Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram in 2024 (Updated)

Creating engaging Instagram Reels takes real effort, so it’s essential to publish them at the best times for maximum visibility and engagement. The key is to post when your audience is most active.

Instagram’s algorithm favors recently published Reels, so timing is crucial. If you post when users are active, your Reels are more likely to appear in their feeds, increasing the chances of high early engagement, which signals the algorithm to promote your content further.

Do not fret. We have got everything covered for you. In this blog, we have highlighted the best time for you to upload reels on Instagram to enhance your visibility and engagement. By understanding and leveraging optimal posting times, you can ensure your Reels get the attention they deserve and boost your brand’s reach.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram

As per research by SocialPilot, the best time to post reels on Instagram is between 9 am and 12 pm from Monday to Thursday. We’ve reached this conclusion after monitoring the Reel engagement of over 50,000 Instagram accounts across various industries and locations.

Apart from the average time frame, you can dive into SocialPilot’s study, which breaks down the average best times to upload reels throughout the week.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Monday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Monday is 6 am and 10 pm. Posting early at 6 am can help to capture the early morning audience, ensuring your post is fresh in the feed of the people checking their phones first thing in the morning. Similarly, posting at 10 pm aligns well with the late-night routine when people are relaxing and are more likely to engage with content after work or dinner.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Tuesday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Tuesday is 3 am, 4 am and 9 am. Posting at these time slots can help you reach night owls and also the early risers who check their phones as soon as they wake up.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Wednesday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Wednesday is 7 am and 9 am. Wednesdays are a day that seems to have a higher engagement than any other day of the week. The average engagement time on Wednesday is more than Tuesdays or Thursdays.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Thursday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Thursday is 12 am, 9 am and 7 pm. Posting at these times can help you capitalize on peak user engagement. Posting early in the morning helps to catch users before their day even starts, while the 7 pm slot taps into post-work relaxation, enhancing visibility and interaction rates.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Friday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Friday is at 5 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm. By the time you reach the end of the week’s end, engagement hours start declining. However, you can still capitalize on peak user engagement during the mentioned hours.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Saturday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Saturday is 12 pm, 7 pm and 8 pm. Posting at this time, you will see some spike in the average engagement rate on the application, even though weekends have less engagement during the rest of the week across most social platforms.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram on Sunday

The best time to post reels on Instagram on Sunday is 8 am, 11 am and 4 pm. Just as in the case of Saturdays, Sundays also have less engagement. However, you can post your reels on Instagram in the given time slots to benefit the most.

While these time frames will get you the best visibility and engagement, these are general timings. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best time to post on Instagram will vary depending on different factors, such as your target audience, industry, audience location, and many more.

Let’s break down the key factors.

Key Factors While Choosing the Best Time to Upload Reels on Instagram

1. Reason for Posting

As a marketer, you are keen to know when to post Reels so that you get the best level of engagement with your target audience. After all, the more engagement you have, the better your post will do. As people engage with your post, the algorithm will detect that people are interacting with it and deem it good content.

Good content helps you get more followers on Instagram. As more people see your post, the opportunity for further interactions increases, which in turn makes the content reach even more audiences. This process then repeats, and ultimately, your post goes viral. If you want more engagement on your Instagram Reels to drive more traffic to your website, not only do you need great content, but you also need to post at the correct times.

2. Days of the Week

There is no definitive answer when it comes to the best days of the week to upload on Instagram Reels. However, some general tips can be followed to help you increase your chances of engagement.

First and foremost, observe your audience to identify when your audience is most active on Instagram. For instance, if you are targeting a younger audience, it is likely that they may be more active during the week after school or work.

Secondly, consider the type of content you are posting. For instance, humorous content is likely to do better on weekends when people are more likely to be in a good mood.

Katelyn Rhoades, CEO of Enfluence Marketing Agency, follows the same strategy for her clients. “Record your posting times and look back each week to identify your best-performing posts, taking note of when they were posted,” she shares in her Instagram Masterclass.

Finally, consider your audience’s location. If you are in a different time zone than your target audience, adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

With all of this in mind, experiment with different days and times to see what works best for you and your audience.

3. Competitors

When trying to determine the best time to post Reels, it’s important to consider your competitors. Take a look at when they’re posting and see if you can identify any patterns. If they’re consistently getting more engagement than you, it might be worth considering posting at the same time.

4. Time Zones

One of the most important factors to consider is your audience’s time zones. If you want to reach a wider audience in another time zone, consider posting during peak hours for that time zone.

This means that if you have a larger following in a specific time zone than the one you are in, consider posting when that time zone is most active.

Keep in mind that you may get more engagement if you post when your followers are most active, even if that isn’t during traditional peak hours.

You can automate scheduling your Instagram reels with the help of social media scheduling tools such as SocialPilot. With this tool, you can automate the posting of your content at your best hours so that you increase your visibility and keep your audience engaged with you.

5. Frequency of Posting

If you’re looking to increase engagement on Instagram, one of the key questions you might have is, “How often should I post Reels?”

While there’s no magic number of reels per day or week guaranteeing success, posting regularly is important to keep your audience engaged.

If you’re just starting out, aim to post at least once a day. As you build up a following, you can experiment with posting more or less frequently to see what works best for your audience.

In general, it’s best to avoid posting too often rather than not posting enough. When it comes to building a successful Instagram reel strategy, remember that consistency is key.

But making quality content while being consistent can be a heavy task. How can you maintain your posting pace while cooking up good reels?

Well, with the help of an Instagram scheduler like SocialPilot, you can schedule your posts in advance.

Here’s a view of SocialPilot’s post scheduler:

6. Industry

Depending on your industry, your audience may vary quite significantly, so it’s difficult to just have an ‘always post on a Tuesday at 3 pm rule. For example, industries in which most of the staff work during the night are going to respond to different hours than those that work during the daytime.

7. Audience Demographics & Routine

Different factors affect the best posting times for reels. Your audience’s demographics and routines play a big role. Younger audiences, like teens and young adults, are more active in the evenings and late at night, while older demographics are often more active during the day. At the same time, gender can also influence usage patterns, with men and women showing slight differences in their online habits.

While we are talking about demographics, it is equally important to consider your audience’s interests, too. If they’re into specific topics, post content related to those when they’re likely online searching for information.

Ultimately, the best time to post depends on your audience and goals, so experiment with different times and days to find what works best.

8. Algorithm

It is essential to consider Instagram algorithm when trying to determine the optimal posting time for Reels. The algorithm is always changing, so it is important to be aware of how it works in order to get the most out of your posts.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering the algorithm:

• The algorithm favors new content, so it is important to post regularly.
• The algorithm also favors content that is engaging, so make sure your Reels are interesting and interactive.
• The algorithm gives preference to content from accounts that people interact with frequently, so make sure to stay active on your account and interact with your followers.

How to Find the Best Time for Posting Reels on Instagram?

Now that you know all the ranking factors, let’s dive in to see how you can find your personal best times to post Reels.

1. Understand Your Audience

As we discussed above, understanding your audience’s demographics, preferences, and time zones is very important to determine the optimal time to post reels. Luckily, Instagram’s native analytics provide all that information.

You can see the breakdown of these insights on Instagram analytics for the audience who follows you, the audience who has engaged with your content, or the audience your content has reached.

2. Experiment with A/B Testing

If you want to find the right time to post reels to get better engagement, you should consider A/B testing. A/B testing is when you create two versions of something and test them out to see which one performs better. To do this, create two versions of your Reel – one with a caption and one without – and see which one gets more engagement.

To do this, you would need to post both versions of reels at different times and then track the engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.) on each. After a few days or weeks, you should have a good idea of which version performed better, and you can then adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

3. Analyze the Past

If you want to find a suitable time to post reels on Instagram, you need to analyze your past posts. Look at when you got the most views, the most likes, and the most comments.

Try to post at similar times to when you got the most engagement in the past.

With SocialPilot, you can monitor and analyze how your audience behaves. Our analytics feature helps you understand your Instagram reel performance by providing you with in-depth analytics reports.

With individual sections for reels, posts, profiles, and stories, you can understand and forecast the larger picture of all your marketing activities on Instagram.

How do You Schedule Instagram Reels at the Best Times?

Rather than figuring this all out manually and coming back to post the reel at the right time, use SocialPilot. SocialPilot allows you to be in sync with your competitors, audience, and past posts so you can know immediately when it is best to post your Instagram reels.

The Reels analytics feature also provides you with in-depth insight into the number of videos, reach rate, video views, and more. Gain insights into your Instagram reel performance like never before and use it to your advantage while scheduling your next Reel from SocialPilot.

Summing It Up

If you’re looking to increase engagement on your Instagram reels, the best time to post is when your audience engages! Use SocialPilot’s available features to identify these best times easily and schedule your content in advance.