Pictures are Worth 1000 Dollars: 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.
Two weeks ago, just after three years after they went live, Instagram announced that they have reached 150 million active users and counting. What is big news, however, and why everyone should be paying attention, is that 25% of the Fortune 500 brands already have Instagram accounts. And counting.
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, 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 did not impact the level of engagement among consumers in the report.
The average interactions per 1,000 followers hover 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.
Instagram Videos
Videos are a slightly different story. The video functionality is new on Instagram, and as a result, the data set is small. But the TrackMaven report reveals that consumers are more likely to interact with 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.
Bottom line
Post on Instagram. Fortune 500 companies are already doing it. Post pictures on Instagram, whenever you want heavily depending on who your audience is, of course. Post videos too, and especially when people aren’t at work.
Interested in more data on Instagram? Check out our Fortune 500 Instagram Report…
Let us know what you think! Tweet at me (@TrippBrockway) or at Maven (@TrackMaven)!
Tripp Brockway See more of Tripp's posts