You’ve got the strategy, you’ve got the content, but now it’s time to post. Sure, you could just post at any point in the day, but is there a better time to post on Instagram? Well, luckily for you, we have that answer.
The quick answer is yes there is a best time to post on Instagram, whether it’s a standard post, a Story, or a Reel. But first, let’s start with the worst time of day.
1. Worst Time of Day to Post
What exactly constitutes the “worst time” to post on Instagram? In simple terms, it is the time when your audience is the least active. This can vary depending on a number of factors like your industry and audience demographic, but there are some general rules that apply to everyone for the worst time to post.
If you were thinking that the best time to post your content was on Saturday or Sunday because that’s when everyone has the most free-time, you’d be wrong. The weekend is, in fact, the worst time for you to post any of your content on Instagram. Which is lucky for you since that means you don’t have to do any extra work on the weekends.
But look at it this way, during the weekend, people tend to have more things going on in their everyday life, so they might be less likely to spend their time scrolling through social media.
2. Best Time of Day to Post
On the flip side, that means the best time to post has to be during the week. So people go through their days at work and then you post in the evening so they see your content while winding down for the day, right? Nope. Wrong again.
The best time of day to post is between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays. This is because adults are most likely to check their social media feeds while they are on their lunch break or any other breaks they may take during the day. This graph from SproutSocial shows the engagement breakdown through out the day.
The ultimate goal of your Instagram posts, stories, and reels is to get as many eyes on them as possible so you can maximize engagement. This means you need to find a balance between 2 factors – free time and current enjoyment.
What exactly does that mean? Well, let’s look at the weekends. That is the time where the majority of people have the most free time, but they are enjoying themselves the most, so they are less likely to spend their time on social media.
On the other side of the ratio, when people are actively working, they are at their lowest point of enjoyment, but they have no free time to scroll through social media. That is why finding the right balance is imperative for finding the right time to post on Instagram.