Instagram has taken the shape of a dynamic social networking platform having a registered user base exceeding 1.1 billion. This makes it the perfect stage to promote various things and share your experiences with the global crowd. But to unleash the fullest potential of your Instagram posts, you need to have a clear understanding of the specific time slots as to when it can garner the greatest degree of engagement. Once you are done finalizing the content you have to give some thoughts on the timing of the post and that is why we have come up with today’s article to make the entire process easier for you.
The Importance Of Timing Your Content
Instagram has recently updated its algorithm and levies utmost importance on recency while ranking posts. The feeds are structured in such a manner that the freshest content is depicted on the basis of user engagement which in turn gets determined by three core ranking signals as described below:
First comes ‘Relationship’ as Instagram lays maximum priority on content which excites users and triggers them to establish interactions. If a user likes your page or has commented on the posts previously, then chances are high that the same shall show up in their feed.
Next in line is ‘Interest’ and thus a user ends up seeing content pertaining to his particular area of liking in his feed. Thus, if a user spends a lot of time browsing football championships, news about upcoming matches and football stars will crop up in his feed more often than others.
Last but not the least comes ‘Timeliness’ which gives more priority to newer posts in comparison to the older ones.
Best Timing On A Daily Basis
Sunday – This is one such day when people are still partying or recovering from the Saturday night hangover. There also remains a constant anxiety surrounding the upcoming work week. This is why Sunday might not be one of your best days of posting contents on Instagram. However, if you are hell bent on doing the same, then it is advisable to post it around 5 pm.
Monday – Monday ranks pretty high in terms of being the best day to post in Instagram. You can actually post at any time throughout the day other than the time span between 3 to 4 pm. The posts can thus go on seamlessly between 11 am to 5 pm.
Tuesday – Tuesday rank similar to Monday when it comes to generating user engagement through Instagram posts. For best results, you need to post your content between 9 am to 6 pm. You can generate further engagement coupled with early morning posts also on Tuesdays like around 5 am.
Wednesday – Wednesday can rank second in terms of garnering audience engagement through Instagram post just after the joint first position held by Monday and Tuesday. For best results, you can post at 5 am, 11 am and 3 pm.
Thursday – You can think of Thursdays as an exceptional day for posting Instagram content. The main reason behind this is that the working days are almost on the verge of ending and people are very excited about the upcoming weekend. You can squeeze in your posts either at 5 am or 11 am or between 3-5 pm.
Friday – The type of organisation has a big role to play in determining the level of audience engagement. If you are trying to lure in attention of the early birds, then you can post your content around 5am. Otherwise you can choose any time between 9 am to 4 pm as people tend to stay away from social media after this and get engrossed in planning their weekend scene.
Saturday – Although weekends might not be of much help in garnering adequate level of audience engagement, you can time your posts between 11 am to noon if you wish to proceed with the same.
Best Timing According To Industry Trends
The general posting times laid down above can serve as a good starting point for wannabe Instagrammers. But if you wish to nail the engagement game once and for all, then you need to pay special emphasis on the type of industry your targeted audience falls under. Your social media brand strategy needs to be specially curated and timed for catering to your end audience in the best possible manner. Industries like healthcare, technology, media and entertainment, travel and tourism, non-profit organizations have different peak times. You need to post the content in accordance with the same for reaching your target audience. As every single brand has its own set of audience, you need to have a clear idea about your followers for building an engaged Instagram audience.
Non-Profit Organisations
The largest engagement can be garnered on Tuesday at 3 and 9 pm, Wednesday at 3 and 4 pm, Thursday at 2 and 3 pm and last but not the least, Friday at 10 am and 2 pm. Posting around 4 pm during weekdays lead to best results for non-profit organisations. Consistently positive engagement can be achieved during Wednesday between 12 noon to 5 pm. Tuesdays however are the best days for Non-Profit organisations and Saturdays are an absolute disaster as the level of interaction remains next to none on that day.
Consumer Goods
When it comes to business houses selling consumer goods directly to clients, lunch time serves as the golden hour. This is the time when people take a small break from their routine work and indulge in some brisk shopping. Consistent engagement can be seen in this sector throughout the week between 10 am to 3 pm. However, Saturdays between 11 am to 1 pm is considered to be the best time for posting Instagram content for these brands. While Monday ranks lowest in terms of creating engagement, Wednesday ranks highest.
Technology
Nothing can be termed as too much knowledge when it comes to technology. This is one such field which can always be seen at the forefront of interactions of people. In spite of ranking so high in terms of popularity, the tech industry has a few golden hours when it comes to gaining maximum client engagement. Most engagement can be seen between Wednesday to Friday in between 10 am to 5 pm. Thursday is however the best day to post about tech which is increasingly followed by different tech honchos around the globe. Sunday is the worst day for posting tech content as people hardly want to discuss about tech now that their weekend is on the verge of ending.
Food & Beverages
Lunch hour is definitely the best to post anything pertaining to this industry as people are usually on the lookout for tasty options to cater to their hungry tummy. Be it a bit of inspiration to keep them going, irrespective of bringing a boring desk lunch or planning a restaurant visit with friends, there exists high change of engagement during lunch time. Fridays rank highest in terms of engagement calendar followed in the second spot by Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. It is essential for the food and beverage industry to share high quality pictures which can get their potential clients drooling over the awesome spread. Research studies have proven earlier that superior grade pictures can go to a great length for inspiring food lovers to try out new places and cuisines and this is exactly the biggest point of advantage for the food & beverages sector in the modern era of valiant social networking.
Professional Services
Social media services who professionally post educational content as blog posts or video links can gather maximum engagement by releasing their content during early morning. That is why they need to post between 9 to 10 am. This is the time when students start with their morning education and can benefit the most out of tutorials and articles. Although all weekdays serve as viable options, you can stick to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays for maximum engagement. Weekend can definitely be termed the worst for business as students also seek out entertainment and usually stay away from studies during these two days.
Non-Retail E-Commerce
Non-retail e-commerce companies have achieved greater success by posting Instagram content at night rather than late evening. The main reason behind this is that people like a dose of entertaining content to lift up their spirits but once the work time is over. The level of engagement rises up during evening and night times. Thursday is considered to be the best day of the week for posting contents in Instagram.
Travel & Tourism
People interact with travel and tourism companies whenever they start planning for a trip. Although all of them do not travel, the desire stays strong. Statistics has revealed that the highest engagement can be gained by posting content pertaining to travel and tourism between either 9 and 10 am or 11 am and 1 pm. Friday is considered as the best day of the week with both Wednesday and Thursday trailing behind in the second spot. People usually join back office after a weekend vacation and that is why Monday and Tuesday is spent thinking about the same. That is why, fresh content about upcoming travel plans might not attract users much at the beginning of the week.
Media & Entertainment
Lunch time is considered ideal for posting similar contents as people like browsing through social media during recess. Nothing can lighten and brighten up the mood of people as that of news regarding the latest celeb gossip and movie reviews during these small breaks. Tuesdays and Thursdays are considered as the best day to post entertainment content followed by Mondays and Saturdays between 2-3 pm.
Healthcare
Healthcare has evolved into one of the most important industries of modern times which can gain further engagement by posting during early morning and a little past noon. If you are thinking of organising a live question answer event, then weekdays can seem to be the best option. However, you need to time these events around 9 am as this is when people start their day and would rather do the same by having their doubts and queries solved. 9 am to 4 pm of Tuesday to Friday have proved to garner maximum positive engagement although Tuesday definitely tops the list in this case. Saturday and Sunday on the other hand come at the bottom tier as these days are better left off to merriment rather than worrying about being sick.
Beauty Products
Cosmetic companies have found highest engagement out of content posted during early afternoon as the weekend approaches. Thursday and Friday are considered as the golden days of personal care industry between 1 to 3 pm.
Education
Educational institutions can spread word about various events and other inspirational quotes by timing their content in the right manner. They can garner maximum engagement by publishing their content on Mondays at 8 pm. Consistent interaction has also been reported during weekdays between 11 am to 4 pm which makes it ideal to post video tutorials. Sundays rank lowest in terms of engagement as students like engaging in entertaining activities rather than staying back home with a pile of homework and projects to finish.
How To Deal With Globally Scattered Audience
If you are targeting audience located in other continents, then your interaction might not seem equally appealing to the local audience. You can however bar the gap by following some simple tricks which have been lined down below:
You need to find out a common time when both the audiences will be online.
For enhancing the lifespan of posts, you need to focus most on the highly engaged audience.
A portion of followers have a greater chance of interacting than others. This can be found out by gauging their activity. You can share your content around such time for gaining greater momentum out of your post.
Conclusion
Posting on Instagram covers a lot more than just clicking the perfect frames and giving it a go. A lot of effort goes into the creation of a compelling content starting from choosing the right hashtags to uploading it at the right time. You just need to keep your end audience in mind before devising your strategies and the final result is bound to come off as extremely lucrative for your preferences.