Over the past few years, the algorithms of Instagram have changed a lot. As a way, it has become more complex to post on Instagram. Nowadays, Instagram gives the most priority to posts created by the users, their family, and friends. Even it less likely gives preference to business posts including links that can take people away from Instagram.
In such circumstances, it is essential for businesses to be careful and practice the best means while posting on Instagram. And among the various aspects, one of the most important considerations is to identify the best time to post on Instagram.
Deciding the time to post on Instagram is a complex juggle as you must post when it is available to the maximum number of audiences. Moreover, you must post at an appropriate time especially when it can offer you an edge over your competitors.
Why You Must Post on Instagram?
With more than 1 billion active users per month, Instagram has developed into a promising social networking platform.
According to the users on Facebook, around 83% of individuals identify products and services on Instagram and almost 81% of them use them to make genuine buying decisions.
Hence, it is the correct time to post on this platform as it can help you and your business gain a great presence.
You now know that why posting on Instagram is the need of time. But posting on incorrect time can let your posts lost in the ocean of countless posts, which are uploaded on this portal every minute. For this reason, you must strategize well to make sure that your target audience engages and checks your content.
By knowing the correct time to post on Instagram, you can gain an edge over the completion. Moreover, it can help you gain a large fan following on this platform. But before you decide the best time to post on Instagram, it is essential that you understand the new algorithms of Instagram.
The New Algorithms of Instagram:
The very first and major change introduced by Instagram as its update in 2016. According to this update, it mentioned prioritizing posts that would focus on user moments.
There was also an update introduced in 2018, which announced major improvements to make sure that the users had effective control over the feeds as well as posts received on a timely basis.
The next major change occurred in 2019 and it focuses on posts that are based on activities of the users on the app.
All such changes to the algorithms of Instagram made sure that it is no more important to maintain a chronological order for your feed. It is because Instagram now shows content on the basis of usage, timelines, and the accounts, which are the most engaging.
For businesses and brands, it implies that your audience can see your posts if your posts are liked or preferred by the algorithms of Instagram. Also, they see posts if it contains engaging content and has interacted with your business or brand before. And most importantly, the posting time greatly affects if your audience sees the posts.
When all such aspects are taken into consideration while posting on Instagram, there is a higher chance that it will be showcased in front of the right people who are interested to actually see and interact with your posts.
So, this is a brief about the latest updates on Instagram algorithms.
Now, let us take into consideration the best time to post on Instagram depending on the case studies.
Ideal Time for Posting on Instagram on the Basis of Studies:
There are numerous organizations that have conducted various studies to identify the correct time to post on Instagram. While these studies resulted in different outcomes, there are a few similarities that we have shortlisted.
One study conducted by CoSchedule compares the data and statistics from more than 25 studies. As per the study, the best time to post on this portal is before work, after lunch, or during and after work.
Their study further revealed that catching people over their free hours such as lunchtime or dinner breaks is a great way to engage with them. Your chances of posting can increase when they have just completed their daily work and activities. Also, the study found that the best day of the week to post on Instagram is Friday.
There was another study conducted by HubSpot, which disclosed that the best time post on Instagram is on Thursday at various time intervals, which is early morning, during the daytime, before work, and during tea time in the evening.
The worst time to post on Instagram is from Monday to Thursday and between 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. At this time the people are most exhausting that even they have very little time to do breakfast and lunch.
On the basis of their study, the notable time to post is Tuesday between 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m.
Other than weekdays, the best time to post on the weekend, which is Sunday, is from 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. It is the time when your audience is expected to be free, eat brunch, or hang out with friends.
You can expect a high level of engagement on Thursday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. and Friday at 5 a.m. From Tuesday to Thursday the perfect time to post is around 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
While such studies are important, there are more other aspects to consider for determining the correct time to post on Instagram. This way, it is possible to make sure that your entire posts cater to the unique needs of your audience.
How to Determine the Best Time for Posting on Instagram?
Every account on Instagram possesses a different kind of followers with their specific requirements. Hence, it is critical to identify the correct time to post on this platform on the basis of the preferences of your audience.
For example, if you have a clothing store, the right time to post on Instagram will differ from the time of posting for a café or club. It is of utmost importance that you always lend priority to your audience.
For this, it is essential to ask some of the vital questions about the audience.
- The priorities of your audience.
- The way your audience interact with your previous posts.
- How your audience engages with your business or brand.
- What are the preferred modes of your audience for accessing social media?
- What is the correct or probable time for them to be online?
It is essential that you must take into consideration the various hashtags and posts used by the users as well as your competitors. For businesses that are unable to consider such things, there is a higher chance that many people may leave your post unnoticed.
Posting at the correct time on this portal may appear complicated. But there are definitely some tools, which you can use to make the work simpler and easier.
Such tools are known as Instagram scheduling tools, which can help to boost the appearance of your posts on a consistent basis. This ensures you remain relevant for the audience and can keep them engaged as well.
By using tools designed exclusively for Instagram, it is possible to automate posting on this platform with ease. It is essential that you schedule your post on this portal and use the tools to handle most of the tasks.
The use of scheduling tools allows for reducing the time taken for posting the content. This will enable you to emphasize more on the content quality and in turn, can help enhance your engagement level to a great extent.
Along with using third-party tools, Instagram comes with built-in tools, which can be used for assessing the various aspects such as engagement, activity trends, and demographics of your audiences. It is possible to get personalized Instagram details on the profile. Such insights are related to data about specific Instagram stories as well as posts on Instagram.
Instagram also offers insights about the data on the performance of your profile in the past week. It is possible to get a lot of information like the total number of posts that have been created, the number of followers gained, and the number of followers lost.
Moreover, the Instagram insights help you learn about the time of the day when most of your followers are active on this platform. At this time, it lets you know the activities of your followers for a particular day. This app also offers insights on the activity of your followers like the engagement and level of reach for each post.
By using such insights, it is possible to understand the content that is liked by your audience. These insights can be used to gauge the overall contribution of your social platform influencers to your campaign.
The custom reports designed by Google Analytics can also let you find the most promising days for posting on Instagram. Such insights include vital metrics like the days when your account receives most traffic on this portal.
It is also possible to view the particular times when there are more active followers on Instagram and on the basis of this you can determine the correct time to post on Instagram
To get more detailed insights, you must consider measuring and tracking the performance of your Instagram post using third-party tools such as Iconosquare, Pixlee, Keyhole, and Crowdfire.
Important Considerations for the Best Time to Post on Instagram:
1. Identify the Day of the Week:
Depending on the day of the week, there can be variations in the level of engagement on Instagram. Even you are posting at the same time every day, the engagement level may vary a lot.
The main reason for this is that people prefer checking their phone for notifications and messages right when they wake during the working week. It means that people can check their Instagram early in the morning hours than weekends. But on Monday the engagement level is the lowest.
2. Consider Time Zones for More Benefit:
The wider is the geographic reach of the audience, the less crucial it is to establish posting times. But if the target audience is in a particular location, it is vital to use the time zone on the basis to set posting time on Instagram.
To make your Instagram post working, you must decide a time when the bulk audience is waiting or getting, going for the day.
3. Identify Breaks During Workdays:
There are many people who check their Instagram account during work breaks, specifically during lunchtime.
Moreover, identify the interest of people in their work flags in the late afternoon and only a few of them grab attention on Instagram.
4. Identify Posting-Frequency:
It is essential to post on a consistent basis if you wish your Instagram account to look fresh. It can be posting one to three posts in a day.
It is also better to share and post different content types, ensuring that you don’t have to come across as too interested in only making sales. You must focus on generating quality posts rather than posting bulk quantity.
5. Follow Your Audience:
There can be stances when your audience varies from the usual audience. Then posting in such cases on the above-mentioned time frame can be irrelevant for the account.
For your business Instagram account, you must have access to insights on Instagram. It is essential to check the section for followers on Instagram and discover information about when the audience is most active on this platform.
6. Post on the Basis of Different Sectors:
Finally, your posting time will vary depending on the sector you function in.
Summing Up:
Instagram is a rich marketing platform that works particularly well if you are aware of the best time to post for the industry and the kind of content that engages your audience. Most importantly, it is essential to maintain a strong presence on Instagram to extend your engagement and reach. So, learn about the best time to post on Instagram for your industry and then post content on a regular basis