When Should You Upload Photos And Videos To Instagram In 2023?
Joe Walker - April 21, 2023Among Instagram’s impressive data is the fact that 88% of its users are located in countries outside of the United States and that 4.2 billion posts are liked every single day.
Your feed’s success depends in large part on the time zones and timing of your posts.
Time Zones and the Ideal Instagram Posting Window
There are 24 different time zones throughout the world, so it’s possible that your intended audience will be asleep or at work when you make a post.
It makes little sense for a U.S.-based company whose primary audience is in Europe to publish new material between 1 and 3 a.m. GMT, when most of those people are likely to be asleep.
When to Post on Instagram: The Unwritten Rules
There are guidelines you should follow regarding the timing of your Instagram posts if you want to monetize your account or increase user engagement for your business.
If you’re trying to strike up a conversation with working professionals, for example, you might want to hold off until after hours. Avoid scheduling activities that conflict with people’s workdays.
It’s important to consider the time zone difference between you and your intended audience before publishing. Post just when you know they will be awake and not busy.
If your target audience members are located in a time zone that prevents you from posting at convenient times, try using a post scheduler.
When Should You Publish an Instagram Photo or Video?
The optimal time of day to upload photos and videos on Instagram has been the subject of several scientific investigations.
While no one has determined a single optimal posting time, they have offered several helpful recommendations that may be simply implemented into your own posting schedule.
The majority of research indicates that the late afternoon/early evening (after 5 p.m.) is the optimal time to publish.
Despite the fact that it would be ideal to be able to update throughout the day, the vast majority of your followers are likely to be at work and thus unable to spend as much time as they’d want on social media.
People are more likely to view and interact with your posts if you publish them when they are not at work.
Wednesdays and Thursdays have been shown to have the highest levels of interaction, hence it is recommended that important material be posted on those days.
Put Your Skills to Use!
Whether you’re a major brand or a social media influencer, you need a business Instagram profile to access data for your feed and posts.
It will reveal data like audience size and participation rates. The ability to track when more people are seeing your material makes this feature worthwhile.
Incorporate these metrics into your content plan and you’ll be posting at peak times for maximum exposure.
You may learn about your audience’s demographics, including how old they tend to be, and when they tend to be online by analysing these numbers.
A post scheduler might be useful if this is when you would normally be sleeping or otherwise unable to update your page.
The Good and Bad of Instagram
Although there is no conclusive answer to this since studies don’t always agree, it is advisable to apply your common sense and initiative, as there are ideal posting periods and times to avoid posting.
If you want to avoid people on social media, don’t post between 3 and 5 p.m. Most people are wrapping up their work or school day and on their way home at this time.
Consider when you are most likely to be actively browsing through your feed: when drinking your morning coffee or while relaxing on your couch at night.
Chronology
The chronological feed was previously featured in earlier versions of Instagram; however, this feature has since been removed and has been replaced with a feed based on algorithms and posts that you may enjoy based on your involvement with other users’ posts.
Because of this mechanism, it’s possible that your posts won’t reach your audience at the moment you expect them to.
Concluding Remarks: Instagram’s Prime Posting Window
While there is some room for error when determining the best time to publish material to your audience, there are hundreds of studies claiming to have solved the problem.
We don’t know what the peak viewing period is, but we can make educated guesses based on factors like when people are most likely to be online, when they are most likely to be working, and when they are most likely to be free.
Use a post-scheduling tool to assist you post material when you are otherwise engaged if the time your audience is engaging with you isn’t convenient for you.
Make use of business analytics to see whether and when your messages are reaching your intended audience. These are cornerstones of any successful outreach plan.
The deployment of this technique requires a defined engagement plan, as simply uploading your material will not expand your audience or maintain them.
If you can put them into practise in tandem, you’ll see not only an increase in exposure and interaction with your target demographic, but also organic development.