The New Best Time to Post on Instagram

The best time to post on Instagram has changed again! 

If you’re not posting at the times we’re sharing in this post…

…then you could be missing out on massive reach, views, and brand exposure which converts to what down the line? SALES. 

So stay to the end of this post, for the new best times to post on Instagram. 

Because today, we’re sharing the 3 NEW times that are the best time to post on Instagram.

And the last time in our opinion is the most effective. Let’s go ahead and dive in!

3 New Best Time To Post On Instagram

Time frame #1: 10AM – 1PM

Posting somewhere within this time frame should give you a boost in reach, views, and engagement. 

There are two reasons in our opinion why this time frame is effective.

The first is that it covers lunchtime. 

These include those people who are on lunch break at their jobs or school.

As well as those who have been taking a breather from their daily lives and checking their phones while they eat. 

The second is that a lot of people’s morning schedules are either hectic or dormant. 

Whether you’re rushing out the door for work or trying to get your kids to school on time.

Or maybe you’re just sleeping during those early morning hours…

…the 10AM – 11AM time frame reflects the first solid moment many people may have to get on their phones and check Instagram.

And that’s why we see businesses getting more Instagram engagement during this time frame because more people are on Instagram during these hours. 

Time frame #2: 4PM – 6PM 

Again, thinking about the average person’s day and schedule, this would be the time frame they are leaving work or school.

Some may be eating dinner, stuck in dead-stop traffic on their commute home, riding the school bus home, etc.

And they’re opening the Instagram app to catch up on social posts from the day. 

Now, this last time frame is the one we’ve found to be the most effective.

But you’re going to want to listen up for the important point we share afterward…

…because that is going to have an impact on how you utilize any of these 3-time frames.

Time frame #3: 8PM – 11PM

This is when we see a surge of app usage with people laying in bed on their phones at night until they fall asleep. 

Sometimes this can reflect the first moment of downtime or alone time somebody gets in the day.

And thus, we see a pattern of many people getting on Instagram in this time frame.

Now, remember we said there’s one more thing we want to share with you that will impact your success posting within any of these 3-time frames?

The biggest question we see people ask about posting times on Instagram that doubles as an important factor at play here is this…

What About Time Zones?!

Did you mean 8PM – 11PM Eastern Standard Time? Central? Pacific? 

Because if we meant 8PM Eastern time, and you’re posting at 8PM Central, which would be 7PM our time…

…you wouldn’t be posting within any of these 3 golden time frames!

So what timezone are we referring to when we share these best times to post on Instagram?

The answer to that question is in your Instagram analytics. 

Head to your Insights, tap total audience, adjust the time frame to whatever you prefer, we’re going to do the last 30 days…

…and then scroll down to see where the majority of your audience resides. 

You can first look at the top countries, and then from there look at the top cities within that country. 

Whichever time zone the majority of your audience resides in is the time zone you need to operate out of.

For us, you can see that the majority of our followers live in the U.S. and specifically Atlanta and New York which is EST. 

That’s why we post our daily Instagram Reels within that lunchtime hour in Easter Standard Time.

Now some of you may be reading thinking:

“Okay, I have already tested posting during all of these different time frames, and NONE of them boosted my engagement.” 

Do you know what that tells us? It tells us that your posting time wasn’t the issue. 

It tells us that there is something else stunting your growth. 

It could be that the topics you’re posting about aren’t resonating with your audience.

It could be the format you’re using or aren’t using (for example, if you’re not posting Reels, that’s you’re #1 problem). 

It could be that you’re not posting frequently enough.

Or you’re posting too often and not allowing at least 1 hour in between each post. 

It could be that you’re not including the right keywords and Instagram hashtags in your caption. 

And the list goes on. 

We have an Instagram marketing strategy post here if you want to learn more about growing your Instagram account and tackling these problems.

Troubleshooting each problem will allow you to maximize your Instagram strategy to the fullest.

Otherwise, that wraps up everything we had for you today guys! Those are the 3 new best time to post on Instagram.

If you want to leverage your Instagram marketing, check out our Instagram marketing services today!