Today, we’re talking all about what time you should be posting on Instagram… and honestly, why it doesn’t matter as much as you think! This is a question I’m asked all the time in my Reels Mini Course Facebook group and my students are often surprised by my answers. I’m going to be sharing my exact posting schedule with you today – as well as my thoughts on why it might not make a difference anyway! Let’s get started… 

THINK ABOUT INSTAGRAM’S END GOAL

My students always want to know the best time to post their content. The reality is that it probably doesn’t matter as much as you think. Instead, you need to think about Instagram’s end goal: to keep users on their app. Basically, at the end of the day they want to get users on the app and keep them on the app. That matters when you’re thinking about your content and how you’re sharing it on Instagram. It means that you need to create great content that engages your audience so that they keep using the app and coming back from more. When that happens, you’re helping Instagram with their end goal and they’re more likely to promote your content. This is what’s going to help you more than posting at some “magical” time for success! 

NOW THINK ABOUT YOUR CONTENT. 

Now I want to say here: there may be times that your audience is more active, or there may be times that there’s more users on the app. In my experience, my audience is most active 12-3pm on the weekdays… but it’s still only a few hundred people. The numbers are not that drastic, so for me, it’s been more important to create quality content that engages my audience and encourages Instagram to push me in the algorithm! I think if your content is doing the job of creating an engaged audience, it will push your content no matter what time you post. Instagram won’t “penalize you” if you post at the wrong time. 

I’d encourage you to post when is convenient for you and when you’re able to engage with your audience in real time. Don’t post and ghost. That’s going to be another big thing for you – make sure that you have the time to actually engage with your community when your content is shared. You could plan on a specific time of day that your posts always go live, so your audience is always expecting them… but again, if that’s not convenient – then don’t do it! If there’s a time of day your audience is “more” active, you may see a small boost on your post… but not enough to stress about it! 

The bottom line: if a piece of content is going to do well on your account, it will do well no matter what time of day you post it. (The same goes for hashtags – check out my thoughts on that HERE!). 

WHAT I HAVE SEEN ON MY ACCOUNT

I hope that hearing that helps relieve some of the stress that comes with content planning! There is flexibility and it’s not as important as you think! I’ve found that being consistent helps my audience know what to expect. So I generally post between 12 and 3pm because that’s convenient for me. I have time to engage with my audience and share my content. My audience has now come to expect that from me and tends to interact well because they’re excited for what’s being posted. When it comes down to it, the quality of your Instagram content matters more than anything else! 

Other Reels Resources 

I also offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! You can sign up for that HERE. And, if you have questions or want some extra support, I’ve got a FREE Reels Growth Facebook Community that you can join. I absolutely love getting to chat with everyone and help them work through their questions about Reels!

PS. We’ve started a podcast! If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time!  This has been such a fun project since maternity leave and I hope you’ll tune in.If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you!