When is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?

Wondering when to post on Instagram? Boost your Instagram engagement by posting at the right times.

A lot of articles like throw cool sounding words around like: target audience, posting schedule, social media strategies. But they can't give you a concise answer to the question asked since ancient Babylon: "When is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?"

I got you! Well, sort of...! Hang on!

Contrasting Studies

In the extensive filed of study that has emerged from this recent worldwide concern to "trick the algorithm" there are two results that tend to come up. An "Early Riser" approach (that seems inhumane to me, but perhaps it holds some truth for that very reason) raging from 4am to 6am most days as the studies done by "Later" seem to indicate (couldn't I wake up "later"...?). And the much more widespread 6am to 11am (PST) window of action as it has been researched by the "SocialPilot". Which gives us no new information... In my generation we've been taught this since pre-school...!

Now, I should point out that what these studies focus on are the times of more interactivity in the platform in general with no regard for what differs between the different audiences for the different forms of Instagram posts or reels that exist (I'm trying to avoid the word "Content", I hope I can stay strong the whole article). In conclusion depending on the type of "material" you share online you might need to adjust your post timing accordingly... So, yes it depends from person to person... But the article would be too short if we stopped here so I'll share some more "disputable" information for "my audience" to munch on.

By the way Domestika publishes all new blog entries at 9am... Do you also publish Domestika articles by any chance? Probably not, so this information is most likely useless... Unless a colleague is reading this in which case I salute you! Long live Domestika, Hurray! (I hope no filthy detractors are reading this, though...!)

After all that preamble let's go over the nitty-gritty detailed information these contrasting studies offer (to confuse us all even more):

"Later" results on the best times to post in any time-zone:

Monday: 4AM
Tuesday: 5AM
Wednesday: 5AM
Thursday: 4AM
Friday: 4AM
Saturday: 4AM
Sunday: 4AM

It makes sense when you think about it: Most 9 to 5 workers need to commute to work in the wee hours of the morning. If you post right before or as they wake up your post is more likely to reach them when they inevitably check their phones in their commune. But if you are a Rastafarian trying to built a lookalike audience this might not be the strategy to follow...

"SocialPilot" differs radically, as you'll see:

Monday: From 9 to 10AM
Tuesday: From 9 to 10AM
Wednesday: 5AM, 11AM and 3PM
Thursday: 12AM and 5PM
Friday: From 9 to 10AM and from 5PM to 6PM
Saturday: From 8 to 12AM
Sunday: From 10AM to 2PM

So these two studies only agree on posting at 5AM on Wednesday...! Anyone reading this please forget this information or the 5AM Wednesday slot will be flooded with "content"... (Damn I ended up writing the infamous word "content"...!)

Now that you know when to post on instagram you might need something to post and share to your stories afterwards. God-willing!

In Domestika we have all the information you need on our Creation and Editing Content for instagram Stories course by Mina Barrio (@minabarrio). Mina is prolific when it comes to Instagram courses she has 4 of them delving deep into making your profile look good.

Here is even more information to satisfy your cortisol infested brain:

- How to make reels on Instagram
- Apps for planning content on Instagram