By YoungMi, Guest Blogger - Last year it was said that evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm was the best time for artists to post on Instagram.

In 2018, it seems that lunchtime from 12:00-1:45 pm is their best time to post on Instagram, followed by evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

But theories do not mean those are the best times to post for YOU!

Because every Instagram account has a unique audience, in different time zones, so it is important to determine what your individual best time to post on Instagram is.

When is the Best Time for Artists to Post on Instagram?

If you want to beat the Instagram algorithm in 2018, scheduling Instagram posts for when the majority of your followers are online is super important.

Not only does the algorithm care about how much engagement your Instagram post gets, it also cares about how quickly you get that engagement.

If you post at a time when most of your followers are online, you give yourself a better chance of being shown to your audience - quickly!

If your post gets a lot of likes and comments shortly after it's posted, this signals to Instagram that your Instagram post is quality content, and the algorithm will then show your post to even more of your followers!

By finding out your personalized best time to post on Instagram, you can hack the algorithm to increase your reach and get more likes and followers.

So how do you find out what is your own best time to post on Instagram in 2018?

Here are some general rules to follow about the best time to post on Instagram:

• If you have a business account, check your followers' cities and countries, plus have a look at the Instagram suggestions of the time and day peak.
• Post for your most active time zone: you may be located in Hong Kong, but if most of your followers are in London, you should be posting with the GMT time zone in mind.
• If you have followers in two locations like New York City and Paris, you may find that posting at "odd" times in your time zone (like 3:00 pm) actually perform well for you, because it's 9:00 am in New York City and 3:00 pm in Paris.
• Post more during off-work hours instead of during the day: generally, the best times to post on Instagram are lunchtime (11:00 am to 1:00 pm) and evenings (7:00 to 9:00 pm).

Instead of posting when you think, plan your Instagram posts

Save the important posts for weekdays: The differences are slight, but average Instagram engagement does shift depending on the day. According to my own research, Tuesdays and Thursdays tend to drive the most engagement, while Sundays drive the least.

Other Ways to Calculate Your Best Time to Post on Instagram

If you don't want to pay for a software or app to find out your best times to post on Instagram, you can also calculate them yourself manually.

Experiment with Posting Times and Measure your Progress

If you'd rather crunch the numbers yourself, you can create a spreadsheet to track how much engagement you receive when you post at different times on different days.

Start by picking five different times throughout the week.

For example, if you notice that your followers are most active between 5:00 and 9:00 pm, schedule your posts to appear at 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00 pm.

In your spreadsheet, track how many likes and comments each post receives, along with the date and time that you posted them.

The following week, switch the timing of your posts for each day. For example, if you posted at 5:00 pm on Monday in week 1, post at 6:00 pm during week 2.

It might take a few weeks, but you can use this information to help you choose the best days to share to specific networks based on your own audience, along with the times that work best for getting traffic on those specific days.

How to Schedule for Your Best Time to Post to Instagram?

Now that you know when your Instagram audience is most active, and how to drive the most engagement based on your audience's activity, the last step is to schedule your Instagram posts for your own best times to post on Instagram.

Regularity

By preparing your planning, you will be able to consistently have content going out at your best times to post on Instagram. Therefore, you will optimize your profile and attract new followers and engage with your current ones.

To be noted that some social media software can now auto-publish on Instagram. And they can even post at the best optimal time on your behalf.

You just have to select your posting times once, and then when you queue up your Instagram posts they will automatically be scheduled for your best times to post on Instagram.

And of course, if you use already a few automated publishing software, there is an app to help you more like "WhentoPost" or "Later", Hootsuite, Tailwind, and so forth. The costs of these platforms are between £3.99 and £ 39.

About the Author: YoungMi is the owner of The House of The Artists and since 2015, YoungMi has helped hundreds of artists, galleries, and art fairs to reach their digital marketing objectives.

Adding to her MA Marketing degree, she also studied Art Business & Management at Birkbeck University in London and at the Sotheby's Institute of Arts in New York.

YoungMi is based in London, and she speaks both English and French. – Her website is www.thehouseoftheartists.com/.  This article post was originally published on The House of The Artists website: www.thehouseoftheartists.com/l/when-is-the-best-time-to-post-on-instagram