The Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2023

You might think social media success all boils down to the type of content you post, though, while this is a factor, there is more to it than aesthetics.

The aim with every post that goes live is to generate engagement and to do this you must ensure that the people most likely to be interacting with your posts are actually online. Carefully crafting a posting schedule is a guaranteed way of getting your content in front of the right people.

With Instagram’s ever-changing algorithm, comes the on-going debate surrounding the best posting times for users on the platform. Though these answers have changed just as much as Instagram itself has over the years, this blog will bring you updated information and walk you through the best time to post on Instagram according to content type, day and location.

Of course, if you are in partnership with an Instagram marketing agency, this schedule will be created for you, but for those of you doing the heavy lifting alone, read on for our top tips for putting together your posting schedule.

Things to consider when figuring out your posting times

For small businesses and start-ups who don’t yet have the data to base their posting schedules off of, here is what to be on the lookout for when formulating your best time to post on Instagram:

1. Day of the week – engagement on Instagram is extremely varied. 5pm on a Tuesday does not have the same effect as 5pm on a Wednesday. Take the time to explore which days of each week are the busiest for your industry/community. 
2. Breaks in the workday – a lot of people tend to check Instagram during their lunch breaks. Similarly, work efforts tend to flag late afternoon, turning quite a few people to Instagram instead. 
3. Time zones – if your audience is internationally widespread, you can afford not to be so strict with your posting times. However, if the majority of your audience are based in one country, you will want to use that time zone as the basis for your posting schedule. 
4. Follow your specific audience – for the businesses who are yet to discover and build their audience, following best practices for posting is okay, but if your audience is not a ‘typical audience’ then these best practices aren’t of use to you. You should post based on their online activity. To find this, tap into your built in insights (if you have a business account) to discover information about when they are most active on the platform. 
5. Frequency of posting – posting regularly will make you appear fresh. This can mean posting anywhere from 1-3 posts per day.
6. What sector you are speaking to – data from various sources suggests the following: 

Best time to post on Instagram for:

Media companies – Wednesday 8am

B2C companies – Saturday 11am & 1pm

Educational organisations – Friday 10am

Healthcare companies – Monday 1pm

Non-profit organisations – Weekdays between 10am & 3pm

Consumer goods companies – Saturday 11am & 1pm

Tech companies – Wednesday 8am & Friday 10am

When is the best time to post on Instagram?

If you’re only just beginning your journey leveraging Instagram for your business goals, follow the posting schedule below to accumulate the data which will then allow you to create your own.

According to Later, the universal best time to post on Instagram is at 4am.

Planning on uploading multiple posts per day? Here’s what they found:

Let’s break this down even further:

The best time to post on Instagram on Monday: 5am

The best time to post on Instagram on Tuesday: 7am

The best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday: 3am

The best time to post on Instagram on Thursday: 3am

The best time to post on Instagram on Friday: 7am

The best time to post on Instagram on Saturday: 1am

The best time to post on Instagram on Sunday: 1am

When is the best time to post Reels on Instagram?

The implementation of Reels in a business’s content strategy is what will drive engagement in 2023. In a recent study of 200k Reels, Later have concluded that the best time to post Reels on Instagram is at 4am on a Monday. 

The best time to post on Instagram by location

Local posting times are a great starting point, however, you should always be aiming to tailor your posting schedule to your audience’s specific needs. 

Here are each of the local time zones and their best posting times:

US + Canada West Coast: 9pm – 12am

US + Canada Central: 10pm – 12am 

US + Canada East Coast: 11pm – 4am

South America: 5am

UK: 3am – 4am 

Western Europe: 4am- 6am 

Eastern Europe: 5am – 7am

Africa: 2am – 3am

Middle East: 4am

East + Southeast Asia: 6am – 8am

Australasia: 11pm – 12am

FAQ’s

When is the best time to post on Instagram? 

The best time to post on Instagram in the UK is 4am on a Monday.

When should you post on Instagram in 2023?

This is dependent on your local time zone. They are as follows:

US + Canada West Coast: 9pm – 12am

US + Canada Central: 10pm – 12am 

US + Canada East Coast: 11pm – 4am

South America: 5am

UK: 3am – 4am 

Western Europe: 4am- 6am 

Eastern Europe: 5am – 7am

Africa: 2am – 3am

Middle East: 4am

East + Southeast Asia: 6am – 8am

Australasia: 11pm – 12am

What is the best time of day to post on Instagram?

The best time of day to post on Instagram can greatly vary. As a general rule of thumb, here is what we would recommend:

Monday: 5am

Tuesday: 7am

Wednesday: 3am

Thursday: 3am

Friday: 7am

Saturday: 1am

Sunday: 1am

Is it better to post on Instagram at night or in the morning?

Data shows that posting on Instagram in the morning is more likely to reach engaged users. Posting at night might reach people, but their energy levels will not be as high and will therefore make them more likely to scroll past your posts.

What time are people most active on Instagram?

This is dependent on your audience. If you have a business account, you can tap into your insights to discover when your audience are most active online and create a posting schedule according to this. 

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