Instagram Peak Times Across US Time Zones: Insights From Social Media Agencies

When to post on Instagram is as equally important as what you post, and knowing the Instagram peak times can ensure that your hard work and the hours you spend planning your posts don’t go to waste. There are plenty of resources that will tell you what to post on Instagram to get the best reach and the best engagement, but that’s only part of the equation. 

When to post on Instagram is as equally important as what you post, and knowing the Instagram peak times can ensure that your hard work and the hours you spend planning your posts don’t go to waste. Did you know that studies show posts made during optimal times can see up to 30% higher engagement? There are plenty of resources that will tell you what to post on Instagram to get the best reach and the best engagement, but that’s only part of the equation.

Improving Instagram Engagement

Engagement is key to boosting your visibility and building brand credibility on Instagram. It shows the algorithm that your content resonates with your audience and gives you social proof. Whether you’re an influencer or a business, strong engagement signals a legitimate, active following.

To boost engagement, use a solid hashtag strategy, eye-catching visuals, and clear calls-to-action in your captions. 

Actively engage with your followers to encourage reciprocal interactions. 

But remember, posting at the right times is crucial—if your followers don’t see your post initially, your engagement may drop. Always remember the best days and times to post on Instagram.

When Is The Best Time To Post?

To find your Instagram peak times, start with general guidelines, but also do your own research. Peak hours vary by time zone and audience behaviour. Unlike emails, social media posts are visible to everyone at once, making time zones crucial. 

Factors like your audience’s routine and industry trends also play a role. For a more tailored approach, we consulted four social media agencies across the U.S. to get insights specific to their time zones.

Eastern Time Zone

Brandignity is a digital marketing agency in Florida that helps companies of all sizes grow their brands. They offer services like SEO, advertising, design and social media. Many of their clients are B2B brands, and they’ve found that posting on the earlier side of the week, around 11 AM is a good time for those B2B brands.

Brandignity is a digital marketing agency in Florida that helps companies of all sizes grow their brands. They offer services like SEO, advertising, design, and social media. Many of their clients are B2B brands, and they’ve found that posting earlier in the week, particularly around 11 AM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, tends to yield the best results. 

For example, one B2B client saw a 20% increase in engagement and a 15% boost in website traffic when posts were scheduled during these peak times. This pattern suggests that mid-morning early in the week, is optimal for reaching business audiences.

“People are gearing up to take a break for lunch and sometimes just exploring online through social channels, but it really does vary,” they said. B2C best practices might also vary.

They’ve found that for their clients’ engagement, Instagram peak times tend to be around 11 AM because of their audience’s availability. You have to get in the mindset of publishing for when it’s most convenient for your audience rather than what fits in your schedule. Spend some time thinking of your audience and when they’d be most likely to be online.

Central Time Zone

In the Central Time Zone, we heard from JSMM, a social media marketing agency in Kansas City. They offer SEO and SEM services, PR and influencer marketing, CRM optimization and social media videos for their clients. They’ve gotten results for clients in a variety of industries, from medical manufacturing to fashion to pets and more.

They don’t recommend one specific set of Instagram peak times. Instead, they recommend tracking the performance of your particular posts over a set period. Use a third-party platform that provides timely data, even if it’s a paid platform.

“Overall, when it comes to scheduling, there is no shortcut.”

Using the analytics and information that you can get you can create a formula to find the best time for you to post for your particular audience. 

That said, posts during lunchtime seem to do fairly well in general. Mornings and evenings vary by day, but they can both be Instagram peak times. 

Evenings are also a good time to capture people mindlessly scrolling. Content creators may check in each morning to see their own analytics.

“The bottom line is to know your audience, create quality content and test the performance over time.”

Mountain Time Zone

Next up, we move west to the Mountain Time Zone, where we’ll reach Hyper Dog Media in Denver. 

They help businesses of all sizes improve their rankings and get better traffic. From email marketing to social media optimization to reputation management, they’ve got their clients covered.

Hyper Dog Media has found that they don’t have a blanket best time to post either. Instead, Instagram’s peak times completely depend on the client and their industry. 

They watch the data to see when the audience is most active, and then they plan and schedule their posts around that.

“Content is king these days, so you have much more freedom to post during your popular times and test a second post at another time.”

Optimizing Instagram Posting Times

Once they’ve watched the audience and found the Instagram peak hours for that particular client, they’re able to post during those peak times. 

They also say it’s important to be active as you post. You want to stay online after you publish your post so you can respond promptly to comments, shares, DMs and other engagements.

“Knowing your audience helps you time your post. Posting during your peak times allows your posts to hit as they reach their peak activity.”

Hyper Dog Media has also found that they need to be creative when finding the Instagram peak times to post. Since they’re in the Mountain time zone, they have to think about when they can post to hit optimum times in other time zones. After all, if a particular audience is active on weekday mornings and they post at 11 AM MDT, they’re going to miss both coasts. 

Instead, they post when people in the Mountain time zone first get to work, the West coast is getting ready for work and the East coast is about to go to lunch. This has been one of their sweet spots.

Pacific Time Zone

On the West Coast, we checked in with CRP Marketing, a California agency that creates long-term partnerships with their customers as they help them meet and exceed their goals. They offer both Search and Social Media Advertising, as well as web solutions and local marketing for clients ranging from e-commerce to automotive.

So, what are the best times to post on Instagram?

They’ve found that Instagram’s peak hours for their clients are 11 AM to 3 PM on weekdays. 

That midday time frame has worked very well, even across industries. Another agency, SunCity, agreed with this insight and even added that they find that 11 am- 12 pm is their peak performing period to post in terms of generating engagement.

During weekdays, the best engagement levels are generated from posts in the 8am-3pm span. More specifically, 11am-12pm is our peak performing time span to post in terms of generating engagement. Wednesdays in particular are our most engaging days of the week to post. – SunCity

There are a few reasons they’ve seen this work well for their clients. First of all, adults are often ready to log into their Instagram around lunchtime or as the end of the day draws near. Teenagers and other young people are often online during their lunch breaks or after school.

They’ve also found that these hours correspond with the general Instagram peak times. 

This doesn’t necessarily work for all brands in all industries, as we’ve seen a variety of answers from across the country, but it’s a great place to start as you begin to do your research to see what works best for you.

Do Instagram Peak Times Vary By Industry?

When you post on Instagram, it can depend on your brand’s industry. For example, a B2B brand might find that its audience is more active during business hours, while a B2C brand may see more engagement in the evenings. 

It’s critical to comprehend the timetable of your audience. Depending on where your followers are most active, certain platforms, like Facebook or Instagram, could have distinct peak hours. Try your posts on a variety of platforms to discover which ones perform the best. 

Your sector will also be affected when post—education users can be online at different times than those in ecommerce or B2B. 

Adapting your approach to these insights will increase your level of engagement.