How often should a pub or restaurant post on Instagram?

Most pubs and restaurants should aim for three to five Instagram feed posts a week, plus Stories on the days something's on. That's where Buffer's study of around 2.1 million posts found the biggest jump in reach per post, and it's not far off the two feed posts a week Adam Mosseri reportedly suggested in 2021. A steady rhythm you can keep up counts for more than the exact number.

#What does Instagram itself say about how often to post?

Instagram doesn't publish an official posting quota. Its head, Adam Mosseri, has talked about frequency a few times, though, and his answers have shifted.

At Instagram's Creator Week in June 2021, he suggested two feed posts a week and two Stories a day as a consistent rhythm for building a following, according to Social Media Today's report of the session, which paraphrases him.

More recently, in a Reel reported by RouteNote in December 2024, he said there's no one answer for everyone. He pointed to successful accounts that post once a month and others that post five Reels a day, said that posting more generally means more reach, and warned people to watch out for burnout and pick a schedule they can sustain (RouteNote). That's RouteNote's summary of the video, not a transcript, so treat the wording loosely.

Instagram's own ranking explainer, written by Mosseri, adds two useful details. It lists when a post was shared as one of the signals it uses, and it says "we try to avoid showing too many posts from the same person in a row" (Instagram). So three posts in one evening won't triple your reach. Mostly they'll just compete with each other.

#What do the big studies say?

The most detailed study, Buffer's, points the same way: more posts bring more reach, and each step up adds a bit less.

Buffer's analysis, published in August 2025, looked at about 2.1 million feed posts (photos, Reels and carousels, but not Stories) from around 102,000 accounts. Compared with accounts posting once or twice a week, those posting three to five times got about 12% more reach per post. Six to nine posts a week came out at about 18% more, and ten or more at about 24%. Buffer calls three to five "likely the sweet spot" and is clear that the returns diminish after that.

Buffer also found that weeks with no posts at all tended to show below-normal follower growth. That's the part I'd pay attention to if you run a venue: an extra post or two a week helps a bit, and a week with nothing in it shows up as a dip.

Later's research, based on more than 19 million posts from 2023, shows what accounts tend to do (which isn't the same as what works best). Accounts under 10,000 followers averaged two feed posts and three Stories a week.

Hootsuite's guidance recommends at least three Instagram feed posts a week and two Stories a day, the second figure taken from Mosseri. It says its numbers come from expert opinion and best practice, and that the businesses it measured averaged 9.3 Instagram posts a week in early 2025.

None of these studies looked at hospitality on its own. They're averages across all sorts of accounts, so read them as a sensible range.

#So how often should a pub or restaurant post?

I'd aim for three to five feed posts a week, Stories on the days when something's on, and one short video a week if you can manage it. A pub running a quiz, food and the football has more to say than a quiet neighbourhood bistro, so it can sit at the top of that range without any filler.

If two a week is honestly all you can manage between shifts, do two every single week. Ten posts in one week and nothing for a month is worse for you, partly because of that no-post dip in Buffer's data and partly because followers forget you exist. Usually the hard part is thinking of something to post, and there are plenty of pub social media ideas that take five minutes to shoot.

Spread the posts out. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday should do more for you than four posts crammed into Friday afternoon, and they line up better with when people decide where to eat and drink (there's a full breakdown in the best time to post on Instagram for pubs and restaurants).

#Do Stories and Reels count towards that number?

Count them separately. Buffer left Stories out of its study because they're mostly shown to people who already follow you, so Stories won't do much to find new customers, but they're good for nudging your regulars on the day.

Use Stories for the quick, time-sensitive stuff: tables free tonight, the specials board, a quiz question, the barrel that's just gone on. Two a day is Hootsuite's suggestion. For most venues I'd post them on the days something's on and not worry on the days it isn't. A Tuesday Story saying nothing's happening is a bit of a waste of everyone's thumb.

Reels are where new people are more likely to find you. Instagram says the majority of what people see in Reels comes from accounts they don't follow, and that it ranks Reels partly on how likely someone is to watch all the way through, like and reshare (Instagram). That suits short clips: a pint being poured, a steak hitting the grill, the room filling up before kick-off. One a week counts towards your three to five.

#What happens if you post too much, or go quiet?

Posting too often mostly wastes your effort. Because Instagram tries not to show lots of posts from one account in a row, extra posts on the same day end up competing with each other, and followers who see your pub four times in an hour are likely to scroll faster or mute you.

Going quiet costs more. Apart from Buffer's no-post dip, Instagram's Following feed shows posts from accounts you follow from the last 30 days in date order (Instagram). Disappear for a month and there's nothing of yours in it.

Quality still comes first, and Buffer says as much in its own write-up. A post that gives nobody a reason to come in is filler, however consistent it is. If you're stuck, a photo of tonight's special with the time the kitchen closes beats an inspirational quote every time.

#How do you keep it up without it taking over your week?

Batch it. Most of the effort in posting is deciding what to say, so do all of that in one sitting each week.

Instagram's own app lets professional accounts schedule posts, Reels and carousels in advance (up to 75 days ahead when the feature launched, according to TechCrunch), and Meta Business Suite lets you create or schedule posts and Stories for Facebook and Instagram from one place (Meta). If you're comparing other options, there's a rundown of scheduling tools for restaurants.

Venuesmith takes on the planning and writing: you describe what's coming up and it drafts each post with a caption, a photo and your branding, schedules it for a sensible time of day, and waits for your approval before anything goes out.

After a month, look at what happened. Compare reach, profile visits and website or booking taps against the month before. If they've moved, keep going. If they haven't, change what you post before you change how often. The Instagram insights guide explains which of those numbers are worth your time.