How Often You Should Post on Instagram in 2024 - Shopify UK (2024)

It’s the million-dollar question: How often should you post on Instagram?

Is it OK to post multiple times a day? Or should you stick to a few posts each week? You can see how quickly it becomes a balancing act. You don’t want to post so infrequently that no one sees your content, but you also don’t want to post so much that Instagram thinks you’re a spam account.

Most importantly, you must consider how much time and energy you have to dedicate to the platform. Developing a consistent posting schedule that aligns with your resources and goals is vital to building a successful Instagram presence.

Whether you have a social media team or are a mighty entrepreneurial team of one, this guide will help you determine how often you should post on Instagram as you build your social media marketing strategy. We’ll explore the factors to consider when deciding on your posting frequency and provide tips for creating a sustainable and effective posting schedule that works for your business.

How often should you post on Instagram?

You should aim to post on Instagram three to five times per week. The type of posts you share depends on your audience and brand, but you should strive for at least three posts per week, whether you prefer Instagram Reels, carousels, or static posts.

When you post regularly, you unlock a host of juicy benefits:

• It increases your chances of showing up on the Explore page, exposing your content to a broader audience.
• It boosts your chances of appearing in the top search results for your most commonly used keywords, making it easier for users to discover your account.
• It helps people discover you through various content types and topics, showcasing your brand’s versatility and creativity.
• It increases your chances of getting featured on bigger accounts, potentially leading to a surge in followers and engagement.
• It allows you to test what works best with your followers, helping you refine your content strategy over time.
• It helps you determine how to best sell to your audience, ultimately driving more conversions and higher revenue.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri agrees. “The more you post, the more your followers usually grow because more people discover you, more people share your content, and there’s more content to be discovered,” he says.

So, how do you stack up against other accounts?

Research by social media scheduling tool Later found that different-sized accounts tend to have different posting schedules. Nano accounts with up to 10,000 followers post an average of two feed posts per week, micro accounts with up to 100,000 followers post an average of three posts per week, and mid-sized accounts with up to 500,000 followers post an average of five posts per week.

There might be a correlation between how much you post and how many followers you have, but there’s also the possibility that larger accounts rely on their Instagram to make money, so they’ll post more often.

But what about Instagram Stories?

In the same study, Later found that nano accounts post an average of three Instagram Stories per week, micro accounts post Instagram Stories four times a week, and mid accounts post an average of 15 Stories per week.

Learning how to use Instagram Stories can help you better engage with your followers and create deeper customer connections. Their ephemeral format lets you keep up your posting cadence without creating daily feed posts. Here are some ideas for Instagram Stories to help you get started.

If you’re worried that you’ll lose followers if you post a lot, don’t be. Adam reassures Instagram users that they might lose a few followers by posting multiple times each week, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

“Sometimes when you post, people are reminded that they follow you and might unfollow you,” he says. “People are always curating their following list. But over the long run, when we look at the data, we see that the more you post, the more your followers will usually grow.”

Get into a consistent Instagram posting rhythm

Here’s essential advice if you’re figuring out how to use Instagram for business: consistency is more important than volume.

Combining Later’s research with Adam’s comments, we can ascertain that posting one feed post and two Instagram Stories daily is a good bet for growing your engagement. Whether you can start at that pace depends on how much time, experience, and personnel you have.

Here are some tips to get your rhythm going:

Start with what’s doable

Instead of diving into the deep end right away, focus on a posting frequency that makes sense for you and your business where they are right now. That might look more like three Instagram feed posts and three Instagram Stories per week.

Later’s research shows smaller accounts post less each week than larger accounts, confirming that starting small and manageable is the way to go.

Adam shares a similar idea, stating that while posting more might increase your follower count quicker, it’s more important to post consistently. “Post how much you feel comfortable with,” he says.

Assess what resources you need to create content.Determine what team members might need to get involved, what equipment and Instagram tools you need, and the schedules of all stakeholders.

Create a posting schedule

You want to spread out your posts strategically, however much you’re posting. A good rule of thumb is to schedule posts on specific days. For example, you might post a photo to your Instagram feed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and a Story on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Spreading posts out not only pleases the Instagram algorithm but also gives your audience an expectation of when new content is coming. This approach ensures each post has breathing room, so they’re not competing for likes and comments.

Here’s how to approach this:

• Brainstorm a list of ideas. Generate a list of Instagram post ideas drawing inspiration from competitor accounts, customer FAQs, and trending topics. Keep adding to this list as you come up with more ideas.
• Map out your monthly calendar. Start plotting your ideas onto a calendar, considering your resources and topics. Make sure you account for time to create and edit the posts and write the captions.
• Test and tweak. See how it goes for the first month. If you find yourself overwhelmed, try reducing your cadence the following month. Most importantly, stick to a set number of posts per week. If you decide you can only manage three, that’s fine—just ensure you continue sharing three posts each week.

Experiment with Instagram’s different features, too. Try using Instagram stickers to generate engagement, going live (formerly IGTV), sharing more Instagram videos, and incorporating relevant Instagram hashtags into your posts for better reach.

Repurpose content

You don’t have to create fresh content for your social media platforms every week. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with your posting frequency, consider repurposing some posts that performed well or writing new Instagram captions for previous posts.

Here’s a quick strategy for doing this:

• Identify your top-performing posts.
• Change the format (e.g., turn a Reel into a carousel or vice versa) or write a new, relevant caption.
• Add repurposed content to your calendar.

Repurposed content can fill in any gaps. For example, you might create two brand-new feed posts each week and share two repurposed pieces. The more content you have, the easier it is to turn your top-performing posts into Instagram Story ads, regular Instagram ads, or use them in marketing campaigns.

Schedule posts with apps

To make this more manageable, you can use Instagram management apps like Sked Social, Later, or Hootsuite to schedule Instagram posts in advance. That way, you can create your feed posts in bulk ahead of time and not have to worry about checking in and coming up with new content every day.

And keep it up—dropping off for a week or two isn’t the end of the world, but it could potentially lower your ranking on Instagram, which also rewards how recent a post is.

As you get more comfortable scheduling and developing high-quality post ideas, you can increase your cadence and aim for daily content.

How Wilderdog grew its Instagram audience

Rachel Friedline co-founded Wilderdog, a company that makes leashes, harnesses, and other accessories for dogs who love outdoor adventures. Founded in 2015, Rachel immediately created an Instagram account for Wilderdog, knowing it would be crucial to her social media marketing strategy.

Since then, Rachel has grown the account to more than 360,000 followers, running the page with her business, and has found the ideal posting frequency.

Rachel aims to post one Instagram feed post per day, although she has missed a day or two.

Borrow these tips from Rachel’s posting strategy:

• Save high-quality photos, whether that’s your own or customer-generated photos.
• Post casual content on Instagram Stories to build connections with your audience.
• Encourage your customers to tag your brand in their photos (you can add a branded hashtag in your Instagram bio).
• Share tagged Instagram Stories and photos—particularly the funny ones or those that most encapsulate your brand.
• Post something daily, whether it’s Instagram Stories or Instagram feed posts.
• Identify what social media posts perform best and share more of those.

Rachel’s biggest tip for other entrepreneurs is to keep posting and experimenting. “The culture surrounding the app seems to be changing faster than ever now,” she says. “Yes, strategize, but also be willing to change your strategy.”

Because she uses the app daily, Rachel noticed when Reels were picking up steam and posted more of them. Similarly, once she noticed posts tagged with shoppable items were doing better, she leaned into that. She built her audience by creating a consistent Instagram posting frequency and switching up what she posted.

“By making mistakes along the way, you’re going to figure out what’s best for your company." Trial and error can be an influential teacher in refining your Instagram strategy.

Check out these ideas for what to post on Instagram.

Grow your audience with frequent Instagram posts

Consistency is key to how often you post on Instagram, and that applies to more than just your posting cadence.

Creating and maintaining a consistent posting frequency will build a habit for you or your team, let your audience know when to expect news posts, and keep you in tune with trends and your Instagram insights (check your Creator Studio for full analytics). Plus, the more you post, the more room you have to experiment.

The key to a growth-powered Instagram marketing strategy is consistently providing high-quality content that people love interacting with. Precisely what that content will be depends on your business and what resonates with your customers, and you need to be prepared for it to change sometimes.

Consider your available resources and how much time you can commit to creating, sharing, and engaging with Instagram posts. Remember that you don’t always have to create fresh content from scratch. Repurposing high-performing posts and reworking existing content can help fill any gaps in your content calendar.