also need to have a good overall strategy, make use of everyday matters to create content, include good digital copywriting, and use hashtags nicely and right.
These Instagram posting times are a great start, but according to a research, here are the best times and other information about posting on Instagram, based on the respective industries.
Retail
Posting on Instagram is incredibly crucial for those in the retail industry. People use Instagram as a shopping outlet now more than ever. If you’re looking to reach an audience interested in retail you’ll want to pay attention to the following best and worst Instagram posting times.
- Best time to post on Instagram: Wednesday afternoon (3 pm) & Friday midday (11 am – 12 pm)
- Ultimate Best Day: Wednesday
- Worst Day: Sunday – Makes sense as most people are being present in real life on the weekends.
- Lowest Engagement: Late Night & Early Mornings – Most people sleep during these hours and are not active on social media
Media & Entertainment
Social media has turned into such a prominent outlet for the media and entertainment industry, that it’s now more vital than ever to find the best time to post on Instagram to stand out and appear on user’s feeds.
- Best time to post on Instagram: Friday morning (9 am)
- Best Engagement: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during work hours (8-5 pm)
- Lowest Engagement: Saturday and Sunday – Most people have these days off from work, are more present in real life activities and therefore not as active on social media
Tech
Posting on Instagram for the tech sector can be difficult to gauge as global peak times on Instagram for this industry vary. To ensure Instagram engagement on tech posts make sure to focus on the below time frames.
- Ultimate Best Time: Wednesday morning at 6 am or 9 am
- Best time to post on Instagram: Wednesday mid-morning from 10-11 am, Friday morning from 7-10 am and Saturday morning from 7-11 am.
- Worst Day: Sunday-Most people do not check social as often on the weekends in this industry.
Food & Beverage
Instagram followers obviously love seeing pictures of a delicious meal. It doesn’t take fancy Instagram tools to determine people are likely to engage with food pictures during lunchtime. Most professionals take a break during the middle of the day, so it’s likely engagement will spike during this period of the day. If you’re in the food and beverage space keep scrolling to find the best time to post on Instagram.
- Best time to post on Instagram: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Best Hours: Noon- Most people check their phones around lunch time
- Most Engaging Day: Friday kicks off the weekend and plans for reservations spike
- Worst Days for Engagement: Saturday & Sundays
Travel & Tourism
Not everyone has the means or desire to travel, but that doesn’t mean they won’t interact with the content you’re posting on Instagram about the subject. According to studies, the most engagement with this niche occurs between 11am and 1pm closer to the weekend. Travel & Tourism agencies found the following for the best time to post on Instagram:
- Best time to post on Instagram: Fridays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays
- Most Engaging: Between 11am & 1pm, and between 9am and 10am.
Best time to post Instagram stories
Instagram Stories are incredibly popular, and if you aren’t already using them, you should add them to your Instagram marketing plan. The best part about Stories, though, is that there isn’t really a “best time”. You can (and should) just post as you see fit! If you really want to stick to a time, post during the day – from 9 am to 4 am, Monday through Friday, many people see high engagement.
The most important thing to remember when posting Stories is not to post too many. They last for 24 hours, so if you post a lot in the afternoon one day, you won’t want to post too many the next morning, otherwise you could burn out your audience.
Know how the algorithm works
There’s one additional piece to this you should remember – the Instagram algorithm. If you don’t already know how the algorithm works, here’s a brief rundown for you. When you publish a post, Instagram is already watching it. The algorithm will share it with a percentage of your followers. Then, if the algorithm likes what it’s seeing in terms of engagement, it will push it out to more of your followers. Again, if you get good engagement there, it will push it out to even more people. This pattern continues until hopefully, your post lands on the Instagram explore page!
You can see, though, how important your initial views and engagement are. If people don’t engage with your post right away, Instagram will assume it’s not a very valuable post, and it won’t bother showing it to other people. So, if you post in the middle of the night or at a time of day when the majority of your followers aren’t active, there won’t be that initial hit of engagement, so Instagram won’t understand the value and worth of your post.
Know your specific audience
Your audience is unique. No other brand has the exact same audience as you. So, you should get to know them as much as you can. This trial and error will help you find out what your audience likes and what they don’t engage with as much. You can use this information in your favour. For instance, if you know you’re going to have to post during a time you don’t usually get much engagement, post one of your most popular types of content.
Let’s say you’re travelling and you have to post at an “off” time because you don’t want to schedule posts for some reason. If you know that your audience loves to engage with your posts about the company dog, use one of those posts. People might find it later and be excited to engage with it, whereas they might just glance over a post about one of your products on an off time.
Getting success (and the likes) on Instagram
So, as it shows, it takes a lot more than just knowing the best times to post on Instagram to get the reach and ‘likes’ your business desires. Need some help on getting the best content out to your audience at the right time on Instagram (or other social media channels)?
I Concept Singapore may be able to help!
As a leading social media agency in Singapore, we have years of experience in social media management and digital marketing, working with many of your familiar brands to help with their social media strategies.
With an understanding of your preferences and your business needs, our team of experienced strategists and designers will guide you to creating quality posts and content, draw up effective campaigns, and help you get the views of engaged audiences. We’ve also a host of other digital solutions to help you grow your business. Get in touch with us today!
