The Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2022

When is the best time to post on Instagram?

A total of 35M feed posts (excluding reels and IGTV) were analyzed.

What did we find? Each day of the week, we found the average best time to post on Instagram - and for several key locations!

Plus, we share in smmfansfaster how you can find out when is the best time to post on your account - so you reach your audience when they're most active

the Best Time to Post on Instagram

Later's analysis of 35M global Instagram posts found that 6AM is the best time to post on Instagram (in local time).
Posts published on Sunday at 6AM tend to have the highest engagement. Saturday and Sunday are the best days to post on Instagram.
The worst days to post on Instagram are Wednesday between 10AM - 4PM and Thursday 9PM - 11PM, which receive the lowest engagement rates on average.
Start by creating interesting and engaging content, then optimize by posting at the right time.
Having the right content on your website at the wrong time is much better than having the wrong content on your website at the exact right time.
If you'd like to learn more about Instagram marketing and (a lot more awesome) post ideas, check out Local Social Media Lab.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram Each Day

According to 35 million global Instagram posts, the best time to post on Instagram is:

Saturday: 6AM
Sunday: 6AM
Monday: 5AM
Tuesday: 6AM
Wednesday: 6AM
Thursday: 5AM
Friday: 6AM

The Worst Time to Post on Instagram Each Day

35M global Instagram posts indicate that the following are the worst times to post:

Saturday: 8PM
Sunday: 4PM
Monday: 2PM
Tuesday: 1PM
Wednesday: 10AM
Thursday: 11PM
Friday: 9AM

The Best Time to Post on Instagram by Location

Location is another factor that can affect the best time to post on Instagram.

Different regions have different audience behaviors and time zone overlaps can be a major factor.

For example, California is 3 hours ahead of New York, but accounts based in New York will likely have followers in both regions.

Posting times in local time across different time zones are as follows:

US and Canada (Western): 12AM-6AM
US and Canada (Central): 6AM-8AM
US and Canada (Eastern): 4AM-9AM
South America: 4AM
UK: 4AM-6AM
Europe (Western): 6-8PM
Europe (Eastern): 5AM-7AM
Africa: 6AM
South Asia and Middle East: 3AM
East Asia and Southeast Asia: 11PM-4AM
Australasia: 11PM – 2AM

It's best to find the times that are most appropriate for your unique audience if you want to get the most engagement.

Find Your Unique Best Time to Post on Instagram

You can use the following tools and features to discover your personal best time to post on Instagram:

Your top 7 Instagram posting times can be automatically calculated by using your historical engagement data.

Instagram Insights can help you find out where the majority of your followers are located and when they are most active. While this isn't quite as precise as using Later's Best Time to Post algorithm, it can be a great place to start.

Using a spreadsheet, track how your Instagram posts are doing over time and when you post.

1- Use Instagram’s Built-in Analytics to Understand Your Audience

The best way to determine your optimal posting times is to use Later's Best Time to Post feature, but you can also take advantage of Instagram's native insights to find out where the majority of your audience is located and when they're online.
These data points can provide you with valuable insights into when you should post.
A business profile on Instagram or a creator profile on Instagram are required in order to gain access to Insights. Using Later's Instagram Analytics, you can also track key insights about your followers directly in your dashboard.

2- Discover Your Best Time to Post With Later’s Best Time to Post Feature

When you want to skip the experiments and get straight to the good data, Later will do all the hard work for you!

Based on your best posts from the past month, Later's Best Time to Post feature automatically calculates your 7 best posting times:

3- Use a Spreadsheet to Manually Track Your Best Times to Post

You can also create a spreadsheet to determine how much engagement you receive when you post at different times on different days.

Keep track of how many likes and comments your posts receive, along with the date and time when you posted them.

Schedule for Your Best Time to Post on Instagram

Having learned when your Instagram audience is most active and how to drive the most engagement based on their activity, the last step is to schedule your Instagram posts for the best times for your audience.

You only need to select your posting times once, and automatically scheduled posts can be dragged and dropped onto your calendar. It's that easy, right?

Businesses can use Instagram to achieve their marketing goals, but in 2022, it won't suffice to post content whenever they feel like it.

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