Jul 28, 2022

Best Times to Post on Instagram

by Digital Marketing Institute

You might be using Instagram to entertain your friends and family—or you could be using the platform to promote your brand or business.

Either way, if you’re regularly posting on Instagram, you should ask yourself a few questions. What is the best time to post on Instagram? Are you using a calendar to schedule your posts on the right day and at the right time? Are your videos and imagery up to scratch? And are you fully engaging with your audience?

With one billion monthly active users, Instagram boasts a treasure trove of potential prospects for those that take a strategic approach to their content, campaigns, and activities. When it comes to squeezing every last drop of marketing value, knowing what content is most likely to resonate with your audience and when they’re likely to engage is vital.

Here we look at the best time to post on Instagram as well as practical tips you can use to ensure your IG posts stand out from the crowd and really capture your audience’s attention, whether you’re a personal or business user.

Read on to level up your IG strategy.

Does it matter when you post on Instagram?

The times and days you post on Instagram make all the difference. By choosing the right times to schedule and publish content, you’re far more likely to maximize post engagement and reach.

By boosting content engagement and reach, you will earn a healthy return on investment (ROI) for your IG marketing efforts, accelerating the growth of your audience, improving brand awareness, and closing more conversions in the process.

So, when is the best time to post on Instagram? Well, this varies slightly according to your niche and industry or the day of the week. But, you can still find an Instagram posting sweet spot.

What time are people most on Instagram?

The general time for posting content on Instagram—the period that suggest most people are using the platform—is:

Wednesday at 11am
Friday between 10am and 11am

What's the worst day to post on Instagram?

In addition to knowing the best time to post on Instagram, it’s also worth discovering the most wasteful day or time to publish content. Armed with this information, you can ensure that your valuable and precious posts aren’t floating around in social media space, consumed by no one. So, without further ado, here’s the worst day to post on Instagram:

Sunday, all day (according to a variety of studies, people are minimally engaged for the entire day. It’s probably because people are disconnecting from social and spending quality time with friends and family. Or resting)

Best time to post on Instagram by day of the week

Now we’re going to break things down a little by telling you the best times to post content by day of the week.

While there are best and worst days to post content on Instagram, it’s not always possible to stick to these time slots stringently (doing so will also make your marketing efforts appear a little unbalanced)—fortunately, there is a publishing sweet spot during almost every weekday.

Let’s take a look.

Best time to post on Monday

The best time to post on Monday is 11am to midday.

Best time to post on Tuesday

The best time to post on Tuesday is 11am to midday.

Best time to post on Wednesday

The best time to post on Wednesday is 11am to midday.

Best time to post on Thursday

The best time to post on Thursday is at midday.

Best time to post on Friday

The best time to post on Friday is 11am to midday.

Best time to post on Saturday

The best time to post on Saturday is 10am to 1pm.

Best time to post on Sunday

If you really need to post content on a Sunday, the best time to strike is between 9am and 4pm.

Best time to post on Instagram per content

Knowing the best times to post and share different forms of Instagram content will help you maximize your social media strategy. So, here is the best time to post on Instagram according to the content medium.

For more on ways to engage your audience with dynamic visual content, read our definitive guide to Instagram video formats.

Best time to post on Instagram feed

The best time to post on an Instagram feed is:

Wednesday at 11am
Friday between 10am and 11am

Best time to post IG reels and IGTV

The best time to post IG reels and on IGTV is Mondays and Thursdays at 5am.

Best time to go on Instagram Live

The best to go live on Instagram is Mondays to Fridays at midday or between 7pm and 9pm.

Best time to post Instagram Stories

The best time to post Instagram Stories is Monday to Friday between midday and 1pm or late afternoon.

For more helpful hints on boosting engagement, read Boost Brand Awareness with Instagram Stories: A How to Guide.

Best time to post on Instagram based on location and time zone

Connecting with local, domestic, and international consumers through Instagram will expand your commercial reach and help you accelerate brand growth. So, here are the best times to post on Instagram according to location or time zone.

When you’re using these national or regional times to find your posting sweet spot, cross-referencing these periods with general best platform posting days, as well as those by industry, will help you maximize engagement and reach.

Best time to post for audiences in Australia

The best time to post Instagram content for users in Australia is 9pm UTC and 8am AEDT.

Best time to post for audiences in Asia

The best time to post Instagram content for users in Asia is:

South Asia: 3am
East Asia and Southeast Asia: 11pm to 4am

Best times to post for audiences in Africa and the Middle East

The best time to post Instagram content for users in Africa and the Middle East is:

Africa and the Middle East: 3am

Best time to post for audiences in Europe

The best time to post Instagram content for users in Europe is:

Western Europe: 6pm to 8pm
Eastern Europe: 5am to 7am

Best time to post for audiences in the US

The best time to post Instagram content for users in the US according to specific time zone is:

Western Standard Time (WST): Midday to 6am
Central Standard Time (CST): 6am to 8am
Eastern Standard Time (EST): 4am to 9am

Best time to post for audiences in Canada

The best time to post Instagram content for users in Canada according to specific time zone is:

Western Standard Time (WST): Midday to 6am
Central Standard Time (CST): 6am to 8am
Eastern Standard Time (EST): 4am to 9am

The Best time to post on Instagram by Industry

We’ve explored the overall best time to post on Instagram as well as the periods when audiences in specific regions are most likely to engage. Now we’re going to look at IG posting sweet spots based on niche or industry.

Retail

The best time to post Instagram content for retail audiences is Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at midday.

Media

The best time to post Instagram content for media and entertainment audiences is Tuesdays and Thursdays between midday to 3pm.

Hospitality

The best time to post Instagram content for retail audiences is Fridays at midday.

Tech

The best time to post Instagram content for technology audiences is Tuesdays at 2pm.

Not for Profit (NGO)

The best time to post Instagram content for non-profit organizations is Tuesdays at 10am or 4pm.

Education

The best time to post Instagram content for education audiences is Thursdays at 4pm or 5pm.

Health & fitness

The best time to post Instagram content for health and fitness audiences is Thursdays and Fridays from 1pm to 3pm.

B2B

The best time to post Instagram content for B2B audiences is Wednesdays at 11am.

Food

The best time to post Instagram content for food and beverage audiences is Fridays at midday.

Travel

The best time to post Instagram content for travel audiences is Fridays between 9am and 1pm.

How many times should I post on Instagram?

For a healthy flow of engagement, reach, and ultimately, growth, knowing how often to post content on Instagram is important.

According to a study by Later , here is the frequency you should publish content according to account size or following:

Under 1,000 followers: Around 14 times per week
1,000 to 250,000 followers: 14 to 20 times per week for maximum reach and once a week for maximum engagement
250,000-plus followers: Posting on Instagram just once a week will maximize your content’s reach and engagement

Strategy to find the optimal posting time on Instagram

Once you know the best time to post on Instagram according to region, industry, and audience, you should take a strategic approach to finding your exact publishing sweet spot. Here’s how to do so.

Know your audience’s habits

First of all, to ensure you’re not only posting at exactly the right times, but you’re also publishing content that truly resonates with your target users, knowing your audience’s browsing habits is essential.

By conducting social listening and looking at how specific segments of your audience interact with your competitors’ content, you can paint a vivid picture on when to publish posts while exploiting any gaps or weaknesses that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Our practical competitor analysis toolkit will help you gain an insight into what kind of content relevant brands in your niche are posting and gain an all-important marketing edge.

Use a social media calendar or scheduler

Another way of delivering your content at precisely the right time with consistency while making sure you don’t miss out on any invaluable engagement opportunities is by building an Instagram posting calendar.

Automating the delivery of your content by using a social media scheduling tool will also save you time while empowering you to reach the right Instagram users at the right time, even when you sleep.

Having a strong sense of style and consistency will also propel your Instagram marketing strategy forward.

Download our social media style guide and template to get ahead of the competition.

Use analytics to measure performance

Last but certainly not least, to consistently refine and improve the times you post as well as the content you create on Instagram is to measure your performance.

Whether it’s the performance of singular feed posts and Stories or entire campaigns that include Live broadcasts, Reels, and every other type of Instagram content, consulting the platform’s native analytics will help you discover what works best and what doesn’t.

What are the best practices for posting on Instagram?

Finally, let's talk through some of the best practices for posting on Instagram:

Keep your captions short. You’ll want to make sure that you're using them in a very concise manner to deliver your message.
Don't use more than three hashtags in your captions. Using more than that will detract from your brand message and come across as inauthentic and spammy.
The images you post should all have a strong focal point. This will drive instant engagement and develop a solid brand image.
Use filters to change the mood of an image. This can potentially lead to more likes and comments.
Use photography that showcases your brand logo clearly in product imagery. This is a powerful tool for brand recognition and connection.
Post video content and visual carousels that are visually appealing and beautiful. You should also aim to tell a story in an unexpected way.
Use Instagram's sister apps, such as Layout and Boomerang. Doing so will create visual interest and show knowledge of the platform.
Use social influencers to promote your content and expand your reach. Working with influencers will build trust while giving you a significant boost to your followership.
Add emojis to your captions to demonstrate authenticity. This is especially important as Instagram is a mobile-based platform and emojis are widely used.
Always include a call-to-action in your post. That way users will know what to do with the information you're providing.
Keep your content and posting schedule consistent. This approach will give your followers something to look forward to regularly.

Updated 2022

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