There are many factors to consider when posting on Instagram, but the one that often feels like a make-or-break decision is when to post your content.
Totally fair. You don’t want to pour hours into a post, only to share it in an Instagram dead zone and hear… crickets.
Finding the best time to post can make the difference between silence and Instagram success.
Sharing Instagram Stories, reels, feed posts, and carousels at optimal times for reach and maximum engagement is an important consideration in your social media strategy.
It will be more successful if your content appears immediately in the feeds of your target audience while they are still available to interact with it. We used real-world data to examine the reach of more than 2 million Instagram posts to determine the ideal posting time. With all that in mind, let’s dig into everything you need to know about the best time to post on Instagram. We’ll also cover how to figure out your personal best time to post for maximum engagement and reach, whether you’re a marketer, creator, influencer, or casual Instagrammer.
Is there a best time to post on Instagram?
There’s no universal best time to post on Instagram for guaranteed success. If only it were that easy!
However, our analysis showed us that certain days and times tend to yield more reach than others. What was really interesting was the patterns we uncovered, too. For example, most weekdays see similar high-reach times.
Timing isn’t as critical as it was in the chronological-feed days (R.I.P.), but it still plays a role in your social media marketing strategy.
Phew! Ready to dig into the numbers and uncover the best time to post on Instagram based on our research?
When to post on Instagram at its best The best time to post on Instagram is generally 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.
After analyzing more than 2 million Instagram posts, we found that posts shared at these times tended to get the most reach.
The app is used by 31.7 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds and 30.6 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds (those with nine-to-five jobs), according to Statista. So, most Instagram users are 18–34. They’re usually online in the evenings after work — prime time for posting. I know I’m definitely more likely to log on as the day wears on and my productivity dwindles, or spend time scrolling as I relax in the evening.
Early mornings are not optimal times for catching this crowd. On most weekdays, there is a slight increase in reach around 12 p.m. (Lunch breaks, for sure.)
It makes sense that 3 p.m. often emerges as the best time to post for many accounts. You might ask, “But aren’t people still at work at three in the morning?” True, but keep in mind that these figures indicate reach, not login times. A post at 3 p.m. often travels through feeds and peaks later in the evening.
Posts shared in these slots will likely be shared just in time for the peak evening slots because your content will likely percolate for a few hours in various feeds. Definitely worth considering as part of your posting strategy.
As you’ll see from the heatmap graph above, the best Instagram posting times are pretty predictable, depending on the day of the week. The darkest times indicate the best times to post on Instagram because they have the highest reach per follower. The light-colored to white blocks are the time slots with the lowest reach, showing the posting times that are best avoided if you’re after maximum engagement and reach.
On weekdays, reach starts to pick up, which directly influences the best time to post on Instagram for maximum engagement. Prime times start in the early morning at 6 a.m., climbing from 11 a.m. (just in time for lunch breaks) and peaking at around 3 p.m. on most days.
Weekends look different. Both Saturday and Sunday see a dip in morning activity. Evenings bring a small bump, but not as strong as weekdays. Posting at 6 p.m. is generally the best time to catch evening scrollers if weekends are part of your strategy.
