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Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2023 – A Myth or a Truth

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‘My post still has 10 likes after 6 hours’, ‘My Instagram Reel got 2 comments so far in last 7 hours’

And the list goes on.

The horror story of every Instagram user who is looking for a hike. But why is that so?

If you post at 12:12 on a full moon, will it make a difference? Is this the best time to post on Instagram? Of course not!

I mean, social media is a place where you are free to express yourself; you can post anything, either a vacation Reel or a cute furry friend’s photo dump, or even raise concern for something through a short Instagram video. But guess you are still getting less attention on the platform, even after jumping on the bandwagon and following the latest trends.

How about if I tell you that your post can grab more eyeballs if you post at the perfect of the day? I am trying to say that posting at the golden time of the day, when your audience is most likely to be active, can make a profound impact.

You can create a jaw-dropping post with an attention-grabbing caption, and every detail falls into the right state. Still, if you are not utilizing the power to choose the best time of the day to post on Instagram, then it can all be ruined in a flash.

Just to convince you more, here’s research from Harvard Business Reviews: brands posting on social media can escalate their payoffs by at least 8% when their audience is more likely to be receptive to it.

You know you are posting on  4th most used social media platform; of course, your posting schedules can get super challenging with the Instagram algorithm changing frequently. Basically, the algorithm favors the top most engaging post, pushing them to the top of the feed and leaving the less popular ones behind.

So, if your post is not getting enough limelight, then it’s high time to change your strategy. I know posting consistently and figuring out the best time to post on Instagram can feel like a huge task, but tools like Instagram Schedulers can do the job for you.

Figure Out the Best Time to Post on Instagram – Does Really It Matter

If you ask me, then it’s a YES! Wondering what is that so? Let me clear this up.

An Instagram algorithm is pretty hard to crack as it keeps tweaking frequently. The platform’s algorithm considers engagement an important factor; the more engagement your post receives, the higher it will rank in the user’s feed. Along with the engagement factors, the algorithm revolves around these basic three factors:

  • Recency: The most recent post will be favored to the higher positions on the user’s feed over days.
  • Interest: Instagram keeps a hawk eye on your interest. Based on your history, the posts you showed interest in will appear at the top of your newsfeed.
  • Relationship: The accounts or pages you interact with frequently will rank higher on your newsfeed.

Here’s an overview of all the essential Instagram algorithm ranking factors that matter to you.IG algorithm ranking factors

At the end of the day, it’s the ENGAGEMENT that matters the most; for that, you need to choose the right time to post on the platform. Once you figure out the best time to post on Instagram when your target audience is most likely to be active, this will eventually affect your engagement levels. You will receive more likes, comments, and shares, and then the algorithm will work in your favor.

So, the formula to grab more attention to your posts is:

Maintaining consistency + Engaging Content + Posting at the best time of the day = Scoring your Instagram goals and booking a slot in the ‘Explore’ page.

Best Ways to Find the Best Time to Post on Instagram for Your Business

Timing is Everything!

Especially when it comes to posting on Instagram, no, you just can’t post anything at any time and wait for the miraculous increase in engagement. You need to have a proper strategy; it’s like posting at the right time to reach your target audience. I know the platform has many factors to consider, such as time zones, peak usage times, and engagement rates, and sometimes it can be overwhelming to figure out the best time to post on Instagram.

Well, here’s a sweet treat I have got for you; after researching, I compiled the best ways to find the best time to post. Read it ahead and try it out, then! Hope it works for you.

  1. Social Champ’s Instagram Analytics Featureig analytics

    Beyond Social Champ’s scheduling capabilities, the tool also offers a dynamic Monitoring Analysis feature. The tool provides comprehensive and detailed analytics of your Instagram posts using platform-centric metrics. You can evaluate your daily, weekly, and monthly performance reports and analyze your top-performing content, which makes it easier to produce content that your audience loves and comes back for more

    The best part, Social Champ suggests you the best time to post based on your analytics history. This helps you to quickly figure out when your target audience is more likely to be active. Moreover, you can get downloadable presentation-ready PPT/PDF reports with clear charts and graphs that display the platform’s analytics.

  2. Instagram InsightsIG insights

    Another way to discover the best time to post on Instagram is to use the platform’s insight feature. Instagram Insights offers valuable data to improve your brand or business profile’s presence on the platform. It gives you a deeper understanding of your audience, helps you track your follower growth, and measures the success of your posts. This insight feature allows you to determine the age, gender, and location of your followers, allowing you to create content that resonates with them.

    The platform also offers an Audience Activity feature which clearly shows you when your followers are most active on Instagram. You can see which days of the week and times of the day your audience is most likely to be online. This lets you schedule your posts strategically and maximize your visibility and engagement.

    Moreover, you can track down the total number of impressions, which shows how often your audience has viewed your posts, and your cumulative reach, which indicates the unique number of accounts that have seen your content. This data helps you to refine your Instagram marketing strategy and measure its overall impact.

    One major drawback of Instagram insights is that the platform only provides you with the follower’s online activity data for the last 7 days.

    Related Article: Instagram Grid: Style Your Layout Like a Pro in 2023

Average Best Times to Post on Instagram

Have you ever found yourself posting your beautiful snaps at odd hours and wondering why you are not getting as much engagement as you hoped? Well, that’s because you, unfortunately, picked the odd hours of the day instead of the golden ones.

Just to help you out, let’s dig deeper into the average best times to post on Instagram to ensure your content is seen by the most eyes possible. Here I have done my research and compiled all the juicy details so you can finally get your photos the attention they deserve.

According to the data collected from Influencer Marketing Hub, the best time to post on Instagram Reels & posts are as follows:

  • Monday: 5 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM
  • Tuesday: 7 AM, 8 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM
  • Wednesday: 5 AM, 6 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM
  • Thursday: 6 AM, 11 AM, 12 PM, 1 PM
  • Friday: 7 AM, 2 PM, 3 PM, 4 PM
  • Saturday: 6 AM, 8 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM
  • Sunday: 1 AM, 6 PM, 7 PM, 8 PM

P.S – The best time to post vary based on the location and demographics. So, I suggest you find your best time to post based on your analytical history rather than sticking to the fixed template methods. You can use Social Champ for better results instantly.

Social Champ Knows When Your Target Audience Is Active

Why settle for less when you have a friend like Social Champ? Find out the best time to post on Instagram and tweak your posting schedule

5 Considerations to Look Into for Finding the Best Times to Post on Instagram

It’s time to crack the code and discover the best times to post on Instagram for maximum engagement. So I have researched and rounded up the top five considerations you need to know to get your posts in front of your followers at the right time. From the day of the week to your specific audience’s habits, I have everything covered here.

  1. Days of the Week

    When it comes to finding the best times to post on Instagram, the day of the week is something you can’t skip, as it holds a strong power and can significantly impact your reach and engagement. Understanding the dynamics of each day can help you strategically plan your content and increase your chances of connecting with your target audience.

    For instance, if I talk about weekdays & weekends, different days of the week attract different levels of user activity on Instagram. Weekdays, such as Monday to Friday, are generally characterized by higher user engagement, as people tend to be more active during work breaks and leisure time. Let’s be honest, this is not even surprising because usually, people love to scroll Instagram while commuting to their work in the morning, during breakfasts, or even at the end of the day, while winding up their work.

    On the other hand, weekends, including Saturday and Sunday, often witness average overall Instagram usage, as people have more free time to scroll through their feeds. If you ask me, sometimes people usually don’t have more time to spend hours scrolling on the app, as the majority are usually out or busy with their personal lives. So, either people scroll through the app at the earlier hours or catch up late at night.

    However, weekends have often witnessed mixed levels of engagement, sometimes high and sometimes low. So try to evaluate the nature of your business and target audience to determine whether weekdays or weekends align better with your goals.

  2. Time Zone

    Another important factor influencing your best time to post on Instagram is the accurate time zone of your target audience. Posting when a significant portion of your audience is awake and active can definitely impact your engagement levels, maximizing your Instagram reach. So, it’s important to consider the primary time zones where your audience resides and aim to schedule your posts accordingly.

    Just in case you are running a business that caters to a specific geographical area, understanding the local time zone becomes even more vital. Posting when your local audience is most likely to be online can help you to increase the chances of your content being seen and interacted with. Aligning your posts with their daily routines and active hours can lead to higher engagement and better connection with your local community.

    Another example considering time zones and locations is essential for businesses in the travel and tourism industry. Travelers may be in different time zones or visiting various destinations, so it’s crucial to tailor your posts to their current location.

    Take inspiration from Starbucks.

  3. Target Audience

    What can be the top most important factor to consider than understanding the preferences and habits of your target audience? Measure the peak activity hours of your audience. When you determine the habits and routines of your target audiences, then untying the knot for the best time to post gets easier. You can analyze the times when they are most active on Instagram.

    Consider factors such as their work schedules, free time, and online behavior. Are they more likely to scroll through their feeds during lunch breaks, evenings, or late at night? Aligning your Instagram posting schedule with their peak activity times increases the chances of your content being seen and engaged with.

    Moreover, different demographics have distinct preferences and behaviors on social media. Factors like age, gender, location, and interests play a huge role in determining the best times to reach your target audience. For instance, if you target a younger demographic, posting during after-school hours or in the evenings when they have more leisure time to scroll through the app.

  4. CTA

    Of course, your target audience is a crucial factor but understanding who they are and what actions you want them to take after seeing your post on Instagram is important. For instance, for some brands, likes are everything, no matter what they are posting, and for some, engagement is the essential factor like they want a hike in engagement levels, and that’s totally okay.

    What’s important is the message that you want to send to your audience through a CTA. So, make sure that your CTA is clear and easy to understand. Moreover, test and analyze different CTAs and analyze engagement metrics to understand which CTAs resonate most with your audience. Try out the A/B tests; it works a lot.

    For example, here Bath & Body Works clearly wants their audience to comment so it can increase their engagement levels.

  5. Consistency & Quality Content

    Last but not least, consistency and quality content go hand in hand. Posting your content consistently is vital when finding out the best time to post IG Reels on Instagram. If you ask me, then it’s super important to systematically post your posting schedules so you can reap all the benefits of your target audience. Another thing is the quality of content that matters the most, and even it matters to the Instagram algorithm. I mean, if you think you are posting static, boring content without proper planning and hoping to receive the best results, then you are wrong here.

    Good quality content has all the power to attract a million eyes. Take inspiration from Khaby Lame, he started out with a simple ‘life hack’ video, and now he is the king of TikTok.

    Moreover, Consistency in posting also helps with content planning and organization. A consistent posting schedule allows you to plan and create content in advance, ensuring you have a steady stream of high-quality posts. This prevents last-minute rushes and allows you to maintain the quality of your content.Social Media Calendar

Featured Article: 100+ Twitter Bio Ideas to Strengthen Your Impression in 2023

Top 10 Social Media Management Tools for Startups & Agencies

Make your daily workflow easier and smarter with these top social media management tools for every business size, either small or large.

  1. Social Champ

    Social Champ
    I hope you won’t mind placing Social Champ at the top of the list. With exceptional features and scheduling capabilities, the tool offers a comprehensive solution that helps you to manage multiple accounts simultaneously. The tool allows you to schedule, analyze and publish across various platforms, engage with your audience, and track performance through detailed analytics. Along with Social Champ’s advanced analytics, suggesting the best time to post based on your analytics history helps optimize your content strategy accordingly.

  2. Napoleon CatNapoleancat

    Another social media that makes rounds in the marketing industry is Napolean Cat. The tool offers a range of features to streamline your daily social media activities. It allows you to schedule, engage and pubslish posts with your audience, and monitor social conversations. Napoleon Cat also provides analytics and reporting features to track your social media performance and measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.

  3. Hopper

    hopperHq

    Hopper is another popular social media management tool that simplifies the process of scheduling and sharing content across different platforms. The tool also suggests the best time to post with various features that helps you to schedule posts, analyze post-performance and collaborate with team members. Hopper’s intuitive interface and easy-to-use features make it a go-to choice for businesses looking to enhance their social media presence.

  4. MeetEdgarmeet edgar

    MeetEdgar offers a comprehensive suite of social media management features for businesses of all sizes. The tool has the potential to provide features like scheduling and publishing posts,, and analyzing social media performance. MeetEdgar helps you to gain valuable data on the performance of your posts, including engagement, clicks, and reach. You can use these insights for your benefit to refine your social media strategy, optimize your content, and drive better results.

  5. Sprinklrsprinklr

    Adding another social media solution to the list, and that’s Sprinklr. The tool offers analytics and scheduling capabilities. It provides in-depth social media listening, sentiment analysis, and customer journey tracking. With Sprinkler’s analytics, you can measure the impact of your social media campaigns, track customer interactions, and identify opportunities for personalized engagement.

  6. IconosquareIconosquare

    When discussing social media management tools, it will be hard to skip Iconosquare. The tool specializes in analytics and management for Instagram and other platforms. With its scheduling features, the tool comes with comprehensive analytics to help you measure engagement, follower growth, and the effectiveness of your content. With its in-depth insights, you can optimize your social media strategies, identify growth opportunities, and drive better results.

  7. Quintlyquintly

    Quintly is my next pick for top social media management tools. The tool offers multiple scheduling and analytics features. Besides its scheduling capabilities, you can track and measure the performance of your social media profiles. It offers customizable dashboards with detailed post-level analytics. You can compare your social media performance against your industry competitors, gaining insights into their strategies and engagement rates.

  8. Laterlater

    Later is a popular social media management tool that strongly focuses on Instagram specializing in visual content scheduling and planning for various social media platforms. It focuses primarily on Instagram, offering features like grid preview, hashtag suggestions, and content analytics. Later’s user-friendly interface and visual-centric approach make it a preferred choice for businesses looking to enhance their Instagram presence.

  9. Kontentinokontentino

    Kontentino is a comprehensive social media management and analytics tool designed to simplify the process of planning, scheduling, and analyzing social media content. The analytics features of Kontentino provide valuable insights into the performance of your social media campaigns. You can track down essential key metrics such as engagement, reach, impressions, and follower growth to measure the effectiveness of your content. Kontentino also offers custom reporting, allowing you to generate in-depth reports with meaningful visualizations to share with clients or internal stakeholders.

  10. OneupOneUp

    Lastly, Oneup is another social media management tool that helps social media managers easily manage their social media presence. It enables businesses to engage with their audience, automate posting, and measure real-time performance. This intuitive and user-friendly platform gives businesses the tools they need to grow their online presence.

Choose the Golden Hour to Post!

That’s all, folks! The best time to post on Instagram is when your target audience is most active. Whether it’s early in the morning, during the workday, or late at night, there’s no need to stress about timing. Just keep in mind the ideal time is the one when your followers are most likely to be scrolling through their feeds and hit that share button. And if all else fails, just remember that posting a cute picture of your pet will always get likes no matter the time of day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time should you avoid posting on Instagram?


Ans: It’s important to avoid posting early in the morning or late afternoon. These hours have mostly witnessed lesser engagement levels.

How to get noticed on Instagram?


Ans: The best way to capture attention is to tag or mention your customers, as it will also increase your engagement.

Picture of Yumna Hafeez

Yumna Hafeez

I am a part of the #ChampFam designated as a content writer who likes to write with a side of coffee. When not glued to the keyboard, you will find me munching popcorns in cinema or catching K-dramas on Netflix with a ramen bowl. Let's chat about content, cinema, or anything in between at [email protected].

Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2023 – A Myth or a Truth

Picture of Yumna Hafeez

Yumna Hafeez

I am a part of the #ChampFam designated as a content writer who likes to write with a side of coffee. When not glued to the keyboard, you will find me munching popcorns in cinema or catching K-dramas on Netflix with a ramen bowl. Let's chat about content, cinema, or anything in between at [email protected].

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