Are you a business owner wanting to advertise, increase brand recognition, improve sales, and eventually expand your business? Or a content creator who wants to reach as many people as possible, eventually translating into views and monetization? Maybe you belong to a political or religious organization or non-profit aiming to spread their opinions, raise awareness, or ask for donations.
Instagram, by Meta, is one of the most popular social media applications to date, with billions of active monthly users. It is undisputed that for a modern establishment, having a good presence on Instagram is quintessential, regardless of the overall purpose.
Regardless of the kind of account you are running, managing an Instagram presence for any entity is an arduous task. Whether it be creating appropriate content, or making the same compliant with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is not easy. Managing an Instagram presence is both an art and a science.
A major factor that influences a post’s reach is the time it is posted. Let’s take a look at some of the best times to post on Instagram in PST. This article is primarily intended for content creators following the Pacific Standard Time [UTC -08:00]
The Best Times to Post on Instagram – The Basics
Two creators, with the same number of followers and content might get still get different results. This is simply because they are uploading at different times. While there is no ‘perfect’ time set in stone, you can probably find a slot that works best for you through some trial and error.
Understand your audience
The first thing that any creator should do is understand their audience. This can easily be done through the Instagram app on your phone:
Step 1:
Log in to your Instagram page and go to your profile tab
Step 2:
On the top-right corner, tap on the 3 Horizontal lines
Step 3:
Tap on “Insights”: Note- you need a professional or a creator account to do this
Step 4:
Under Overview, tap on the “total followers” category
Once you click on this, you will come across a range of metrics, including the gender, age group of audiences, and the time at which they are engaging with the content that is published. Armed with this knowledge, you can publish content when your audience is most active.
For example, if I was a content creator who specializes in creating new dinner recipes, and my metrics indicate that the content that I publish is most viewed between the time of 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., I can maximize my view count by uploading my content at 5:45 p.m.
Following this approach may help in boosting your engagement metrics, and after a few weeks, you may be able to find the “best time” for you to post your content.
Note: This Instagram Account was created to explain the process on an iPhone. There may be subtle variations while using an Android.
Advanced Permutations and Combinations
Once the basic aspects are covered, you should consider more advanced factors to maintain your current engagement, as well as increase your wider audience base.
You may also want to target two different sets of audiences, and they may be active at different times. Here, it’s best to create a dynamic and evolving upload schedule based on insights and audience feedback.
Uploading as per Pacific Standard Time
Let’s take a look at some of the best times to post on Instagram in PST:
Catering to Domestic Audiences
If your audience is primarily high school students, it’s probably not the best idea to publish content at 8 am. This is because your entire audience will in school attending classes. However, public schools are required to offer a lunch break between 10 am and 2 pm in the United States. This is a time when most students may scroll through Instagram and consume content.
On the other hand, if you make beauty and makeup content, 5 pm may be a good time to upload. This is when employees and students all return to their homes and may spend some time scrolling on Instagram.
If you are publishing comedy or drama clips that appeal to all age groups, that content may garner more views if uploaded at 9 pm. Some people may consume content before sleeping, and then again at midnight, when a majority of high school, college, and young professionals spend their time on Instagram.
Identifying your target audience will give you better insights into their schedules and habits. This makes it easier for you to identify an ideal time for posting, resulting in increased views for your account.
Catering to International Audiences
After a certain point, you have to start catering to a global audience to grow your Instagram presence. Your domestic considerations could potentially limit your reach. The need for the same can be evidenced by the following graph, showcasing, in millions, the total Instagram users:
Given these intricate and differing circumstances, a content creator has to do four basic things, being
1) Study
2) Experiment
3) Adapt
4) Evolve
Your content will most likely do well if these 4 steps are repeated. This will help you achieve organic growth.
Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
So you’ve created an intelligent posting plan that targets the best times to post on Instagram in PST. But how do you determine its efficacy? This is where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in.
Metrics to Monitor
Monitoring KPIs like reach, impressions, and profile visits can provide insight into content visibility.
1. Reach
Reach indicates the number of unique accounts that saw your content. Consider posting a drool-worthy dessert dish at 5 p.m. PST, a popular time for folks to browse after work. A high reach suggests that your post reached a large audience during the prime PST time.
2. Impressions
Impressions indicate the total number of times your post was viewed, regardless of who saw it. A significant amount of impressions, particularly at your preferred best times to post on Instagram in PST, indicates that your content is gaining attention.
3. Visits
Finally, profile visits count the number of people who visited your profile after viewing your post. This implies that your material caught their attention enough for them to continue exploring your page.
Tools for Scheduling Posts
Scheduling Instagram posts is very useful when working with different time zones. As a result, scheduling is critical for achieving the best times to post on Instagram in PST. But which instrument to use?
Several scheduling services make it easier to prepare and post content. Predis.ai’s social media content scheduling tool outperforms essential scheduling tools. It provides a complete social media management solution. It simplifies content production by providing on-platform tools for creating captions, hashtags, and even video scripts.
Predis.AI enables data-driven scheduling. It indicates the best time to publish to Instagram in PST (or any other time zone) for maximum reach.
Furthermore, Predis.ai uses AI to identify hashtags and provide useful audience activity data. This enables customized content production and scheduling and guarantees that your content reaches the intended audience at the optimal moment.
Use Predis.ai’s Hashtag Generator to create relevant hashtags that engage your audience!
Optimizing Your Instagram Strategy in PST
Have you nailed the “best times to post on Instagram in PST”? That’s an excellent start! Here are some additional techniques for dominating the PST posting game.
- Use Insights to identify their PST peak periods (weekdays and weekends). Post while they are scrolling!
- Mix photographs, videos, and tales. Determine what resonates best at various PST times.
- Create a content calendar and plan posts to be relevant during high PST periods.
- Repost user-generated material with attribution within the specified PST posting times.
- Respond to comments and messages. Organize live Q&As/polls during high-engagement PST hours.
- Use Insights to determine what performs best at various PST times. Refine your “best time to post” strategy.
Check out Predis.ai’s social media content calendar. It helps you plan, schedule, and track your content.
Conclusion
Posting during the above-mentioned best times to post on Instagram in PST does not guarantee success. Every content creator on this platform faces challenges in reaching their goals. Eventually, you will be able to identify time frames that work best for your content.
Several tools can be used to ensure that your content stands out. Predis.ai is a fantastic tool that allows creators to easily create and schedule Instagram posts and videos. This unique tool will save you time and effort while ensuring you get quality content. Sign up for your free account today!
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