The Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram Revealed (updated)

It feels like social media trends and usage change every week. It can be DIZZYING trying to keep up with it all. So, if you’re worried that the best times to post reels on Instagram have changed, we’ve got you!

We’re here with stats updated for 2024 and advice on how to get even better personalized information on your audience.

Are you ready? Let’s talk timing. 😄

Why do brands aim to post at specific times?

If you’re trying to figure out the best time to post reels on Instagram today, you probably already know WHY: you need that sweet, sweet engagement.

Understanding WHEN your audience is online can boost the likes, comments, and shares you get on your reels. It lets you post when they will see and engage with your content. The better your posting schedule syncs with their scrolling time, the more likely your post is to perform well. In theory. 😏

Of course, we’re assuming here that your content is relevant and resonates with your audience. You can’t just post anything at the right time and expect to see a bunch of engagement and sales. You must post reels that resonate with your audience and increase brand awareness. Many other factors influence engagement, too–we’ll talk about more of them in a minute.

Oh yeah–and if you’re looking for cool videos to post on your Instagram reels, you can work with micro influencers on Social Cat to get UGC. Check out some of our use cases to see how affordable it is!

What factors influence engagement?

As we said, posting at the right time doesn’t guarantee amazing engagement with your posts. Here are some of the other factors involved:

Days of the week

Some days are better for posting than others, which makes sense if you think about it.

For example, people don’t tend to check Instagram when they’re actively working (at least not if they care about their jobs!). So, it doesn’t make sense to post during their working hours when they’re less likely to log in. They also don’t tend to check it as much on the weekends because they’re busy living it up.

It also depends on your audience. If you target people who work from 9 to 5 (I know, that's a super typical example–sorry!), it’s not a good idea to post at 10 AM because they’ll be working or in meetings, not on Instagram. But during their lunch break? It might be a great time!

Frequency of posting

Okay, don’t quote us on this–it’s probably not a *reason,* but there is a link between how often you post and how much engagement you get.

Don’t overthink it–it’s basically because the more you post on a platform, the better your chances of getting engagement. That’s math.

But now that we’ve discussed how often to post on Instagram reels, you probably have another question: How often should my brand post on Instagram?

The typical advice people give you is “as much as you can.” That answer is useless. Most brands don’t have the resources to post every day.

So, here’s our (much more helpful) recommendation: Try for 1-3 times per week. Posting at this rate will give you a good feel for the types of content that perform well on your page, plus the times that work best for your particular audience.

If you’re unsure how to get content to post, work with Instagram influencers on gifted collaborations. Don’t worry–we can help you with this. It’s super easy with Social Cat!

Type of content posted

Different kinds of content appeal to your audience in different ways. If you’ve built a following around holistic health tips, they may not respond as much if you start posting about sportswear. So, play with different topics and reel formats to learn what works for your brand and audience.

Here’s how I would run this experiment if I were trying to build an Instagram account for my brand:

I’d pick three times each week similar to the ones we discuss below and post different content each day: educational, humor, and something related to the brand.

I’d run this experiment for a month, then look at the stats: Which post type was the most popular? Where did I see more engagement? Do funny posts outperform educational ones? Okay, maybe I should post more of those. Do Thursdays consistently outperform Tuesdays?

See the point? The type of content you post has a big say in how much engagement you generate with your Instagram reels.

What are the best times to post reels?

Here’s the part we’re most excited to show you. We’ve researched, combined tips from different sources, and discovered the best times to post Instagram reels every day of the week! (Oh, and these times are updated as of 2024!)

Let’s look at the best times to post reels on Instagram for every day of the week.

• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Monday
  • 11 AM - 2 PM.
  • This will hold steady throughout most of the workweek.
  • Aim for the point in the day your audience will take a break from work–usually around their lunch hour.
• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Tuesday
  • 11 AM - 2 PM again.
  • Tuesday is one of the BEST days to post on Instagram, so we also found sources that said you can post later in the afternoon (like 4 pm) or earlier in the morning (like 5 or 8 am).
• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Wednesday
  • 11 AM - 2 PM.
  • Wednesday is also one of the BEST days to post on Instagram–most of the sources we consulted said Wednesday at 11 AM is the top time to post on Instagram all week–and that goes for reels, too!
• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Thursday
  • 11 AM & 2 PM.
  • Times are shortening as we approach the end of the week. People are either heads down, trying to wrap projects up for the weekend, or clocking out early to have some reel-free fun.
• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Friday
  • 10 AM - 11 AM
  • Earlier is better because people are transitioning into weekend mode (which often involves less scrolling) on Friday. Although, you may be able to catch a second wave of “Get me out of here, there’s HOW MUCH TIME LEFT before the end of my shift?” scrolling around 2 PM.
• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Saturday
  • 4 AM - 8 AM
  • Saturday is one of the worst days to post on Instagram, with low engagement rates.
• Best time to post reels on Instagram: Sunday
  • 4 AM or 6 PM
  • Sundays are the worst days to post reels on Instagram, so if you’re going to do it, get it up early or wait until the end of the day when people are scrolling away the Sunday scaries.

Sources: Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Later.

Understanding your audience to discover the best times to post

Of course, the times we listed above may not be the best for your brand, based on your audience. You’ll need to understand who your audience is and how they behave. Things like location, age, and gender will help you flesh this out. (Instagram Insights should even tell you the times of day your audience is most active on Instagram!)

Honestly, you can find all of this information in your account's Instagram Insights, so it should be easy for you to make any necessary adjustments.

This should be straightforward. For example, suppose you find out that most of your audience lives in California, but you live in Canada–if you’re trying to post around lunchtime, you might need to adjust for time zones, right?

The age group also affects this. If your audience consists mostly of people between 25 and 35, you may want to try skipping posting during the day and experiment with after-work times.

See the point? It’s not just about googling “What’s the best time to post on Instagram reels?” and sticking to that number. It’s about knowing your audience and posting when they will most likely see your content.

A/B testing the best times to post Instagram reels

If you’re serious about finding the best times to post Instagram reels for YOUR brand (and we hope you are), you may want to test everything: different times, days, and types of content. Pit all the options against each other and see what performs best.

However, running A/B tests for Instagram reels isn’t a quick process. You’ll need to take your time and make a lot of posts before you can draw solid conclusions. For example, if you post at 6:30 p.m. one time and get 100 more likes than normal, that doesn’t mean 6:30 p.m. is always going to be the best time for you to post. You must keep testing it for a few weeks to draw that conclusion.

And if you don’t know what A/B testing is, don’t worry–it’s just a fancy name for testing different things against each other and seeing which one performs better. It’s not complicated. But it does require dedication and attention.

However, don’t despair if you start testing and can’t make heads or tails of things–there are SO MANY variables when you’re working with Meta algorithms that it can be hard to get conclusive data. So, if you’re testing the best times to post reels on Instagram and are unsure what to think, know that it’s probably Meta, not you.

It can still be worth testing if you have a huge team and a lot of time to figure something like this out. But if you don’t, try it and see if it gives you valuable insights. If it doesn’t, don’t sweat–just stick to the general guidelines outlined in this article. There are better ways to up your engagement than obsessing about posting times.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, the best time to post reels on Instagram is when your audience will most likely engage. That might be during their lunch break, after work, or even in the wee hours of the morning.

Use the times you’ve found in this article as a jumping-off point and keep getting to know your audience and their habits and interests. That’s how you find the perfect times to post Instagram reels for your brand. 🎥