When is the Best Time to Post on Social Media?

“Beautiful photos, check! Relevant content, check! Amazing layout, check! Engagement schedule implemented around the clock, check! Reach increased? No! Why?!” Does this monologue play out in your mind over and over again? Hours have been poured into creating, planning, and posting content. Everything looks super fantastic and you have made it your mission to double click, comment, and engage around the clock. What is the missing piece to the puzzle?

Working endlessly and working efficiently are two very different traits that don’t necessarily yield the same results. How can you work more efficiently? Finding out who your target audience is solves half of your problem. The other part of the solution is directly correlated to your posting time. The goal is for people to see your content. Uncovering the best time for you to post will have major impacts on your brand’s reach. 

Every Instagram account has their own unique audience located in different timezones. The first major step is to find out who and where your followers are and when they most active online. Instagram prioritizes new content on user’s feed. Therefore, posting your content when your followers are actively scrolling through the app will dramatically increase your reach. Optimizing your posting time will help you stay on top of Instagram’s algorithm and generate more likes and followers. 

Later, a visual marketing platform for businesses, has valuable tools that provide detailed information for paid business plans. Data can be easily accessed through their analytics tab. Information can also be sourced through Instagram’s platform under the insights tab if you have a business or Instagram creator profile. Details regarding your audience’s gender, age, location, and the time that they are most active online are all readily available. 

For those who run a personal profile, finding out information about your audience’s engagement towards your posts can also be accomplished. Manual tracking involves a spreadsheet and a tad bit more time. Set up your sheet with four columns labeled as Day, Time, Comments, Likes. Start by tracking five or six different times throughout the week for the first week. Switch the timing of your post for the second week. For example, if you posted at 6 pm on Monday on the first week, switch to 7 pm for the second week. Rotate your posting times for a few weeks as you track the comments and likes. Your continual efforts after a few weeks will yield data on optimal posting times that will help generate the most traffic for your account. 

Other factors that may also affect your optimal posting time should also be taken into consideration. 

Time zones:

You may be located in Vancouver, but where are the bulk of your followers? You will benefit from posting according to EST if most of them are in Toronto or New York. Odd times may be more effective for your account if your followers are situated in both North America and western Europe.

Lunch breaks and Evenings:

Schedule your post when your audience is able to check their phones. Lunchtime and evenings after work are your best bet for the majority of your followers. 

Weekdays or Weekends:

Instagram engagement does shift a little with respect to weekends or weekdays. Gear your most important posts for the times that your followers will have the most time to read. B2B businesses will generate more feedback during the week when everyone is working at their desks. Whereas bloggers may want to post during the weekends as their audience has more free time to read and devour the blog. 

Too busy to post for yourself? We can help! Contact us to find out what Social Media Management packages we offer and let’s find one that suites your business and brand.