When is the best time to post on Instagram? We will try to answer this crucial question for you!

The Best Time To Post On Instagram In 2023 

Lately, there has been a lot of talk on when is the best time to post on Instagram. As we are in the second month of 2023, everyone wants to know the best time to post. Naturally, this is associated with Instagram users looking to get more Instagram engagement on this ever-so-popular social media platform. However, growth on Instagram is associated with taking a calculative approach to even the most minor things you do on social media. As a business or personal page, if you want to grow your follower number and boost your sales on Instagram, you need to schedule your posts according to the best time to post on Instagram.

This means that you need to test your marketing efforts at different times of the day. Some users in the past thought that if you posted between 9 PM and 5 AM, it was the best time to post on Instagram but what worked in the past will no longer work today. Most instagram business accounts realised that posting within these posting times was the best time to post but because of this these posting times became too saturated and everyone lost out on consistent engagement.

Instagram Feed Change

Years ago when there was a chronological feed (the good old days?), people tried to figure out when was the best time to post on Instagram so most of their followers would see their quality posts. Many believed that their carefully planned Instagram posting hours were responsible for more Instagram interaction and they were mostly right.

The good old days may be back as Instagram have announced that they will release three different instagram feeds, giving the users a choice to choose between Home (the feed everyone is used to), Following (chronological) and Favourites (you choose who is given priority). However, the default feed is still the Home feed and we don't think these new feeds will do much to change how much engagement you're getting.

Nowadays, the best way to grow your Instagram account is to create compelling content which your own audience will love and so you can build a strong Instagram presence. However, if you don't upload your Instagram posts at the correct time, your Instagram followers may never see your content due to Instagram's ever-changing algorithm.

Are you currently as lost as we were when we first started?

If you're stumped as to where to begin when it comes to Instagram posting, don't worry. We've prepared a comprehensive guide to Instagram posting times, including the optimum time to post by day of the week, as well as how to best utilise Instagram scheduling tools and of course our very own Instagram growth service.

Instagram Insights

The first place you should start is your own Instagram insights and they can help you gain information into your Instagram posts, by providing data such as engagement rates, follower growth trends, and more. You can then use this information to optimise your posts for maximum impact!

To locate Instagram insights, go to your profile.

Then click 'insights'. If you don't see a button called 'insights' here then it means that you don't have a business profile. For help on how to change your Instagram account from a personal profile to a business one, check out another one of our blog posts.

Then click 'Total Followers'.

Finally, scroll down to the bottom of this page to see when your own followers are active.

According to Instagram @owskimedia's optimal times to post on a Wednesday are between 3-9pm. Instagram should in theory deliver peak engagement when we post during these times. This would apply to anything you post such as Instagram reels, Instagram stories or a normal Instagram post.

When it comes to days of the week, for @owskimedia there is not much of a difference according to Instagram at least.

Now you know how to check your Instagram insights and they are a great starting point!

What does independent research say based upon Instagram engagement? 

Every Instagram account has a distinct audience made up of people from all over the world.

To discover the secret to posting on Instagram, Later.com looked at 35 million posts in different time zones across the world from accounts with various Instagram followers.

Overall The Best Time to Post on Instagram

Saturday and Sunday are the best days to publish on Instagram, with the highest engagement rate for posts published at 6AM on Sunday.

Worst Day to Post on Instagram

Thursday between 9PM and 11PM is the worst day to post on Instagram in terms of the engagement rate.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram Each Day Breakdown

Based on Laters engagement rate results, below are the best time to post on Instagram everyday:

Monday 

• For Monday, the best time to post is between 11 AM to 1 PM. According to the stats, a consistent series of engagements starts at 8 in the morning and lasts up to 8 in the evening. The number of active users gradually drops off on Monday nights.

Tuesday 

• Tuesday is the busiest day of the week, and there is more customer traffic at all times. Therefore, if you want to promote your product, the best time to post is early morning between 12 AM and 9 AM. 

Wednesday 

• Wednesday is also a good day to post on Instagram, as many users are active. The best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday is between 12 AM and 6 PM, as you will see more engagement during these hours.

Thursday 

• Thursday is considered a slow day in terms of customer traffic but if you want to sell your product, try posting from 11 PM till 9 AM the following day. This will help you in getting more exposure for maximum engagement.

Friday 

• Friday is the most active day on Instagram, and it's considered one of the best days to post on Instagram, ideally between 2 PM to 5 PM. This is because a lot of people are already eagerly awaiting the weekend and are checking their social media platforms.

Saturday 

• Based on stats, 3 AM to 6 AM sees lots of engagement from users on Instagram. If you are looking for more exposure, this is the best time to post on instagram frame for excellent reach potential.

Sunday 

• Sunday is the best day to post on instagram. The best time to post is between 1 AM to 6 AM to gain the most consistent engagement.

We were all astonished to find that the best times to post were so early in the day. We've been tracking the best times to publish on Instagram, and we thought that publishing when your audience was most active was the most successful approach and while this still matters it is not the only factor that contributes to your followers post engagement. 

The Instagram algorithm factors timeliness into account, but not as much as it once did. Instagram has stated in the past that the number of interactions in the first 30 minutes "has no bearing on a post's ranking" in the Home Feed. It used to be crucial to get solid engagement in the first hour of your Instagram post (hence the rise in popularity of engagement groups) but today that's irrelevant. Subsequently, most engagement groups no longer exist and those that do, do not offer value for money.

What the above shows is that most people when waking up will reach for the phone and one of the first apps they go to is a social platform like Instagram (Tiktok may currently be the first app people open).

Instagram Stories analysis

Your Instagram post strategy should be the same for posts and stories based upon the best times to post above.

While this information provides a broad 'optimal times to post on Instagram', the truth is that optimal Instagram posting times will vary depending on your account and target audience.

Should you start posting at 5-6am every day?

Yes and no! If the majority of your followers are not on the same time zone as you (different country to you) then these best times to post may not apply to you.

Which Is The Best Month To Post On Instagram?

There is a significant variation seen in the engagement on Instagram depending on the month you post on Instagram. Each month is different from another, and many things like weather, holidays, and other seasonal factors affect your engagement. If you want to make the most of your posts, you need to adjust your posting times according to different months.

However, December is seen as the best time of the year to post on Instagram with any kind of marketing. The beginning of Winter, Christmas, the Holiday season, the approaching New Year and most importantly the huge ad spend companies spend to the run up to Christmas are the few possible reasons why it makes sense for it to be the best month to post on Instagram. Make sure to post regularly and most importantly to create quality Instagram content in December to maximise the opportunity.

Check where your followers are located to find your best time to post on Instagram

Where your Instagram audience is from can be found in your business account insights as shown above. Profile > Insights > Total followers > scroll down.

As an example, we can use @owskimedia's specific audience breakdown. Most of their followers are from the US, and using the best time to post on a Monday (5 am independent research) is between 10am (East Coast time zone) to 1pm (West Coast time zone).

Therefore, they would create an Instagram strategy to start posting within the best times to post for their specific audience and track what engagement patterns arise. 

Their analysis could show the following:

1. 5AM-6AM are in fact the best times to post
2. Worst and best days for their Instagram business account don't align with Laters research and have a few worst days:

• Monday worst day
• Tuesday worst day
• Friday worst day

Fundamentally, social media companies can do all the Instagram analytics but you have to test your ideal posting time on your own followers.

Are you looking to develop your Instagram following organically and gain actual followers? Try OwskiMedia Growth Services Today!

The industry you're in matters on the best time to post

At a time when Instagram posts reach tens of millions of people, understanding what type of compelling content performs best for your brand is critical.

As previously mentioned the best times to post on Instagram vary by Instagram accounts however, there are various optimum posting times for Instagram based on particular sectors. To optimise interaction, it's crucial to adjust your Instagram posting hours depending on the sector.

Later.com Instagram posting times and your own insights are an amazing guideline, but if you're in the media, retail, tech and travel & tourism industries then Sprout Social conducted some instagram analysis to find the best time to post for your industry.

Media

In the media business, Instagram is extremely consistent in terms of engagement. With relatively high engagement periods around the clock (compared to US central time).

Best times to post on Instagram for the media industry

• Best times to post: Tuesday 1–5 p.m. , Wednesday 11 a.m. , Thursday 8–9 a.m.
• Best days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
• Worst day: Sunday - Most professionals do not work on Sundays and spend time doing hobbies they love and are inactive on social media.

Retail

For those in the retail sector, Instagram posting is more important than ever before. Nowadays, Instagram is being used as a one-stop shopping destination. If you want maximum engagement from a target audience that buys on Instagram, you should take note of the following best times to post.

• Best time to post on Instagram: Friday 8AM
• Best day: Thursday
• Worst day: Sunday

Tech

The tech industry has the most best times to post out of all the industries measured. Partly because 92.6 percent of all tech employees state that they use Instagram. It's a great fit for B2B brands that can provide both creative visual content such as infographics and reports, as well as an insider look at corporate culture and employee satisfaction.

• Best Time to post: Monday morning 10-11 AM
• Best day: Monday
• Worst Day: Sunday - Most social media users do not check Instagram as often on the weekends in this industry.

Are you looking to develop your Instagram following organically and gain actual followers? Try OwskiMedia Growth Services Today!

Food

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.

If we have not mentioned the industry you're in then the senior data scientist at Sprout Social has crunched the engagement rate numbers for a few more industries.

How to Use Stories to Promote Your Instagram Posts?

If you are looking for a great way to promote your Instagram posts and get more exposure, you should use stories. Using the best time to post on Instagram along with Instagram stories, it has become much easier for users to leverage the platform and grow their business with the help of this social media network.

Here’s a brief about how to use Instagram stories to promote your posts:

• Share a story about your post directly after posting it on Instagram. This will make your followers keep track of your posts and also share them with their friends and family, which will help grow a strong network base in no time.
• Use stories to give out tips and update your audience with fresh content directly from your brand. This will help people know more about your brand and create a positive association between the brand and the audience.
• Discovery stories are a great way to promote your posts, so make sure that you do it effectively with an innovative story that can get the attention of people and make them click on what you are giving out as an offer or information in general.

Why Is It Important To Have a Posting Schedule?

An important reason it is essential to schedule posts on Instagram (at the best time to post) is that many users like to shop on Instagram. If you have a substantial following on Instagram or are looking for potential growth over time, you will greatly benefit from scheduling your posts on Instagram.

There are two main concepts behind scheduling posts for better attention. 

• With frequent posting (within a short space of time), you are rushing your followers towards seeing your content and possibly creating a spammy image for your brand. The importance and the surprise element from your Instagram posts start to diminish with frequent posting, and you do not maximise your instagram engagement.
• The other ideology is to create curiosity. Instead of posting your content frequently, create a stage for it by sharing teasers and hints in your stories. This will create interest and build curiosity among your followers, and in no time, they will start waiting eagerly for your next post on Instagram. 

Therefore, the wise thing to do here is sit back, relax and create a social media strategy using a social media management tool. We recommend using Facebook Business Suite as it it has everything you need and is an official Facebook/Instagram app.

How often should you post on Instagram?

You should post on Instagram at least once a week, as this is a great way to get more followers and engagement. You should make sure to create the highest possible content only. But one crucial thing to remember is not to overdo things and start posting recklessly and flashing your followers with irrelevant content, as they will lose interest.

The posting frequency can be different based on the schedule you have decided for your business profile. For example, if you are working for a start-up or an agency and looking to reach new customers and grow existing ones through social media marketing, it's best to post on Instagram daily, preferably posting earlier in the day.

The Bottom Line

The big question is, when is your post best time to post on Instagram? Well, the answer is simple: study your insights and see how people interact with your posts. When you signup to any of OwskiMedia's growth services, you will gain access to their statistics dashboard and tell will track your daily engagement rate. Therefore, if you post on Instagram no more than once per day, you will be able to quickly learn what is the best time to post on Instagram for your account.

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms of this era, and it's important for you to stay on top of it in 2022. Instagram is truly a global network and has provided users with impressive exposure when used correctly. Now you have all the information needed to get your content in front of as many users as possible!

Are you looking to develop your Instagram following organically and gain actual followers? Try OwskiMedia Growth Services Today!