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

Instagram Reels are the most effective way for brands to attract and engage with their target audience. But it takes real effort to create engaging Reels.

So, when you create them, make sure you publish them at the best time to post the Reels on Instagram to get maximum visibility and engagement.

Do you know what the optimal Reel posting timing is for your brands?

There are many factors to consider; we will dig into a few tips and unfurl the best times when you can post your Reels.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram: Why Does It Matter?

People are active at certain times during the day, and if you want to get the best engagement from them, you need to post when they are active.

The logic behind this is that the Instagram Reel algorithm favors recently published Reels over older ones. Newly posted Reels have a better chance of surfacing in users’ feeds when they open the Instagram app.

If you know the optimal times when your audience is most active on Instagram and time your Reel posts accordingly, you are setting them up to appear in front of the maximum number of people. This increases the chances of your Reels receiving high engagement early on, which is a key signal to the algorithm.

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram in 2024 to Boost Engagement

Overall, the best day and 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.

But that doesn’t mean that these time frames will work for everyone. The best time to post Reels for every Instagram profile depends on multiple factors, which we will discuss later.

Nevertheless, the average time frame is a great starting point for your Reel posting journey.

The Best Times to Post Reels on Instagram by Days

Our study also gave us the average best times to post Reels on Instagram for every day of the week. You can consider adding these optimal post timings to your daily Reel posting schedule.

The day-vise breakup of the best time to post Reels is as follows:

• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Monday: 3 am, 7 pm
• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Tuesday: 12 am, 1 am, 6 am
• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Wednesday: 4 am, 6 am, 9 pm
• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Thursday: 6 am, 4 pm
• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Friday: 2 am, 11 am, 1 pm
• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Saturday: 9 am, 4 pm, 5 pm
• Best time to post on Reels on Instagram on Sunday: 5 am, 8 am, 1 pm

For your convenience, we have converted the above data in the form of a table:

But then again, 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 Post on Instagram

Reason for Posting

Why are marketers so keen on knowing when to post Reels on Instagram along with posts and stories? For engagement, of course. 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 gets shown to more followers. 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.

Days of the Week

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

First and foremost, consider your audience and when they are most active on Instagram. If you are targeting a younger audience, for example, they may be more active during the week after school or work.

In addition, consider the type of content you are posting. If you are posting creative or humorous content, you may do better on days when people are more likely to be in a good mood, such as Fridays or weekends.

Finally, keep in mind that the best time to upload Reels on Instagram may vary depending on your location. If you are in a different time zone than your target audience, be sure to 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.

Competitors

When trying to determine the best time to post Reels on Instagram, 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.

Time Zones

The time zones of your audience are one of the most important factors to consider. If you have a large following in a specific time zone than the one you are in, consider posting when that time zone is most active. If you want to reach a wider audience in another time zone, consider posting during peak hours for that time zone.

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.

Trust in Instagram scheduling and posting solutions like SocialPilot, which can automate the posting of your content at the most advantageous times for your account, actively promoting the growth of your brand

Frequency of posting

If you’re looking to get better engagement on Instagram, one of the key questions which plague your mind might be, “How often should I post Reels?”

While there’s no magic number of Reels or posts 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. Consistency is key when it comes to building a successful Instagram Reels strategy.

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

Well, you can use the help of Instagram planners like SocialPilot to schedule your posts in advance.

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

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.

Audience Demographics & Routine

Understanding your audience and when they are most active on social media can help you determine the best time to post for engagement.

Some factors to consider when choosing the best time to post Reels on Instagram include:

• Your audience’s location: If your audience is mostly in the same time zone, consider posting during peak hours for that time zone.
• Your audience’s age: Younger audiences tend to be more active on social media during after-school hours and in the evening, while older audiences may be more active during the day.
• Your audience’s interests: If your audience is interested in a specific topic, consider posting content related to that interest. Post when they are most likely to be online searching for information on that topic.

Ultimately, the best time to post Reels on Instagram will vary depending on your audience and goals. Experiment with different times and days of the week to see what works best for you and your business.

Algorithm

It is important to consider the algorithm when trying to determine the best time to post Reels on Instagram. 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 to Post Reels on Instagram?

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

Understand Your Audience

As we discussed above, understanding your audience’s demographics, preferences, and time zones is very important to determine the best 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.

Experiment with A/B Testing

If you want to find the best time to post Reels on Instagram 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 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.

Analyze the Past

If you want to find the best 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 Business post-performance by providing you with in-depth analytics reports.

With individual sections for Reels, Posts, Profile, 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 your PC or phone at exactly the right time – simply use SocialPilot. SocialPilot allows you to be in sync with your competitors, audience, and past posts so you can know immediately when is best to post your content to 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 Reels 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 get better engagement on your Instagram reels, the best time to post is when your audience engages! Use SocialPilot’s available features to make identifying these optimal times easy, and schedule your content in advance.