Figuring out the best times to post content to your Instagram page used to be as simple as watching to see when your followers were most active, or looking at the majority of the time zones. The Huffington Post even did an in-depth article to take a look at the exact best times to post on the social media site, and it all seems easy!
There is a catch, though. On a feed, Instagram recently changed its algorithm to show posts. It used to be as simple as the most recent posts showed up at the top. Now, however, a few older posts may be mixed in because Instagram now prioritizes by the most popular posts with the most engagement. Sure, the brand new stuff appears there, but it might be a few posts behind something else.
Does post timing even play a factor anymore? Of course. In fact, it is just as important, if not more so, than before! Making sure you’re getting your content out there when your audience is active is the best way to get engagement on your posts; therefore you’ll be bumping them up on everyone’s feeds!
Discovering just exactly when to post could be difficult, but there are several apps and tips and tricks out there to help you. Later.com goes into detail about how their scheduling app can help you know when to post and set up a queue, that will automatically post your content without you having to control it yourself manually. Of all the different tools out there generated to help discover the prime posting times, Later has been a favorite among businesses attempting to run successful Instagram marketing accounts.
Another super useful app is Hootsuite, a full-featured social media manager website that can help you determine when to post, and how to drive engagement up to increase exposure on your accounts.
Of course, the best and most accurate way to discover when your followers are active is just by paying attention, and doing a bit of your research when you have the time. Experiment a little and post things at different periods of the day, and gauge how many people view and react to it. Pay attention to your feed and when it fills, if you’re following a lot of individuals, to get an even broader idea of when users are posting.
Be creative with the captions in your content, too. Write things that help and request engagement, such as asking questions to be answered in the comments, or hosting contests. Anything that captures the interest of your followers will encourage them to double tab and give you that much-needed boost to the popular page! Don’t forget to include enough relevant hashtags, too, so you show up in searches. Even if someone isn’t following you, they can like or comment on your content if your account isn’t set to private.
