Instagram Reels are better known to have over 300% engagement rate than your regular posts. In addition, its average reach rate is 30% with 2x times impressions. However, you must know the best time to post Reels to achieve this result.
On average, 9 am to 12 pm from Monday to Thursday is the best time to post Reels. But, after researching a great deal, I understood these times vary considering factors like time zone, niche, and the insights of your target audience.
This article covers all you need to know about the perfect time to post a reel and get more views.
To give you a little snippet – I have broken down the best times to post on Reels as per days of the week and niche!
Additionally, you can expect my proven tips to help you understand your ideal posting time and some factors that influence your schedule. With that, let’s check out the details!
Quick Verdict: Is There A Best Time To Post On Instagram?
The Instagram algorithm prioritizes recently uploaded content on the feed over the older ones. This is why posting while your followers are still online helps in better engagement.
What you can do is understand your target audience and their activity time– you can analyze this by heading to Settings > Audience > Analytics > peak time.
With that in mind, let’s go through the specific best times of the day to post on the Meta-owned platform:
| Days of the Week | Time – EST/ CST |
|---|---|
| Monday | 3 am, 11 am to 1 pm, and 7 pm |
| Tuesday | 8 am to 10 am |
| Wednesday | 4 am, 6 am, 9 am to 11 am, and 9 pm |
| Thursday | 6 am, 4 pm |
| Friday | 1 pm to 4 pm, 2 am, and 11 am |
| Saturday | 8 am to 10 am, 4 pm, and 5 pm |
| Sunday | 5 am, 8 am, and 6 pm to 8 pm |
Once you know your follower’s peak online time, you can post at least 45 minutes before the peak time. That helps in gaining traction on the uptrend.
Many creators make the mistake of posting content precisely at the peak time of the audience activity, which is a downtrend. It further leads to less engagement.
Again, if you are not posting good content, it won’t matter at what time you are posting.
Understanding The Best Time To Post On Reels
According to Hootsuite’s marketing strategist – Brayden Cohen, the perfect time to post is between 8 am and 12 pm, or specifically for weekdays – between 4 pm and 5 pm PST.
However, she strictly mentions that it’s a personal strategy – and different time zones and industries may influence the timings for each creator.
Keeping this in mind, check out the specific timings to post depending on the days of the week, I figured this out from my own research:-
1. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Monday
Since Monday is the busiest day for most individuals, the only free period to scroll on Instagram would be during lunch break for professionals and after work hours. The best time to post a reel on Monday is – 3 am, 11 am to 1 pm, and 7 pm.
2. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Tuesday
Tuesday mornings are better for engagement, especially at 6 am and 8 am to 10 am. Other than that, posting at midnight between 12 am and 1 am would bring better traction.
3. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Wednesday
Wednesday is known to bring the most engagement with the peak in posting in the morning: 4 am, 6 am, and between 9 am and 11 am.
However, if you can’t make it during the early hours on Wednesday, then 9 pm is another ideal time when your target audience would be awake.
4. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Thursday
Mid-day is generally the best posting time to post any time in the week, but Thursday especially has a straight 4-hour period where you can post your reel – 6 am, and 11 am to 4 pm.
5. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Friday
Another day with 4 hours mid-day is ideal for posting – 1 pm to 4 pm.
However, 2 am and 11 am is ideal for uploading Reels, too, considering it attract the audience from a different timezone, especially at midnight.
6. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Saturday
Most people have a day off on Saturdays, which makes their outing plans much stronger. In that case, you don’t have enough time to grab engagement – yet, 4 pm and 5 pm is a free window you get before users head out.
In contrast, 8 am to 10 am is the best time to post, considering your audience would likely scroll through Reels in bed before getting up.
7. The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram: Sunday
Time zone plays a significant role when posting on Sunday between 5 am and 8 am. The timings for your time zone might be too early, but it could be late afternoon to early evening in another part of the world, which is peak engagement time from their end.
Hence, you need to make the most out of that time window.
Conversely, 6 pm to 8 pm is the best time to attract people from your time zone. Most people scroll their phones before heading out.
Best Time To Post On Instagram Based On Niches
Check out the exact times to post on Instagram based on the industry you are creating for:-
| Niche | Day & Time |
|---|---|
| Food | Tuesday – 6 am and 4 pm Thursday– 6 pm and 8 pm |
| Fashion | Wednesday – 10 am, 6 pm Friday – 10 am |
| Beauty | Thursday – 7 pm Friday – 5 pm Saturday – 9 am and 2 pm |
| Music | Friday – 5 pm or 9 pm Wednesday – 12 pm |
| Gaming | Friday – 8 pm or 10 pm |
| DIY/ Craft | Saturday – 9 am or 11 am Friday – 7 pm |
| Pets | Wednesday – 1 pm or 3 pm Thursday – 11 am |
| Health | Wednesday – 11 am or 3 pm |
| Sports | Friday – 5 pm Tuesday – 4 pm |
| Technology | Wednesday – 8 pm or 9 pm Thursday – 10 pm |
| Business | Monday – 7 am or 8 am Wednesday – 8 pm |
| Parenting | Wednesday – 10 am or 2 pm Friday – 1 pm |
Importance Of Posting On The Correct Time
If you are working in collaboration and your earnings depend on the reach you get, posting at the correct time is essential.
Since most people have a designated time to be online, it’s essential to post at a time that aligns with their schedule. The whole point behind posting at the correct time is that it brings in proper engagement regarding shares, comments, and likes.
Once Instagram’s algorithm tracks the increasing interaction on your Reel, the platform deems it as “good content,” which further helps make your Reel go viral.
More engagement = Successful Post!
Newbie creators can refer to my precise time data above until you better understand your demographics. You can also try to post during the peak active hours and keep track of how your account is doing in terms of:
- Engagement Reach.
- Impressions.
- Follows per post.
- Click to through rate.
- Profile visits per post.
- Post reach.
- Audience retention time per view.
- Likes and Comments.
- Stories Completion Rates.
After that, you can modify your posting schedule per your respective analysis.
Note: Do not over-post and saturate your content, avoiding all Reels landing the Reels feed. Likewise, posting less will help Instagram’s algorithm, as your posts will not have consistent traction. So, opt for four posts per week.
Bonus: Read how much Instagram pays for 10K+ followers to know more about the Instagram payment demographics here.
Things To Keep In Mind Before You Upload On Instagram
Check out some influencing factors that decide the success rate of your post:-
1. Days Of The Week
Understanding that Monday to Friday is the busiest, you must choose the hours closest to the lunch breaks and days off. In addition, you can do it before users head out to school or work or come back home.
Weekends are more laid back, which is why later in the day, it gains more engagement.
2. Posting Frequency
A consistent posting schedule is essential because if you post more (5-6 times a day), your uploads will be too saturated. It would cause the algorithm difficulty pushing all Reels on your followers’ timeline and Reels’ feed.
On the contrary, when you post too little, you need to give the platform more data to analyze your posting patterns, making it difficult for Instagram to reach a larger crowd.
3. Industry
According to your niche, the posting schedule would vary, considering food enthusiasts would enjoy watching the content right about when they are hungry, before each meal.
Similarly, you can draw patterns between different Industry and their peak activity hours for better engagement.
4. Audience Demographics
There is enough data out there that says what is the peak activity time, but what works for one person may only work for one person. Therefore, monitoring your audience’s activity time, where you are from, do you have more male or female followers are deciding factors.
This is more so because it gives you more personalized insights into your posting schedule.
5. Time Zone
Continuing the above, once you figure out that you have a comparatively larger following a specific timezone that you are not part of, post according to that.
Let’s say you live in South Korea, but your niche audience is young adults from the West. Then you must post considering your 13 to 14-hour time difference. I would suggest thoroughly checking whether your audience is asleep before any updates.
6. Algorithm
Feeding consistent and quality data to Instagram helps it segregate good content from bad. So, assuming the platform deemed your account good with increasing engagement, it would push your Reels to a broader audience.
This would keep happening till you go viral. Therefore, keep posting high-resolution content with a hooking introduction. More importantly, post at least twice weekly and be consistent with your schedule.
Interacting with comments on your profile and dropping comments to your followers’ accounts would help you build connections, which results in their loyal engagement.
Did you know? – The ideal Instagram reel length should be 15 – 30 seconds? Check out our guide on Instagram reel length and how it can affect your engagement.
Tips To Find The Best Time To Post Reels On Instagram
The best tip I can give you is to keep track of your post insights, you can do that by using the analytics tools to track what posts are gaining more engagement and views.
After going through Quora, Reddit, and YouTube, the following are the proven strategies to enhance the success rate of your post –
1. Posting On Peak Active Hour
The best days to post on Instagram are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Since most users actively scroll through the feed, your post has almost a limited chance of going unnoticed.
Especially considering the factor that Instagram pushes newer posts on the feed. So, posting 45 minutes before your target audience is online would tremendously help increase your Reel’s engagement.
For example, 7 pm to 9 pm on weekdays is an ideal posting schedule, considering most students/ working professionals are busy between 7 am to 6 pm.
Likewise, afternoons are better for weekend posting as most individuals prefer outings at night.
2. Monitoring Your Audience
You can track your audience activity insights through your settings. This will give you an exact time and day when your target audience is most active. So, accordingly, you can schedule your uploads.
Time zone is another factor that you should take into consideration. For example, if you live in an Asian country and target a Western audience, you must upload content per their free schedule.
This results in your post appearing on their feed almost immediately.
3. Try Multiple Times
The recommended table, in the beginning, has a wide range of time slots, so experimenting with multiple posting times is essential. That would help you track a sure shot time that gives you the most engagement.
Once you identify the best time, you can maintain the same posting schedule.
4. Track What Has Worked For You In The Past
Another insight identifier. It’s essential to note which Reels worked and the reasons behind it. I have noticed when I post after midnight, I don’t get much traction compared to posting around 6 pm to 8 pm.
Midnight posts are shoved below the more new ones when my followers are available the next morning/ evening. This is why posting right when your followers are most active is important.
5. Checking When Competitors Are Posting
If you are a reasonably small creator, keeping tabs on popular creators in your niche is important. Identify whether they have a consistent posting schedule and further evaluate the performance of their Reel.
If the outcome is positive, you can mimic the same posting time.
Did you know? – To get your engagement rolling, you also need to pay attention to the hashtags you use. Have a look at the 100+ trending Instagram hashtags to use within your posts.
Wrapping Up: 8 am To 12 pm Is The Best Time To Post Reels
Weekdays and weekends would differ in the posting schedule, considering most students and professionals are busy between 7 am and 5 pm.
Meanwhile, the most traffic you would get on the weekend is midday and early evening.
With that, check out the best times to post throughout the week:-
- Monday: 3 am, 11 am to 1 pm, and 7 pm
- Tuesday: 8 am to 10 am, 12 am to 1 am, and 6 am
- Wednesday: 4 am, 6 am, 9 am to 11 am, and 9 pm
- Thursday: 6 am, 4 pm, 11 am to 4 pm
- Friday: 1 pm to 4 pm, 2 am, and 11 am
- Saturday: 8 am to 10 am, 4 pm, and 5 pm
- Sunday: 5 am, 8 am, and 6 pm to 8 pm
Remember that the best time to post Reels would vary depending on your specific niche. The ideal time post, on average for weekdays and weekends, would be:
- Weekdays: 9 am to 12 pm and 6 pm to 8 pm.
- Weekend: 5 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 8 am.
Still, I suggest monitoring your audience demographics for personalize time. So, what are you waiting for? Head to Settings > Audience > Analytics > Peak Time. Select a trending song for reels and get the maximum engagement for your reel!
FAQs
Quality content plus posting on peak activity time of your audience is the best way to make your Reel go viral.
On average, 9 am to 12 pm is the ideal time to post Reels. However, 5 pm to 8 am is another good schedule for posting videos.
Creating a catchy intro with a high-resolution video is the best way to get more views on Reels.
The peak engagement time for Instagram is between 9 am and 12 pm on weekdays, whereas 4 pm to 8 pm on the weekends.
