The Guide to Posting Timing On Instagram

Crafting an effective Instagram content strategy can be challenging and requires time, effort and careful consideration. To help maximize the impact of your posts, it is important to determine when you should post on social media for optimal engagement from followers. Fortunately, with some research and trial-and-error experience as demonstrated by experienced professionals in the field, such as Social Media Managers, we now have access to tips and insight into determining what are considered to be the best times for posting.

Most Active Time To Post

When planning social media posts, it is important to be aware of the different time zones worldwide. Generally, people check their feeds in the morning (7-8 am), during lunchtime (11-1 pm) and before bed or after work (6-8 pm). However, optimal posting times may vary depending on age group, demographic and industry. So it's essential to research your target audience beforehand.

Best Times To Post

If you're looking to maximize your reach on Instagram in the Eastern Time Zone, it's essential that you adjust post times according to followers' time zones and activity. The algorithms focus on promoting recent posts, so understanding when users are most active is key. Use this as a guide:

• Monday 6am/11am/1pm
• Tuesday 8-10am & 2pm
• Wednesday 9-11am
• Thursday 11am - 2pm & 7pm
• Friday 10am - 12pn, 2-4pm
• Saturday 8 - 11am
• Sunday 6 - 8pm

When To Avoid Posting

It's always a good idea to post on Saturdays when people are winding down from their week and starting to relax. Sunday evening can also be an opportune time for brands offering consumer goods due to high engagement levels. Conversely, Mondays tend to have slower activity as everyone is back in the swing of things, with work-related tasks taking precedence over social media browsing.

Best Times For Instagram Reels

In the TikTok era, video-based content is rising, and Instagram Reels can help you engage with your followers. Scheduling posts to optimize engagement at certain times of day has been suggested by Hootsuite as a Monday - Thursday 9 am-12 pm window. However, that may vary depending on the industry or target market. It's important to experiment to find what works best for each situation.

How Frequently Should You Publish Content?

Posting regularly on social media is key to keeping followers engaged, but it's important not to just post content for the sake of posting. Instead, devise a customer-journey-based content strategy that takes more time upfront and will save you stress in the long run. Start off by aiming for three posts per week and adjust as necessary after monitoring its success rate over time.

Conclusion

Crafting an effective Instagram content strategy is no easy feat - it involves finding the right post times, selecting relevant hashtags and visuals, paying close attention to promoted posts, and balancing all these variables to grow your follower base. With a little trial and error (or market research.), you can find that sweet spot where engagement skyrockets.