- Best times: Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Friday from 10 a.m.–11 a.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Sunday
Instagram is the second most logged-in social media site for daily use, and is only projected to increase in its user base over the coming years.
This Facebook-owned platform shows relatively similar global usage patterns to its parent company, with peak engagement occurring around midday in the week, and lower engagement on weekends.
Looking at Instagram as a whole, the most consistent engagement can be found Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Engagement becomes lower every day before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m, but compared to other platforms, Instagram does have scattered points of engagement on weekends and mornings. This could be fueled by the increasing popularity of bite-sized Instagram Stories that are easy to check in on any time, and whose ephemeral nature can drive FOMO.
To find out when to post on Instagram for your specific niche and audience, read on for our findings by industry.
Best times to post on Instagram for consumer goods
- Best times: Wednesday at 3 p.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Sunday
Instagram’s visual-first nature has proven to be a perfect fit for showcasing and selling products of all types. There are also plenty of approaches brands can use to highlight their offerings, from influencer marketing strategies that provide lifestyle context to in-depth IGTV videos that help showcase every feature and selling point.
Retailers and consumer goods brands can cut through the noise and earn engagement at the peak times above, or target relatively safe times for engagement occurring Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Shopping behavior tapers off in the later evening, with the lowest engagement found every day before 5 a.m. and after 9 p.m.
Best times to post on Instagram for media
- Best times: Friday at 9 a.m.
- Best day: Friday
- Worst days: Saturday and Sunday
Media companies show relatively unique patterns of engagement on Instagram, with higher engagement times split between morning and afternoon. In addition to the peak time on Friday, engagement is most consistent Monday through Friday between either 8–10 a.m. or 2–4 p.m.
Similar to other industry segments, the lowest engagement occurs every day before 5 a.m. and after 9 p.m. To capture the most attention from audiences, be sure to understand the elements of a great Instagram photo so your content stands out from competitors.
Best times to post on Instagram for education
- Best time: Friday at 10 a.m.
- Best day: Friday
- Worst day: Sunday
Instagram is a great platform for schools and universities to build up their social presence and visual branding. Highlight campus life and events, and consider taking to Instagram Live to inform both current and prospective students about what’s going on or hold an informal Q&A.
Saturday is considerably more active for educational institutions than other segments on Instagram, and to find the most consistent engagement, target Wednesday, Friday or Saturday, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. While audiences for education content stay active a bit later in the night, the lowest engagement starts to occur every day before 8 a.m. and after 11 p.m.
Best times to post on Instagram for nonprofit
- Best times: Tuesday from 1–3 p.m. and Wednesday at 2 p.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Sunday
Nonprofits can complement their strategy on other social platforms with a robust Instagram presence. Sparking social conversations is just as important on Instagram as any other social network, allowing nonprofits to tap into their robust bases of supporters, volunteers and followers. If you’re looking for fresh content ideas that can truly drive these connections, build in time to gather Instagram listening insights into your social strategy.
In terms of engagement, nonprofit peak times occur during the afternoons and weekdays, with overall most consistent engagement happening Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Aside from a brief period of moderate engagement on Saturday afternoon, the lowest engagement mostly falls outside of the workday, every day before 8 a.m. and after 10 p.m.
Best times to post on Instagram for tech
- Best times: Wednesday at 6 a.m. and 9–10 a.m., and Friday from 7–10 a.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Sunday
For tech companies serving a B2B audience, you might not think your product is visually compelling enough to develop a great Instagram strategy. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to create interesting B2B content on any platform, including Instagram. Highlight employee stories, supplement case studies with compelling video, and if you haven’t already, start using inspiration from your logo design process to develop an overall design language using signature colors and illustration styles.
Engagement opportunities are in many ways wide-open for tech companies to experiment with on Instagram. In addition to peak times on Wednesday, there are two separate stretches of consistent engagement occurring from Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon, and Friday from midnight to 10 p.m. The stretch of lowest overall engagement was found from Saturday afternoon throughout most of Sunday.
Best times to post on Instagram for healthcare
- Best times: Tuesday at 8 a.m.
- Best day: Tuesday
- Worst days: Saturday and Sunday
As a regulated field with specific restrictions on sharing information, healthcare can face challenges in building a social presence. However, there’s so much opportunity to connect with local communities and educate audiences about their health concerns that health institutions shouldn’t overlook the chance to interact with audiences wherever they are, including Instagram.
Develop a healthcare social media strategy that sets out clear guidelines for your team, and consider using your own analytics to supplement our findings and discover the optimal times for your specific audience’s location or healthcare niche.
Best times to post on Instagram for finance
- Best times: Friday at 11 a.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Thursday
Financial institutions might not seem like the ideal fit for Instagram at first glance. In reality, there are plenty of ways to build a content strategy that leverages the platform for everything from highlighting events and customer stories to widening the reach of longer form articles and video content.
If you haven’t fully developed your social media style guide, consider this as a starting point so your team is aligned on how to talk about your institution and any potentially sensitive or regulated financial topics. From there, dig our findings for the peak time to post, or look to the consistent blocks of engagement we found on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons.
Best times to post on Instagram for recreation
- Best times: Wednesday and Thursday at 1 p.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Sunday
There’s no better way to highlight the appeal of any type of recreational destination than on Instagram. The network has become a perfect fit for social media for travel destinations and companies, and it’s no surprise considering how easy it is to highlight everything from beautiful views to great meals or exciting activities.
Draw in customers at the peak times we found above, or consider posting during the times with the most reliable engagement, from Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. To avoid the lowest engagement times, don’t schedule before 6 a.m. and after 10 p.m. every day.