The Best Times to Post on Instagram in 2024 for Maximum Reach

Instagram's ever-evolving algorithm keeps social media marketers on their toes when it comes to figuring out the best times to post for maximum reach and engagement. In 2024, the combination of changing user behaviors and new AI-powered feed ranking signals means those "prime posting windows" could shift.

While there's no magic universal formula, here are some key insights and recommendations around the best times to post on Instagram in 2024:

Overall 2024 Best Day/Times for Engagement Based on analysis of 2023 Instagram data:

From thousands of brand accounts globally, the top engagement windows are anticipated to be:

• Tuesday through Friday, around 10am-12pm

• Tuesday and Wednesday around 7-9pm

These tend to be peak times when more users are actively browsing the app and open to engaging with fresh content in their feeds. However, it's important to note that optimal times can vary based on factors like your specific audience demographics, geographic locations, content type, and more.

Adjusting for Time Zones and Day of Week

For small businesses with a primary local or regional customer base, adjusting your posting times to the most active windows within that time zone is advisable. For example, 11am ET would be a good weekday morning time slot, while 8pm PT may work better in the evening.

Weekdays tend to perform better than weekends overall, as users have more downtime during the workweek to browse casually. Brands targeting college students, however, may see improved engagement on weekends.

Content Type Splits

For Instagram video content, working hours (10am-3pm) may be preferable as users have more time to watch with the audio on. Stories and Reels do better earlier in the day (before 10am) when people have fresh attention spans and still need a quick hit of entertainment.

More polished visual posts like styled photography or graphics often get a nice engagement lift between 4-6pm as users start winding down from work and are in "scrolling mode."

Use Instagram's Insights for Optimization

While these industry benchmarks can provide decent starting points, the more you begin analyzing your own Instagram account's native performance insights, the more precisely you can determine the ideal times for your unique audience and content mix.

Keep a close eye on your most successful posts by day/time and continuously iterate. Automated solutions like BIGR Social can fast-track this process and automatically schedule posts for peak windows.

Ultimately, consistency and high-quality, tailored content will matter just as much in fueling visibility and engagement on Instagram in 2024. Supplementing that with a strategic timing cadence aligned to your target audience activity patterns can provide an extra boost.