Best Time to Post on Instagram for the Highest Engagement

To build an engaged, sizable Instagram following, you need to create compelling content that your audience actually wants. But if you don't post your content at the right time, they'll never get to see it...
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To build an engaged, sizable Instagram following, you need to create compelling content that your audience actually wants. But if you don't post your content at the right time, they'll never get to see it. Instagram's algorithm prefers "recency" or fresh content when determining which posts your audience sees on their feeds, so newer posts are much more likely to appear on their feeds first, no matter how many times they refresh. 

As a business, you need to ensure your posts are fresh when your Instagram followers are most likely to be online, increasing the likelihood of them seeing, liking, and engaging with your content. 

When Is The Best Time to Post?
On average, 10 a.m. — 3 p.m. CDT is the best time to post on Instagram. But your Instagram engagement can significantly change depending on the day you post. The best days to post are Wednesday, especially at 11 a.m. and Friday, between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. According to data from Sprout Social, you'll get the highest engagement if you post on Wednesday to Friday at 7 a.m. CDT as people typically check their social media when they wake up. 

Posting from 11 a.m. — 3 p.m. CDT during weekdays also generates a great deal of engagement. That's because people mostly check their phones during their lunch break and towards the end of the day. The best time to post on the weekend is 10 a.m. CDT on Saturday when people hang out with their friends or have brunch.

Best Time to Post on Instagram Broken Up By Day
Here are the best posting times globally on Instagram during the week:

  • Sunday: 8 a.m. — 2 p.m. (Engagement is usually low on this day)
  • Monday: 11 a.m. — 2 p.m.
  • Tuesday: 10 a.m. — 3 p.m. (Engagement is at its highest at 7 p.m.)
  • Wednesday: 7 a.m. — 4 p.m. (Engagement peaks at 11 a.m. — 2 p.m.)
  • Thursday: 10 a.m. — 2 p.m., 6 — 7 p.m.
  • Friday: 9 a.m. — 2 p.m. (Engagement is at its highest at 9 a.m.)
  • Saturday: 9 — 11 a.m.

Based on this data, you can get the most consistent engagement by posting on Instagram between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

Best Times to Post Based On Content-Type
Here are the best times to post on Instagram for different industries:

1.  B2C Companies
  • The Best Time: Wednesday at 3: p.m. CDT
  • Most Consistent Engagement: Tuesday to Friday from 11: a.m. to 3: p.m. CDT
  • Best Day: Wednesday
  • Worst Day: Sunday

2.  Travel & Tourism      
  • Best Time: Friday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
  • Most Consistent Engagement: Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Best Day: Friday
  • Worst Day: Saturday and Sunday

3.  Retail 
  • Best Time: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at noon
  • Most Consistent Engagement: Tuesday to Friday between 11 a.m. — 1 p.m.
  • Best Day: Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday

4.  Media & Entertainment
  • Best Time: Friday at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Most Consistent Engagement: Monday to Sunday between 12 — 3 p.m.
  • Best Day: Tuesdays and Thursdays

5.  Personal Care
  • Best Time: Thursday and Friday at 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
  • Most Consistent Engagement: Monday to Saturday between 12 — 3 p.m.
  • Best Day: Thursday and Friday
  • Worst Day: Saturday and Sunday

6.  Technology
  • Best Time: Wednesday at 6 a.m. and 9 — 10 a.m. CDT, Friday from 7 to 10 a.m.
  • Most Consistent Engagement: Tuesday evening to Wednesday afternoon, and Friday between midnight and 10 p.m. CDT
  • Best Day: Wednesday
  • The Worst Day: Sunday

Best Posting Practices
1.  Understand and Analyze Your Audience 
The key to success on Instagram is knowing your audience, and the easiest way to do this is to look at your Instagram analytics. Your analytics will show you their demographics, what time they are most often using the app, which time zones the majority of your followers reside in, and what type of content they like most. You can then use this information to optimize your content as well as posting times. 

2.  Conduct Ongoing Research
A robust Instagram strategy makes room for a lot of testing and experimentation. Don't limit your posting schedule to best times and always test different posting times at least twice to ensure an Instagram post's success is not just because of its content. Use the best times we've covered on this post as starting points and supplement them with internal data to get the best results.

Conclusion
Posting at a particular time increases the likelihood of your post showing up on your Instagram followers' feeds and ultimately engaging with your content. We hope these tips for best posting times will help you increase your Instagram reach and build a more engaged audience. For more Instagram and marketing tips, visit our Instagram and check out our weekly marketing tips and tricks. 
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