Social media marketers have long been trying to define the best times to post on Instagram through multiple algorithm changes, surveys and tests. Agree that learning the precise time when your followers are most active will be like getting a holy grail, especially if you are a social media marketer. And now InstaBF, your reliable friend in the world of Instagram and IGTV, is going to give you a complete and detailed how to determine the best time to post on Instagram and how to get the most out of that information.
The Best Times for Making Instagram Posts
Before passing to the surveys carried out, it’s important to remember that despite what the data say, the exact best time for your business is unique and different from that of another Insta business. For instance, if your target audience is college students, your best posting time will be thoroughly different from that of a brand targeting working professionals.
However, if you need a guideline to start testing out, have a look at the following survey results:
- for targeting international audiences, the best times for making Insta posts are around 2 AM and 5 PM, while the worst times are 6 PM and 9 AM;
- for targeting local audiences, its more expedient to post before work time, i.e. from 7 AM to 9 AM, or after 5 PM;
- weekdays are better for making Gram posts (especially Mondays and Thursdays), while weekends are the worst days (especially Sundays).
Remember that the tomes are presented in your time zone.
Does Timing Matter a Lot?
Changing the chronological order of algorithm to relevance-based one a couple of years ago, Instagram made it a bit challenging for users to have their posts appear on the top. However, despite this, timing still matters a lot. Do you remember the three key factors that Instagram algorithm basis on when determining what content should be prioritized? These are:
1. Relationship
Those Instagrammers who interact with your account more frequently will see your posts moving forward.
2. Relevance
Instagrammers are shown particularly the content type they have interacted with previously.
3. Recency
And here we get the importance of timing. In fact, the more recent the post is, the more it is prioritized.
Anyway, besides this, once you post at a peak time, you will get a greater hit of engagement. Not only will more followers see your new post, but they will also become more likely to see what you post next time, too due to the Relevance point of the algorithm.
By testing this, you will find out yourself, that if you make a post, let’s suppose, at 2 AM, it won’t be any success even if it’s a strong one. But those posts made at peak times will keep on getting a strong engagement over a day or so.
What concerns Instagram Stories, timing plays a huge role, too! Posting your Instagram Stories at peak times will make them appear on the top once your followers get online. And believe us, it will be better for you to have your Stories in the beginning, rather than in the end, as this way, Instagrammers may simply don’t even reach.