Instagram has a lot of users – about 1 billion accounts as of early 2022. Marketers operating on the platform always expect to get as many likes and comments as possible on posts. And this is no exception for brands in Vietnam. But to optimize engagement, you don’t just need a perfect photo. The interactions you get also have a lot to do with publishing time. When is the best time to post on Instagram?
A scheduling app for Instagram, recently analyzed over 60,000 posts. It also consulted a network of social media managers, allowing the company to draw some basic conclusions. However, you need to keep in mind that these statistics are not a definite answer. They serve as a reference base for scheduling the best times to post on Instagram.
Choose time
Most social media managers agree that the best time to post on Instagram is outside of business hours. Specifically:
From 11am to 1pm (lunch time)
Evenings from 7am to 9pm.
However, the above time frame targets customers living in Vietnam. If your audience is overseas, you’ll need to adjust your posting times to their time zone.
For example, your company is in Vietnam and sells clothes to customers in the United States. Most of your Instagram followers live in US cities. If you post at 11 a.m., it’s 00 o’clock in Washington (USA). Your client is already asleep.
Post in your client’s time zone instead of yours.
Besides, there is a new point affecting the time of Instagram posting that you need to pay extra attention to. An interactive strategy of “get up early, post early” has appeared.
The Instagram algorithm recently confirmed that the number of interactions in the first 30 minutes does not determine the rank of a post. So the pressure to publish content at a time when audiences are most active has been reduced.
Marketers can post about 45-60 minutes earlier than the “golden” time frame. This helps reduce competition from competitors who are also posting at the time.
Select publication date
Just like the best time of day to post on Instagram, finding the right day of the week can be a challenge. Several studies show that Wednesdays and Thursdays drive the most interactions.
Weekends tend to be hit or miss depending on the type of Instagram account you’re running and what kind of followers you have.
Example: If your audience is aimed at friends and family, you may get better engagement on weekends. And if you want to attract the attention of businesses, don’t. Because most companies tend to close on weekends.
However, in general, weekend posts get less traffic than weekday posts. Also, if you absolutely must post on the weekend, avoid Sunday. Because this seems to be the day when the number of interactions is the lowest.
How to make the best time to post on Instagram
Once you’ve discovered the best time to post, you can adjust your content strategy to capitalize on it.
Here are our top tips to keep in mind:
1. Schedule an appointment to publish posts
Schedule your publishing to suit your best times to post or your personalized best times. This is the best way to drive engagement and reach of your posts.
Plus, engagement on Instagram needs to have a dual effect.
When a post gets lots of likes, comments, and saves, that engagement gets your post higher on users’ feeds. It is likely to get a spot on the Explore Instagram page. As a result, this can drive engagement on your posts.
2. Prioritize your important posts
Once you know the best time to post on Instagram, you can organize your content strategy.
Example: You notice lower engagement over the weekend. Still want to show and share content with the community? You can post another and keep important content for publication at the “golden” time.
For best results, save the biggest messages for top engagement slots.
3. Don’t Forget Reel and Video
Until now, a lot of marketers mined mainly on feed posts. However, we do not recommend that you ignore Instagram Reel and Video. You need to post all types of content to increase your chances of reaching all areas of peak activity.
It should be noted that Instagram reels are time bound due to their 24-hour lifespan. However, it is still very useful for Instagram Marketing campaigns.
