Instagram loads your feed with eye-catching photos from people all over the world. But if you’re targeting an audience in a particular location, such as the United Kingdom, you’re probably wondering what time is best to post on Instagram in the UK.
It takes a lot to get your posts noticed on the platform. They need to stand out in some way, from the image aesthetics to captions and hashtags, and the time you post them matters.
Understanding when is your best time to post on Instagram is essential to getting your account the attention it deserves and the growth that you want. But there are also a few blanket posting times that are best for people in the UK.
What is the Best Time to Post on Instagram in the UK?
Very generally speaking, many global Instagram users see a lot of engagement between the early hours of 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and the afternoon hours of 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. There’s also the mid-morning range of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. during which posts can get an engagement boost during the week.
But what’s the best time to post on Instagram in the UK?
In most cases, posting between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the UK can get your posts seen by as many people as possible globally.
This is the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. window on the eastern end of the United States, 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on the western end, and early evening to late night hours in other places across the globe. Posting on Instagram at this time in the UK can potentially reach hot periods of engagement on the platform all over the world.
What Days are Best to Post on Instagram in the UK?
The best days to post on Instagram in the UK is the same as globally: Tuesday through Friday will, generally, get you the most engagement for your posts.
Saturdays and Sundays have the lowest engagement for Instagram, likely because the weekends are when many are out and about and spend less time on social media. Monday is only slightly better for engagement than weekend days (blame the Monday blues, perhaps?).
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday each have ideal early morning hours during which posting on Instagram could get you more likes and comments than usual. Focus on the hours when people in the UK tend to wake up and check their phones: between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. You’ll also target those evening users and late-nighters in other parts of the world.
Wednesday is the highest engagement day for Instagram globally with Friday close behind, so try to save your very best content for those days to get the best organic reach.
Considering Your Niche
We always say that your niche should be your first consideration when deciding what your ideal posting times and dates are. This is true for any social media channel. You want to appeal to your audience when they’re most likely to be browsing the platform.
Although 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. might be the best time, in general, to post on Instagram in the UK, it might not be the best for your particular niche.
For example, if you own a bakery in Liverpool, you won’t necessarily need to reach people globally. Sure, it could help to boost your engagement if you did. But all those extra likes and comments probably won’t do much for your business besides potentially sending some tourists your way.
Instead, you’ll want to cater to the local crowd. That could mean that posting in the early morning and typical lunch break hours when most people would head to the bakery is probably ideal for you. You might also have luck ramping up your posts on the weekends when other businesses tend to have less engagement. Families are out and about and looking for activities on the weekends, and your bakery could be just the right place to catch their attention.
So, yes, it’s good to know when to post on Instagram in the UK, but it’s better to know when your audience will see your posts the most. You can get an idea of when your target audience hangs out on Instagram by checking Instagram Insights, which you’ll get access to with a free business account. You can read our Instagram Insights guide to learn more about using it to grow your account.
If you’re looking for more ideas on how to grow your UK Instagram following, we’ve also created a series of free Instagram resources, including: our guide to the proper Instagram post character limit, answer to the question “how to share an Instagram post,” our look at how to zoom out an Instagram profile picture, and our guide to optimizing your giveaway text.
Did you know that you can also increase Instagram engagement and grow your following with the click of a button? The Instagram follow button integrates seamlessly with your website to allow your visitors to check you out on Instagram, see your content, and follow your feed. You can customize its design and grab the code to place on your site within minutes, no coding knowledge necessary!
