Insta-Program

When it comes to Instagram, timing is everything.

Clients often ask us how to master the world of social media marketing, especially when it comes to Instagram. While content is obviously king, timing is just as crucial. This is especially true given the many changes in algorithms that impact who will see your posts… and when.

So when is the best time to post? The simple answer is when your audience is most active. But at CatchOn, we like to dig a little bit deeper. Posting on our own Instagram account (@catchonco), we’ve observed a couple of trends and best practices that we’d like to share:

1. The Bread and Butter: Chefs are now celebrities so it’s no surprise that food shots generate a lot of interest. Regardless of when we post food shots, engagement is guaranteed. (This also applies to babies and pets.)

2. Sunday Swoon: Sunday evenings is generally when we post content that are big-ticket items. This includes destinations that we’d like to visit or a guilty indulgence. We suspect it’s a case of Sunday blues.

3. Weekly Wanderlust: Turns out Mondays are hard for everyone. As a continuation of our Sunday Swoon entries, any destination or hotel getaway we post on a Monday sparks a lot of feedback.

4. Lost Weekend: We post DIY projects or recipes Saturday mornings. It’s the start of the weekend and everyone plans to be productive (but in reality they’re kicking back at home). We’ve noticed higher engagement when we post a crafty, artisan-style project compared to other content.

5. Afternoon Delight: Contrary to popular belief, users aren’t covertly scrolling Instagram at work throughout the day. In fact, we get the highest engagement after 3pm on most weekdays when people are ready to take an afternoon break.

Of course, these pointers don’t take into account different time zones. We’d suggest to look at your analytics to determine where most of your followers are based and use that as the time zone. Don’t forget, it’s a cycle: Higher engagement leads to more visibility, which leads to higher engagement… and it all starts with when and what you post.

Thoughts? Are our findings consistent with your own? When do you find followers are most active? Which topics or posts spark the greatest interest?

Virginia Ngai