When Is the Best Time to Post on Instagram? Check the Trends

First things first: knowing the best time to post on Instagram is crucial for maximizing your reach and engagement. You might be creating fantastic content that’s relevant, informative, and visually appealing to your target audience. However, if your posts get minimal or no engagement, your content strategy might lack proper timing.

Figuring out your optimal posting time can be challenging and often involves time, effort, and trial and error. Remember, great timing creates excellent opportunities for Instagram engagement. To help, we’ve prepared this comprehensive guide. These tips and tricks will help you determine the best times to post, regardless of your industry.

Why Timing is Key to Getting Real Followers

Knowing the best time to post content on Instagram is essential for gaining real followers. Timing plays a crucial role in maximizing your reach and engagement. Are you creating interesting and relevant content for your target audience but not getting noticed on Instagram feeds? If your posts are informative, eye-catching, and aesthetically pleasing but still get minimal engagement, your content strategy might need better timing.

Figuring out the best time to post stories on Instagram or any other content can take time and trial and error. Great timing creates opportunities for better Instagram engagement from your own audience as well as others. These tips and tricks will help you post compelling content at the right time, no matter your industry.

 How To Figure Out When To Post on IG

Deciding when it’s best to post depends largely on your audience. Start by identifying your target audience, considering location, time zone, and age group. Are they in the same time zone as you? Do they follow a similar work week? Understanding your audience will help you determine the optimal times for posting, increasing the chances of more engagement.

While it’s difficult to know your audience’s exact daily schedule, you should have a general idea of their everyday activities. For instance, if your audience includes college students, consider their class schedules. Most students are in classes during the day and more active online in the evenings or on weekends. Factoring in these practical considerations will help you decide when to post on IG for maximum engagement.

The Best Hours To Post on Instagram for Each Day of the Week

According to Sprout Social’s analysis, the best time to post on Instagram is Wednesday from 9 AM to 4 PM. Posting during this window maximizes engagement. They found the worst times to post are Wednesday from 10 AM to 4 PM and Thursday from 9 PM to 11 PM. Engagement generally drops during weekends, making Saturdays and Sundays less ideal for posting. Here’s a breakdown of the best hours to post each day (using your local time):

Curious as to why early hours work the best for engagement? Users and followers are likelier to check their Instagram accounts during morning downtime. Whether that is while they are just waking up or eating breakfast. Or, they may be checking IG during their morning commute. Your content has a good chance of popping up in your followers’ feeds first thing in the morning. Here are some other posting times and days you should consider.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Monday

For the best engagement on Instagram, consider posting on Mondays between 11 AM and 2 PM. This typically aligns with many people’s lunch breaks. Additionally, posting anytime between 9 AM and 4 PM can yield good results.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Tuesday

Tuesdays show the highest engagement between 10 AM and 4 PM, with nearly double the engagement compared to Mondays.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Wednesday

Wednesdays are the best day for engagement on Instagram. Optimal posting times are between 9 AM and 4 PM, making it the peak day for interaction.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Thursday

Thursdays see optimal engagement between 9 AM to 1 PM and again around 2 PM. However, it’s worth noting that engagement slightly dips at 1 PM.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Friday

Friday engagement peaks at 11 AM but remains high a few hours before and after this time.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Saturday

Saturdays are the most active times from 9 AM to 12 PM. However, weekends typically see lower engagement than weekdays.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Sunday

Sundays have less overall engagement, and similar to Saturdays, the best posting times fall between 10 AM and 12 PM.

Remember that these posting times are generalized across industries and for a global audience. Knowing the best time to post Instagram content varies based on these factors.

The Worst Times for Posting Content on Instagram

Posting when your audience is most active isn’t always the best strategy. Several factors can affect engagement rates. Research indicates Instagram’s algorithm might favor earlier posts. Posting early can lead to higher engagement because your content appears first in your audience’s feed. This strategy works well when competition is low, ensuring your post is seen during their initial scroll. Even if a post is a few hours old, it can still be visible. It’s best to avoid posting during times with lower engagement.

For engagement and reach, you should avoid these Instagram posting times:

• Monday: After 5 p.m.
• Tuesday: After 5 p.m.
• Wednesday: Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Thursday: Between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.
• Friday: After 5 p.m.
• Saturday: Early morning and late at night.
• Sunday: Early morning and late at night.

These times tend to have lower engagement, so it’s best to avoid posting during these periods.

This should give you a general idea of how you should plan your content calendar and your social media strategy. Remember that your specific audience will also determine when you should post on Instagram. So, should you publish your post based on these recommendations or based on your audience’s app activities? Trying both would be the smartest approach.

The Best IG Posting Times by Industry

When you should post on Instagram also varies depending on the industry and the Instagram audience. Don’t forget to use hashtags, also. To get the most out of your social media posts, you’ll need to know who to tag for more reach.

Additionally, consider the time zone when thinking of posting times, unless you are trying to reach a different location market. For example, if you want to grow your East Coast market, you’d post according to the Eastern time zone.

According to Sprout Social’s research, the best times to schedule an Instagram post per industry are as follows:

Industry	Best Time to Post	Best Day / Most Consistent Engagement	Worst Day	Lowest Engagement
Hospitals & Healthcare	Mondays at 10 AM and 1 PM; Tuesdays from 11 AM to 4 PM; Wednesdays from 10 AM to 3 PM; Thursdays from 10 AM to 1 PM; Fridays from 11 AM to 3 PM	Tuesdays – Fridays	Sundays	Other days
Restaurants	Mondays from 10 AM to 1 PM; Tuesdays from 11 AM to 2 PM; Wednesdays from 11 AM to 2 PM; Thursdays from 10 AM to 1 PM; Fridays from 11 AM to 1 PM	Weekdays	Weekends	Other days
Schools & Education	Wednesdays from 2 to 4 PM and 9 PM	Wednesdays	Sundays	Other days
Travel & Hospitality	Wednesdays from noon to 2 PM and 4 PM; Sundays from 11 AM to 1 PM	Wednesdays and Thursdays	None (All days receive moderate engagement)	Other days

The Best Time To Post Instagram Story

Five hundred million users view Instagram Stories daily, so finding the right posting time is key. For optimal engagement, the best times to post stories are weekdays between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Stories last 24 hours, providing flexibility in your posting schedule. However, avoid posting before 6:00 AM or after 9:00 PM, as engagement is lower during these times. Add your most popular stories to your story highlights to ensure ongoing visibility. On top of that, use the auto-archive feature to preserve access to past stories. 

Remember to add your most popular stories to your story highlights. Your audience can still view story highlight reels even after they have expired. You may also want to turn on your stories’ auto-archive feature to preserve access to them.

The Best Time To Post Reels on Instagram

Posting Reels at the right time can significantly boost engagement on your Instagram profile. Unlike Stories, which disappear after 24 hours, Reels stay on your profile indefinitely, allowing them to reach more viewers over time. The best time to post Reels is between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, Monday to Thursday, when engagement is generally higher. Furthermore, you should use every tool Instagram offers. Create high-quality content, utilize relevant hashtags, and schedule your posts ahead of time. This strategy maximizes visibility and engagement by leveraging Instagram’s algorithm.

Need more followers in a pinch? Utilize third-party services that will help you gain a thousand followers in minutes. 

We understand this can be a lot to keep track of. Don’t worry! You can schedule your Instagram posts in advance, allowing you to keep living your life.

Figure Out Your Optimal Posting Window Through Trial and Error

There’s no steadfast rule regarding the best posting time, so start figuring it out by trial and error. You’ll use Instagram’s analytics tools to get the necessary insights about your audience’s behaviors. Particularly when they’re most active on the platform. Take note that Instagram Insights are only available if you have an Instagram business account or creator profile.

A creator profile has the added advantage of having access to the Instagram Creator Studio dashboard. It provides additional audience Instagram insights and engagement metrics, such as data on when your followers are online. Also, knowing which Instagram posts perform best helps you narrow down the kind of content you should create.

Schedule posts based on the recommended best times post time as mentioned above. Then, use Instagram Insights or Instagram Analytics to check when your posts get the highest engagement. Verify your findings by adjusting your content schedule accordingly and then checking if you’ll get the same/similar engagement results. You may also schedule the same Instagram account posts at different times for comparison. Don’t forget to post regularly to keep your follower count and engagement rate high.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Final Thoughts: Perfect Timing Is Key to Optimized Content Engagement

Having unique content is just one-half of the equation for Instagram’s success. The other half is good timing. Your content must reach not just the right people but the maximum number of users every single time you publish.

With some carefully planned trial and error, you can pinpoint specific times for certain days of the week. You’ll also know the best days of the week to publish your content to get the highest exposure and engagement. When you have the timing nailed down, post consistently and watch your audience engagement soar. Now that you know the best times to post on Instagram, you have a good starting point. With this knowledge, you can plot a content schedule covering the most important bases. 

Another great way to organically boost your numbers is by partnering with a reliable growth company like Path Social. We use a proprietary AI targeting algorithm to find real people who are looking for the content you’re already offering. So, you can be sure that the followers you’ll gain have a high likelihood of providing quality engagement. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!