The Best Time of Day to Post on Instagram

Think Instagram is just another social media application with a user base primarily limited to teenagers who want to put pretty pictures on the Internet? Think again.

What filters do you use? Do you use hashtags? What about time to post? Or what is the best time of day to post on Instagram? All valid questions to answer, especially the last two questions.

Instagram has arrived as yet another channel in the increasingly fragmented world of digital marketing. Because of this new reality, TrackMaven crunched the data on how Fortune 500 companies use Instagram and put together a report on their Instagram marketing strategies.

The TrackMaven Fortune 500 Instagram report analyzed data on the posting strategies of Fortune 500 brands on Instagram, revealing important insights that are valuable to all marketers. I could write for thousands of words on the ins and outs of these insights, such as the nuances of filter and hashtag use (more on that in the report!), but I am going to focus on one key insight: the best time of day to post on Instagram.

The Best Time of Day To Post on Instagram

It doesn’t matter what time of day Fortune 500 companies post pictures on Instagram. Well, sort of. The time of day doesn’t matter only in the sense that Instagram users interact with pictures regardless of when it was posted. Companies do most of their posting during business hours, but the time of day of a post does not impact the level of engagement among consumers in the report.

The average number of interactions per 1,000 followers for an Instagram photo hovers around 16 during work hours (8:00am-9:00pm), off hours (9:00pm-8:00am), and weekends. Marketers, therefore, can continue to gain value and reach consumers by posting pictures on Instagram outside of business hours, in addition to the work they do during business hours.

best time to post on instagram

Instagram Videos

Videos are a slightly different story. The video functionality is relatively new on Instagram, and as a result, the data set is small. But our report reveals that consumers are more likely to interact with Instagram videos during non-work hours.

Fortune 500 brands post their videos primarily during work hours, just like their pictures. During work hours, an average of 22.5 out of every 1000 Instagram followers interacted with videos posted by Fortune 500 companies. During off-hours, 33.4 out of every 1000 followers interacted with the content, which is nearly 50% higher. And finally, on the weekends, followers interacted with videos at a rate of 25.7. This makes sense — some consumers are probably reluctant to watch videos, which may include an audio component, while they are at work.

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Bottom line

To maximize your Instagram engagement, post your Instagram content when your audience is most likely be able to engage with it. Sounds simple, right? While the optimal times to post will vary for your particular audience, use the results from our Fortune 500 Instagram Report to guide your basic Instagram strategy. Let us know what you think! Tweet at me (@TrippBrockway) or at Maven (@TrackMaven)!

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Tripp Brockway Tripp is a Competitive Intelligence Maven at TrackMaven. He spends his days working with marketers on how they can make their content more relevant and their strategies more proactive. Tripp's true passion, however, is splooting. See more of Tripp's posts