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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

The effectiveness of your content marketing campaigns depend on hundreds of factors: your audience, your tone, your level of detail, your competition, your promotion methods...the list goes on. 

So how can you tell if you’re measuring the right things? And if you’re doing the wrong things, how can you tell what you’re doing wrong, and how to fix it?

There are hundreds if not thousands of metrics available and ways to measure content marketing success. It can be easy to get lost in the weeds of data, or worse to not gather anything at all. 

That's why we wrote this article that delves into 50 important metrics for measuring your content marketing campaigns.

Use these 50 content marketing metrics to measure the success of your next content marketing campaign:

45. Conversion rates from organic search 🤔

Tip: Use a media monitoring tool to track your content efforts, learn more about campaign measurement in general, and take a look at these helpful marketing metrics.

First up, we have organic search traffic. As you probably already know, content plays an important role in how your site ranks in search engines; producing more valuable content will help boost your domain authority, which is a measure of how likely your site is to rank highly in search engines, and producing targeted content helps you rank for specific keywords.

The combination of these effects will lead you to higher organic search traffic over time, which is a measure of the number of people who found your site through search. If your content is successful in boosting your search rankings, this number should continue to rise.

You can find the data for tracking your organic traffic in Google Analytics under the Acquisition tab.

Referral traffic is mainly used for your off-site content efforts. In your guest posting and off-site content efforts, you’ll be publishing content on various outside sources. In the body of your posts or in your author bio, you’ll have links pointing to your site.

Referral traffic is a measure of the number of people who clicked on these links, and the breakdown here can tell you exactly which traffic came from which sources. You can then follow their journey on your site to strengthen your strategy and focus on those sites that drive you the most meaningful users.

Another type of traffic to look at is traffic coming from your social media posts. You can use this as a way to gauge two portions of your content marketing campaign; first, you can directly evaluate how effective your in-platform content is. For example, if you don’t see much overall traffic, it could be an indication that you aren’t posting enough, or that the posts you are making are unappealing.

Second, you can determine how effective your syndicated content is at attracting traffic to your site. If it’s poor, it means you need to pick better topics or write more attention-grabbing headlines.

Direct traffic is a content marketing metric that is comprised of several different potential sources:

Typing in your website address in the URL bar

Clicking a link from a shortened URL (such as bit.ly)

Clicking a link from a mobile social media app such as Facebook or LinkedIn

Clicking a link from a secure site (https) that leads to a non-secure site (http). Watch out for this, because some major publications, such as Entrepreneur.com, use https. So, if your site isn’t secure (http), then any referral traffic you get from it will actually show up in the “direct traffic” bucket in Google Analytics.

Direct traffic isn’t as directly related to your content efforts as the other three segments of traffic are. However, it can be a good indicator of your brand awareness. Don’t expect this one to grow as quickly or as steadily as your other segments.

For almost any traffic-based report in Google Analytics, you can filter or segment users based on whether they’re new or returning.

Both are important to understand the role your content plays in attracting and retaining interested visitors to your site.

New visitors are a good measure for things like social traffic and referral traffic, where you’re trying to gain exposure. If you aren’t seeing your new visitor count rise, it could mean you aren’t doing enough outreach to tap into new audiences.

Returning visitors are also a useful content marketing metric. You should see increases in returning visitors in all areas, but they are especially important when it comes to direct traffic — it often means these people are interested enough in your brand to visit you without being prompted, which in turn means your content made a significant impression on them.

You should also look for returning visitors in specific segments of your referral audience, such as email-based referrals, where returns are an indication of persistent interest.

The behavior flow chart in Google Analytics is one of my favorite tools for understanding traffic patterns, and though it appears a bit confusing at first, it’s relatively easy to understand. Found under the Behavior tab, the behavior flow is a visualization of the average user’s path through your site. On the far left side of the chart, you’ll see a list of “entry” pages, where your users most often enter your site.

Oftentimes, this is the home page or a strong blog post. Then, you’ll see which pages users tend to click on next and how many users drop off. The chart continues for several click-throughs, so you can understand where users navigate throughout your site. This will help you identify how effective you are at keeping users on-site, and what drop-off points can be corrected to improve goal completions (such as subscribing to an email list) and retention.

In the Audience -> Demographics section of Google Analytics, you’ll have the opportunity to get a glimpse of your users’ ages, genders, and other information.

This content marketing metric can help you understand how effective you are at attracting your target audience.

You’ll also want to take a look at the geographic locations of your users. Do they tend to be concentrated in one spot? If so, it could be an indication that your campaigns are leaning too far in one direction, such as by favoring one publisher or syndication channel too heavily. On the other hand, if you find you’re especially popular with one geographic segment, you might choose to adjust your strategy to further target that segment, instead of expanding your message. This might be a good option for early-stage startups and small businesses with limited resources.

Search rankings, and therefore organic traffic, are directly impacted by your SEO (search engine optimization), so it's important for content marketers to have a solid understanding of various SEO metrics so you can continue to improve your ranking.

See also: Current content marketing trends

Keyword rankings show you how many search terms your site is ranking for. As a part of your content marketing strategy, you're likely producing content aimed specifically at certain keywords in the hopes of ranking for them. The more content you produce, and internally link around your site, the more chance you have of ranking.

As you continue to create content, you'll want to track how you're progressing. Though Google won’t provide you with this information directly, there are dozens of tools online (such as SERPs, AHREFs, and SEMRush) that can help you find and track your search rankings over time. You can also use Google Search Console to understand what certain pages are ranking for.

One of the primary factors that impact how high you show up in a search engine (ie: on the first page of Google) is your domain authority (DA).

This content marketing KPI measures the quantity and quality of inbound links your site has. Links from high DA sites signals that your content is valuable, factual, and authentic. The more high quality links you get, the better your sites DA score will be. 

If you don't see your DA increasing, your content may not be high-quality enough to attract inbound links. You can check your domain authority and page authority using the Open Site Explorer from Moz, or a site like AHREFs.

50 Content Marketing Metrics to Measure Your Campaign

While all marketing efforts focus on promoting your brand, building brand awareness, generating sales, and gaining customers, there are many different ways you can approach your marketing strategy. In general we can think of marketing strategy as falling into two broad buckets: transactional marketing and relationship marketing.

Transactional Marketing: Aims to secure a one-time sale from a large number of customers

Relationship Marketing: Aims to encourage repeat purchases from a defined pool of customers

When you think about transactional marketing vs relationship marketing and which one you should use, it depends largely on who you view as your ideal customer and the type of relationship you want to have with them pre and post-sale.

In this blog, we will discuss the ins and outs of transactional and relationship marketing and how to apply these strategies to your business model.

Transactional vs Relationship Marketing: Key Differences

Advantages and Disadvantages of Transactional Marketing

Advantages and Disadvantages of Relationship Marketing

When you think of the word "transaction", you think of an exchange between two parties, typically for a mutually beneficial outcome; one party paying for something else with items of roughly equal value, whether it be monetary or otherwise.

Transactional marketing focuses on the number of sales transactions registered, the profit per sale, and the cost of each purchase. The transactional approach to marketing leverages point-of-sale promotion, which is a key element of the marketing mix: 

Product: What consumer needs does your product meet?

Price: How will you price your product so that it is attractive yet profitable? 

Place: Where will you distribute your product?

Promotion: How will you get the word out?

Transactional marketing aims to maximize the number of sales by consistently attracting new customers, rather than encouraging repeat purchases with the buyer, like relationship marketing.

A sales pitch you might hear on popular at-home shopping channel QVC is a great example of this type of strategy. 

When you tune in to this channel, you'll see many different products sold throughout the day. The goal of each product demo session is to sell as many items within a specified time. The product manufacturers don't take the time to engage with the audience and build a relationship. Instead, it's a straightforward, one-way conversation where the moderators use discounts, incentives, and buzzwords to generate as many sales as possible.

As opposed to transactional marketing, relationship marketing is focused on your relationship with the consumer. Here, the goal is to create a connection that ensures customer retention and repeat purchases. 

Relationship marketing strategies include loyalty programs, personalized messaging, and high-quality customer service. These marketing efforts are investments in the promise of long-term sales.

When implementing this strategy, you'll want to ask yourself questions like: What is the customer looking for? Would they find this valuable? Do they want to see this ad?

A great example is a courtesy call from a customer service team. A simple check-in to poll or survey the satisfaction level of the customer builds your relationship with them and provides you with insights and data you can share internally, to help you learn and improve the quality of contact between customers and the company.

At this point, you are probably asking yourself the question: "What is the difference between transactional marketing and relationship marketing?"

The difference between these two marketing strategies centers on the fact that one is focused on sales and one focuses on returning customers. Whichever strategy you choose to deploy, it starts with understanding your customer. Where do they conduct product research? Where do they shop? What is their typical budget?

This comparison chart helps clearly outline the difference between the two: 

<table class="table-primary alternate-color">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Basis for Comparison</th>
<th>Transactional Marketing</th>
<th>Relationship Marketing</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Meaning</td>
<td>Used to target customers so as to make one-off sale transactions.</td>
<td>A form of marketing with the primary aim of retaining and satisfying customers by providing prolonged value.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Time consideration</td>
<td>Short term</td>
<td>Long term</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Customer contact</td>
<td>Low</td>
<td>Frequent</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Objective</td>
<td>Make a sale or get an order from a new customer</td>
<td>Build customer retention and become the sole or preferred supplier in the market</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Centers on</td>
<td>Completing the transaction</td>
<td>Building trust beyond the transaction</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Nature of the relationship</td>
<td>Short & intermittent</td>
<td>Long and strong</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Customer commitment</td>
<td>Low</td>
<td>High</td>
</tr>
<tr>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

These additional points will help you clearly understand what makes each strategy unique: 

Transactional marketing is based on a single sale formula and geared towards short-term benefits.

Relationship marketing promotes customer loyalty and improves ways of doing business for long-term customer retention. 

In transactional marketing, customer interaction is minimal, whereas in relationship marketing it is often.

Transaction-oriented efforts focus on increasing the number of sales, whereas relationship-oriented actions focus on the customers.

Transactional efforts lead to low customer commitment, and relationship efforts lead to higher commitment.

Like any business strategy, there are bound to be benefits and pitfalls to a transactional marketing approach.

Here are some of the top advantages of transactional marketing:

Quick Revenue Generation: Transactional marketing can lead to immediate sales and revenue, making it suitable for businesses that need to generate quick cash flow.

Clear ROI Measurement: Since the focus is on individual transactions, it is relatively easy to measure the return on investment (ROI) for specific marketing campaigns or efforts.

Cost-Effective for Short-Term Goals: Transactional marketing can be cost-effective when the goal is to achieve short-term objectives such as clearing excess inventory or promoting a limited-time offer.

Suitable for Low-Involvement Products: It is effective for low-involvement products where customers don't need a lot of information or consideration before making a purchase.

Scalability: Transactional marketing strategies can be easily replicated and scaled up to target a larger audience when needed.

Here are some of the most critical cons to be aware of when using transactional marketing:

Lack of Customer Loyalty: One of the significant drawbacks is that it often fails to build long-term customer loyalty. Customers may not feel a strong connection to the brand, leading to a lack of repeat business.

Short-Term Focus: Transactional marketing is primarily focused on immediate sales, which can lead to neglecting the long-term strategic goals and customer relationships.

High Customer Acquisition Costs: Continually acquiring new customers for each transaction can be costly, especially if there's little retention.

Vulnerability to Price Competition: Transactional marketing is susceptible to price wars and competition, as customers may switch to a competitor offering a better deal.

Limited Upsell Opportunities: Since the emphasis is on a single transaction, there may be limited opportunities to upsell or cross-sell additional products or services.

Missed Word-of-Mouth and Referrals: Building strong customer relationships can lead to word-of-mouth marketing and referrals, which transactional marketing often misses out on.

Ineffective for High-Involvement Products: For products or services that require significant research and consideration, transactional marketing may not provide the necessary information and support.

Relationship marketing is broader and serves more long-term business goals. Let's take a look at its ups and downs as a business strategy:

Here are the most critical pros of relationship marketing:

Customer Loyalty and Retention: Building strong relationships with customers can lead to greater customer loyalty and repeat business. Loyal customers are more likely to continue buying from your company and become brand advocates, recommending your products or services to others.

Higher Lifetime Value: Customers who have a positive relationship with your brand tend to have a higher lifetime value, meaning they generate more revenue for your business over time through repeat purchases and upsells.

Reduced Marketing Costs: Acquiring new customers is often more expensive than retaining existing ones. Relationship marketing can reduce customer churn, resulting in lower marketing and acquisition costs.

Better Understanding of Customer Needs: By actively engaging with customers, you can gain valuable insights into their preferences, needs, and feedback. This information can be used to tailor products and services to better meet customer expectations.

Personalization and Customization: Relationship marketing allows you to personalize marketing efforts, offers, and communication to individual customer segments, increasing the relevance and effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

Positive Word-of-Mouth and Referrals: Satisfied and loyal customers are more likely to spread positive word-of-mouth and refer others to your business, helping to attract new customers.

Competitive Advantage: A strong customer-focused approach can differentiate your brand from competitors and provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Here are the most critical cons of relationship marketing to pay attention to:

Time-Intensive: Building and maintaining relationships with customers can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, requiring ongoing communication and support.

Slow ROI: The benefits of relationship marketing may take time to materialize, and it may not provide immediate returns, which can be a disadvantage for businesses seeking quick profits.

Initial Cost: Setting up the infrastructure for relationship marketing, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, can involve significant initial costs.

Risk of Overreliance: Over-reliance on relationship marketing can make a business vulnerable to economic downturns or market changes that impact customer loyalty.

Not Suitable for All Products: Relationship marketing may not be as effective for low-involvement or one-time purchase products where customers don't have a long-term relationship with the brand.

Potential for Customer Expectations: As you build relationships with customers, their expectations may rise, and meeting those expectations can become increasingly challenging.

Competitive Pressure: Competitors may also adopt relationship marketing strategies, making it more challenging to stand out in the market.

Let's look at an example of how brand attachment plays less of a role in transactional marketing experience:

Imagine that the fence around your house needs mending. You have the lumber and the paint but are missing a hammer. You drive to the local hardware store where you find several hammers to choose from at various price points. 

Because you're not as familiar with these products you have no way to be as discerning as a handyman or woman might be. As a general consumer, you're going to approach your choice differently, looking at four key factors:

Product: Most of the hammers appear the same, but one has a cushioned grip that feels nicer than the rest. 

Price: All products are priced comparatively, except the hammer with the cushioned grip, which is slightly more expensive.

Promotion: The hammer with the cushioned grip has a tag attached to it offering one free packet of nails with purchase. None of the other hammers have such offers attached to them, making the higher price seem like more of a bargain. 

Place: The hammers are located next to the nails, so you can easily see the prices and calculate the extra value you'd be getting.

Since you don't buy hammers often (and doubt you'll buy one again anytime soon) you opt for the hammer that has a promotion attached to it.

Returning customers who purchase your products on a regular basis are a testament to the quality of your products or services. Investing in the customer relationship might require more planning, time, and budget, but it's well worth the effort. According to one study, engaged customers spend over 23% more than an average customer. 

Here are two examples of brands that have seen success using the relationship marketing model:

Product: SoulCycle’s community for cyclists and fitness enthusiasts aligns with their customers’ wants and needs for a healthy, positive environment. 

Price: For a 45-minute fitness class, SoulCycle is expensive when compared to competitors but customers pay for the experience and community aspect.

Place: The SoulCycle experience becomes relevant when a customer has an instructor who personally inspires them, thus creating a familiar environment they will want to return to.

Promotion: SoulCycle personalizes their playlists and provides a spa-like atmosphere, generating a feeling of partnership with customers.

Relationship marketing is all about building the connection between a brand and its customers for the long term. Zappos is known for being a customer service icon and internal culture as well. 

In fact, the customer relationship is so important to Zappos, that it's in their employee guidelines that customer service reps have the authority (and budget) to wow customers:

Transactional Marketing vs Relationship Marketing: What's the Difference?

Every social media manager wants to get the most out of the content that they publish. But even the right Instagram content might not get the right reach if it’s not posted at the right time.

So when is the best time to post on Instagram?

The answer isn’t quite as simple as it may first seem. The best time to publish on social media depends on your audience, your followers, and their behaviours.

So while there is no definitive ‘perfect’ time to post on Instagram, there are peak times for brands in South Africa to publish content and give it the best chance to reach a broad audience.

The Best Time to Post on Instagram in South Africa By Weekday

Important Instagram Posting Insights for South Africa

Driving Engagement on Instagram in South Africa

The Influence of Instagram in South Africa

How Meltwater Helps You Find the Best Time To Post on Instagram in South Africa

Tip: Read our full guide on how to post on Instagram.

<table class="table-primary alternate-color">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Weekday</th>
<th>Best time to post on Instagram in South Africa</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Monday</td>
<td>5AM</br>
11AM TO 12PM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Tuesday</td>
<td>6AM</br>
11AM TO 2PM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Wednesday</td>
<td>6AM</br>
11AM TO 12PM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Thursday</td>
<td>5AM</br>
11AM TO 2PM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Friday</td>
<td>6AM</br>
11AM TO 12PM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Saturday</td>
<td>6AM</br>
 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">Sunday</td>
<td>6AM</br>
 </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The graph below shows a South African brand with several Instagram accounts.

With a social media publishing tool, you can see you when your South African audience might be online:

The least favourable time to post on Instagram in South Africa is at 6PM in the week.

The best time to schedule your Instagram posts in South Africa is 6AM.

The best time to reach your audience online is mid-morning, especially in the beginning of the week.

Engagement begins to pick up while people are having their morning coffee and then increases towards the lunch break.

The below insights are based on global engagement rates, but South African social media statistics follow a similar pattern:

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