Is there really a best time to post on Instagram?
Since Instagram’s ever changing algorithm makes it hard to nail this answer down 100%, the question of timing has become especially fraught. If posts don’t show up chronologically, does the time you post them even matter anymore?
The answer is yes, to an extent.
The Instagram algorithm favors “recency” when it determines which posts you will see in your feed. Though no longer strictly chronological, it’s designed to serve you fresh content that you’re likely to engage with.
That means newer posts are more likely to appear in your feed first, no matter how many times you refresh it.
When is the best time to post on Instagram?
One easy way to find out when your followers are online and most likely to engage with your content is by digging into your Instagram analytics.
But it’s also helpful to find out what times work for other brands in your industry, especially if you’re starting from scratch.
According to an article shared by Mashable, Instagram product Lead Julian Gutman explained how the Instagram feed works and whether or not time is a factor when it comes to optimising our grid posts. As explained in the article,
“Instagram uses something called “feed ranking” to determine the order of posts thats appear in your feed. To do that, it uses machine learning — “a technology that uses historical data to make predictions about the future,” per Gutman. Instagram analyses your historic usage to predict the kind of posts that are most relevant to your interests.”
He explained that alot of people think that it’s great to post at a certain time (say 5pm) then this results in the feeds being flooded with posts at a certain time.
“So, time is not a factor that we use in terms of ranking,” said Gutman. “It’s really when your audience is on the platform. which could be very different for different accounts or countries or people.”
While there is no hard and fast answer to this question, if you do have a business profile, it’s worth taking a look at your Instagram analytics to figure this out for yourself, to determine when your followers are most active online.
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