Consistency is key when posting to any social media network. You need to produce content to keep your audience interested in your brand. There is no magic number as to how many times you should publish a post. But on Instagram it is a bit more free.
Research shows that the more you post, the more likes you get – in this study by Tailwind, maximum likes were achieved with 7+ posts per week. And unlike with other social media networks, with Instagram, multiple studies have shown there is no negative impact brought about by posting more content. In fact, the Tailwind study showed Instagram accounts that started posting more had a higher engagement rate and grew their follower base quicker. However, that doesn’t mean you should push yourself out to produce content.
In regards to when you should post to Instagram, CoSchedule compiled data from multiple sources and they found Sunday had very low engagement, while Monday and Thursday were the best days. The best times to post are around 2 AM, 8-9 AM, and 5 PM.