When posting on Instagram, you want your posts to receive as much traffic as possible. However, if you only post and wait for lady luck to smile on your posts to make them go viral, you are in for a rude shock. 

Getting a well-performing post takes a lot of handwork. You need to ensure that the post is well-optimized for the Instagram algorithm. Besides that, you should post at the right time. This article will guide you on the best time to post on Instagram according to the algorithm.

Why Post at the Right Time on Instagram?

When creating content for Instagram, one of the key factors that the Instagram algorithm considers is the posting time. But why does it matter? There are many other content creators on Instagram competing for the same audience. The Instagram algorithm will show your posts according to the competition level. 

If there is a high number of posts competing for the same eyeballs, your posts are likely to receive fewer views. Again, the Instagram algorithm prioritizes the most recent posts. Newer posts are usually given preference, ensuring that users get fresh content every time.

The time your target audience is online matters. You will not have many views if you post at night when most users aren't online. You should, therefore, understand your audience’s peak hours to leverage their online presence optimally. You also need to stay updated with Instagram trends to understand audience behaviors.

Is There a Good Time to Post Online?

Before we discuss the best time to post on Instagram, it's important to understand that there is no universal best time for posting online. However, there are certain times and days when the Instagram audience is usually online. But before we discuss the best time for posting, it's important to note that several factors affect your posting time. These include:

Audience Location and Time Zone

When considering the best posting time, consider the time zone. You must align your posting time accordingly if your audience is spread across different countries and regions. If you post when your audience is mostly online, you can increase their chances of seeing your posts and increase engagement.

Day of the Week

The Instagram engagement level is also determined by the day of the week when you post. Therefore, you should analyze your data to determine the best day for your posts to receive the highest engagement levels. For instance, if your posts primarily target a professional audience, you should post during weekdays.

On the other hand, if you target an audience primarily of students, the best time to post may be during the weekends. You can also experiment with different days of the week and monitor the performance of your posts to determine the best posting time.

Time of the Day

In addition to understanding the best day of the week to post on Instagram, you must understand when your audience is usually very active. You will realize that different audiences and demographic segments have different activity levels. 

When you understand the peak hours that your audience is active on Instagram, you can easily tell when your posts will likely receive the highest engagement level. For instance, if you are trying to reach a global audience, you must find a balance that accommodates different time zones. 

Audience Behavior and Engagement Patterns

You must analyze audience behavior and engagement patterns to determine the best time to post on Instagram. You should do a lot of research to understand the audience's behavior. There are tools you can use to get useful data on your follower's activities, such as:

• When your audience is most active.
• When they engage most with your content.
• When you get the highest engagement on your posts.

Here is an overview of the Instagram tools to use:

Instagram Insights

This tool can provide in-depth data about your audience. You must have an Instagram creator or business account to use this feature. Some information you can see about your audience includes age, gender, and location. The tool will also provide data such as reach, profile, impressions, follower activity, and profile visits.

Third-party Tools

On top of Instagram Insights, third-party tools can provide you with important data on your audience. Then, you can use the data to determine the trends and patterns to help you create a good posting pattern. Some of the tools, such as HootSuite and SproutSocial, can provide great insights into details such as:

• Followers count
• Engagement behaviors

Audience Feedback

Another way you can easily find the engagement data with your audience is through audience feedback. You can easily get information on their preferences by posting on Instagram, responding to their comments, and asking them questions. 

When posting, include questions in your captions to create a sense of community. These measures can provide important insights to help you refine your posting schedule to meet your audience’s needs.

Experimenting With Different Posting Time

No matter how well you research the best posting time, it will still be hard to get it right most of the time. You can overcome the gaps in your insights by experimenting with different posting times. All you need to do is post on different days and times of the week to see the results. 

One of the most common methods to experiment with different posting times is split testing. This method works by creating similar posts and posting them at different times of the day and week. You can then look at the different posts' performance metrics to see if patterns and trends are associated with a higher engagement level. 

For instance, you can create two similar posts and schedule one in the morning and the other in the evening. You can then monitor the number of likes, shares, and comments. When you compare the engagement metrics, you can determine the time slots that yield the best results. You can follow the same strategy for different days of the week.

What Is the Overall Best Time to Post on Instagram?

According to studies, the best time to post is generally on Friday at 7 a.m.  However, posts done on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. tend to have a higher engagement rate. On top of Fridays, Monday is the best time to post on Instagram. Here are the best times to post at different times of the week:

• Mondays: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesdays: 9 a.m.  to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday: 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Thursday: 11 a.m. and 3 to 4 p.m.
• Fridays: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
• Saturday: 11 a.m.
• Sunday: 11 a.m. to  2 p.m.

It's important to note that these days and times are usually generic and vary depending on the industry and brand. When creating a content strategy, you need to consider your target audience and their Instagram activity.

Best Times to Post on Instagram as Per the Locality

As noted earlier, the best time to post on Instagram depends on the location. Here are some general guidelines on certain regions:

• Best Instagram posting time in the USA. If you are in the United States, we recommend posting between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time during weekdays. Over the weekends, the day is slower, so 9 a.m. can be quite effective. If you are in a region like California where Pacific time applies, you can convert the Eastern time to Pacific time to get a better engagement level with your audience.
• Best Instagram posting time in the UK. If you are in the UK, we recommend you post at  8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. This will enable you to reach a good portion of the early risers and those ending their days at work. During the weekends, a good time for posting is 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., as you target users during the midday break.
• The best time to post in India. If you want maximum engagement in India, we recommend posting at 7.30 p.m. on weekdays and weekends. These times will help you capture users during their leisure time.
• The best time to post in Malaysia. This is between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. These times align with their lunch breaks and post-work relaxation hours.

Steps to Find Your Best Posting Time on Instagram

Let us now look at the steps to follow when using Instagram Insights to determine the best posting time:

• Go to Instagram Insights. On your Instagram profile, tap the three dots followed by Insights.
• Review audience activity. Under Insights, you will see the Overview Tab. Tap on it followed by Total followers. Scroll down until you see the follower's activity. When you scroll down, you will see when your followers are usually more active. This data is well broken down according to the hours and week of the day.
• Analyzing the data. Don't just take the data at face value. Take time to analyze it further. You can do that on an Excel Sheet or Google document. Then, you can enter the data from Instagram Insights into the spreadsheet, noting if there is any peak activity.
• Check patterns and trends. Keep updating your Instagram data over several weeks. Look for patterns and trends. For instance, which days of the week receive the most engagement? What about the time? If you see more success with live videos, do more of them.
• Test and adjust. Based on your findings, you can now schedule Instagram posts on peak days and hours. Keep checking the days when the posts get the highest engagement rate.
• Iterate and refine. With time, you will identify similar trends in data when your audience is responding most to your audience. Adjust the posting schedule as per your analytics.
• Stay updated. Remember that audience behavior changes constantly. Therefore, you should regularly review your analytics to see if there are any new patterns and update them.

What is the Worst Time to Post on Instagram?

The worst time to post on Instagram is usually late at night and early in the morning. Avoid posting from 9 p.m. on weekdays to 10 p.m. on the weekends. During the weekends, there may be a drop in engagement in the afternoon as audience activity changes. The activity level tends to drop at night when people are asleep. This is because most users are not active on Instagram then, and most are scrolling on their feeds.

During the weekends, there may be a drop in the engagement level as people engage in outdoor activities, run errands, or go to social events. On Sunday evening, the engagement level may also drop. While some users may be active, others prepare for the week ahead.

During major events such as holidays, activity levels may drop as the attention moves to the event. It could be something like the Super Bowl or the World Cup final. This is especially the worst time for posting reels on Instagram because the attention is on the event. The only exception is if you are posting raw and unique clips under the events.

Additional Tips on Increasing Engagement

On top of understanding the best time for posting on Instagram, there are several tips you can use to increase your engagement. These include:

• Stay consistent and authentic. When posting about your brand, you should show its true essence. Ensure that you are consistent in your posting. This will keep your audience engaged and give them a reason to look forward to your content.
• Use relevant but trending hashtags. Trending hashtags will help you reach a wider audience interested in your niche. This is one of the strategies big brands and celebrities use to grow their brands. It helps them grow as it puts their accounts in the right circles.
• Include trendy music in your videos. To improve the popularity of your brand, use trendy music in your stories.
• Mix different types of posts, instead of creating just one type of content, including different ones such as reels, photos, videos, and carousels. Make the most out of your Instagram stories. This will keep your feed interesting and cater to different types of content.

Conclusion

To find success with Instagram posting, you need to determine the best time to post. On top of posting consistently, you also need to post when most of your audience is online. Remember that it should not only be about posting on Instagram but also about making meaningful connections with your audience. 

This involves studying your audience’s behavior and making meaningful connections with them. If you are unsure of the best time for posting, our guide will help you determine that. Besides, we recommend you read our guide on the top Instagram business hashtags.