When is the best time to post on Instagram in 2022?
Instagram currently has over a billion active users. It is realistically impossible to get your message through to all of them. – not that you need to 😄. But even then, you might be wondering what's the best time to post to try to reach the largest possible audience.
Before jumping headlong into the search for the right publishing schedule, it is essential to develop an effective Instagram content strategy to increase your chances of success. Only when you know exactly who you'd like to reach, you can start thinking about the best time to for it.
In this article, we'll take a look at the best practices for choosing your publishing schedule.
What's the best time slot for your business?
The answer to this question has been a bit shifty. The most relevant times to publish on this network tend to evolve as the Instagram's algorithm and user behavior evolve.
However, by cross-referencing millions of publications, studies show that the best day for all targets is Friday.
As far as timetables are concerned, the recommended time slots for an audience in France vary between B2B and B2C.
- B2C: 8am, 1pm and 9pm
- B2B: 12pm, 1pm, 5pm, 6pm, 8pm and 9pm
Understanding the Instagram algorithm
On the Instagram feed, posts follow each other according to their relevance, not the date of publication.
If a publication generates a clear interest from the audience from the moment of publication through likes or comments, Instagram will use this ripple effect and amplify it. It will submit the post to a larger and larger audience, mechanically increasing the reach of the post.
On the contrary, if this interest in the publication decreases, Instagram will automatically reduce the reach of the post.
Instagram knows the consumption patterns and expectations of these users. If a post is similar to what you are used to looking at, Instagram is more likely to show it to you.
Instagram is essentially based on users' likes and dislikes and adapts the reach of a post to the speed of the interactions they generate as soon as it is published. It is on this second aspect that the time of publication takes all its meaning.
If you publish at a time when your subscribers are not active, then you will not get the desired engagement rate. It is crucial to get the maximum attention from users within 15 to 20 minutes of posting to generate engagement.
Therefore, Instagram posts should be launched at the right time to ensure optimal visibility and higher engagement, and thus mechanically improve their reach.
Instagram Insights
Although we have shared with you the publishing schedules that are most likely to work for your business, it is important to remember that each target audience is different and therefore has different behaviors.
If you don't want to rely on averages based on millions of posts and find out for yourself when is the best time to post on your page, a handy tab on Instagram is there to help you:
From the Instagram application on mobile
- Open the application and in the top-right corner, click on the burger. "Insights".
- Once in this tab, click on "Total followers". At the bottom of this page, you will see the days and times when your subscribers are most active.
From the Creator Studio
- Go to the Creator Studio page on your Instagram account. Make sure you are on the Instagram page.
- Click on "Insights", then Audiences.
- Scroll down a little, and you will come to this section: When your followers are on Instagram
Once you have these statistics, you are free to run tests to refine your results.
For example, in the first week, launch publications at different times in a given time slot to measure engagement publication by publication.
If Instagram recommends that you post between 7am and 11am, start your posts at a different time each day (Monday 7am, Tuesday 8am, Wednesday 9am, etc.)
Repeat the test several times to confirm the results and thus validate the best time.
However, don't forget to take time zones into account if your business also caters to a foreign audience, as your European or American subscribers may not react at the same time in the morning or evening.
With all these tips, you should be ready to schedule your next publications.
Good luck 👍