Best Times to Post on Instagram in 2025

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Best Times to Post on Instagram in 2025
Octavius from AdWeek on
January 30, 2025
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Best Times to Post on Instagram in 2025

Want more engagement on Instagram in 2025? Timing is everything. Posting at the right time can increase visibility by up to 50%, thanks to Instagram's algorithm favoring early engagement (within 15-20 minutes). Here's what you need to know:

Key Insights:

  • Best Times to Post: Weekdays, especially Mondays and Thursdays, between 11 AM and 12 PM.
  • Top Engagement Days: Tuesday through Friday. Avoid weekends for important posts.
  • Audience-Specific Timing: Use Instagram Insights to track when your followers are most active.
  • Content Type Matters: Stories and Reels perform best late at night (12 AM - 6 AM), while carousels peak at 5 AM on Tuesdays.

Tools to Help:

  • Instagram Insights: Focuses on your specific audience's habits (active times, engagement rates).
  • AdWeek Resources: Provides industry-wide trends and seasonal insights.

Quick Comparison:

Feature Instagram Insights AdWeek
Data Scope Personalized to your audience Industry-wide trends
Analysis Type Short-term (90 days) Long-term engagement patterns
Best For Individual account optimization Broad market strategies

Pro Tip: Combine Instagram Insights for daily follower behavior with AdWeek's seasonal trends for a well-rounded posting strategy. Early engagement is key - post when your audience is online for the best results.

Top 7 Instagram Engagement Tips: How to BEAT the Algorithm in 2025

1. AdWeek

AdWeek

AdWeek has become a go-to resource for Instagram marketers looking to fine-tune their posting schedules in 2025. By leveraging detailed data analysis and expert advice, AdWeek delivers actionable strategies to help brands and creators boost their Instagram engagement.

Drawing from top social media tools, AdWeek pinpoints the best times to post. According to their research, weekdays between 11 AM and 12 PM - especially Mondays and Thursdays - see the highest engagement rates [1].

AdWeek provides several resources, including a daily newsletter, analytics reports, and expert interviews. These tools offer real-time updates, engagement data, and platform-specific strategies. Their findings highlight the importance of early engagement, aligning with Instagram's algorithm, which favors activity in the first 15-20 minutes after a post goes live [1].

Here’s a quick look at the key resources AdWeek offers:

Resource Type Purpose Key Benefit
Daily Newsletter Trend Updates Stay informed on algorithm changes
Analytics Reports Engagement Data Get insights tailored to your industry
Expert Interviews Strategy Deep-Dives Learn platform-specific tactics

AdWeek enhances Instagram Insights by offering a broader perspective on industry trends, helping marketers sharpen their audience-focused strategies [3]. Their newsletter and events also provide opportunities for networking and sharing tips, enabling marketers to exchange ideas for optimizing posting times effectively.

2. Instagram Insights

Instagram Insights

Instagram Insights helps users tailor broader trends to fit their specific audience. This built-in tool provides detailed metrics on audience behavior and engagement, making it easier to refine your posting strategy.

Here are three key metrics Instagram Insights focuses on:

Metric Category Key Information Why It Matters
Audience Activity Tracks when followers are active hourly and daily Helps identify the best times to post
Content Performance Measures engagement on individual posts Reveals which posting times work best
Geographic Distribution Shows follower locations and time zones Lets you adjust for regional audiences

Instagram Insights also includes two standout features to guide your decisions:

  • Most Active Times: Pinpoints when your followers are online, making it easier to schedule posts.
  • Accounts Engaged: Tracks how different posting times influence interaction rates.

If your audience spans multiple time zones, combining these insights with demographic data can help you find overlapping periods where engagement is likely to peak.

To start using Instagram Insights, you’ll need to switch to a Business or Creator account, grow your following to at least 100 people, and post consistently to gather accurate data.

Keep in mind: Instagram Insights only shows data from the past 90 days. Regular updates and analysis are essential to stay in sync with your audience’s behavior.

For even deeper analysis, consider pairing Instagram Insights with external tools that offer industry-wide comparisons to refine your strategy further.

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Comparison of Tools

When planning the best Instagram posting times for 2025, AdWeek and Instagram Insights each bring unique strengths to the table. Here's a quick breakdown to help you understand their differences:

Feature AdWeek Instagram Insights
Data Scope Industry-wide trends and forecasts Audience-specific insights
Analysis Type Long-term engagement trends across industries Personalized metrics
Strategic Focus Market-wide patterns and predictions Individual account optimization
Historical Data Extended trend analysis 90-day limit
Planning Support Broad market strategies Custom timing recommendations

AdWeek offers a big-picture view, analyzing engagement trends across the platform. This is great for spotting shifts in user behavior and planning long-term strategies.

Instagram Insights, on the other hand, focuses on your specific audience. It provides tailored metrics to help you fine-tune your posting schedule, though it’s limited to a 90-day data window.

To get the best results in 2025, consider combining these tools:

"Using data-driven insights from tools like Instagram Insights can increase engagement by up to 30%. When combined with broader industry insights from AdWeek, brands can create more effective posting strategies that align with both their specific audience behavior and industry trends." [1][2]

Here’s how to make the most of both: Use Instagram Insights to find the best posting times for your audience's daily activity. Then, refer to AdWeek's reports to adjust for seasonal trends or platform-wide shifts. This combination keeps your strategy both targeted and in sync with larger trends, ensuring a well-rounded approach to content scheduling.

Conclusion

Analyzing Instagram posting trends for 2025 highlights the importance of aligning your schedule with audience behavior and platform patterns. The data uncovers several engagement windows to help shape your Instagram strategy.

Best Times for Engagement: Different audience sizes and content types respond better at specific times:

Time Period Engagement Rate Best For Audience Size
3 PM - 6 PM Weekdays 7.33% All content Nano Influencers
12 AM - 6 AM Monday Highest daily Stories/Reels Micro Influencers
5 AM Tuesday Peak performance Carousels Macro Influencers
8 PM All days 7.33% All posts All sizes

These timeframes provide a helpful starting point, but engagement often depends on your niche. For example, fashion brands tend to perform best between 12 PM and 2 PM, while travel content sees better results from 10 AM to 12 PM [1].

Choosing the Right Tools: To get the best results in 2025, mix audience-specific data with broader industry insights. This approach allows you to create a schedule that fits your followers' habits while staying mindful of larger trends.

What Matters Most: Success on Instagram in 2025 depends on understanding engagement patterns, posting consistently during high-activity periods, and staying flexible with trends. Early engagement remains key, so timing your posts to match when your audience is online will make a big difference.

Use these insights as a guide, but keep monitoring and adjusting your strategy to match your audience's unique preferences.

FAQs

How can you find the best time to post on Instagram?

Instagram's Professional Dashboard includes a tool called Instagram Insights, which shows when your followers are most active. By using this feature, you can figure out the best times to post and increase engagement [1].

When are people most active on Instagram?

Global activity on Instagram tends to peak during these times:

Day Peak Engagement Times
Monday 11 AM - 12 PM
Tuesday-Thursday 7 AM - 2 PM
Friday 4 PM
Weekend 7 AM - 7 PM

These are broad trends based on global data [1]. For more precise timing, use Instagram Insights to analyze your specific audience's habits.

Which days are best and worst for posting on Instagram?

Data shows that Tuesday through Friday are the best days for engagement, with Wednesday and Thursday standing out as particularly effective [1]. On the other hand, weekends generally see less activity, making them less ideal for important posts.

To get the best results, combine these general trends with the insights from your account's analytics [1][2].

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