The Best Times to Post Instagram Reels for Engagement

After posting, do you find yourself obsessively checking and re-checking analytics into the late night? Are you plagued with a measly 0 interactions long after hitting the Share button? Fortunately, the reason for this could be as simple as a timing issue. 

As it turns out, the time you post your Instagram Reels has an impact on your post’s success. In this article, we will give you a complete guide on the best day and best time to post Reels on Instagram. 

What Are Instagram Reels?

With the boom of TikTok’s short-form video content, Instagram has responded with the creation of Instagram Reels. If you haven’t added Instagram Reels into your influencer marketing strategy, it’s about time you start! Reels are videos that loop, usually between 15 and 60 seconds. These quick-paced Reels are meant to grab attention and automatically play until the user scrolls away. 

In Reels, creators can use editing features such as sounds, music, and filters. They’ve also got drawing and text tools to play with and fun stickers to make your Reel stand out. 

Why do we love using Reels for content marketing? In the age of short attention spans, short-form content is on-trend. They’re easy to watch, get loads of engagement, and lead to increased brand awareness. This is where you want to be if you are looking to grow your following. 

Where are Reels found?

Reels are found in the Reels tab in the app. When you click on Reels, these short videos will appear from Instagram users you follow. It will also recommend content creators you don’t follow but may be interested in. But they don’t just show up there; Reels can be found on the home feed, Instagram Stories, and the Explore page. 

With Reels, you not only connect with existing followers but you are also introduced to new audiences through the Explore pages. So if your content is popping up in users’ Explore feed, congrats! The Instagram algorithm has deemed you worthy. This drastically increases the discoverability of your post because your content is getting seen by fresh sets of eyes; 50% of all Instagrammers use the Explore page. 

New users are more likely to be shown Reels content than if you post a regular video. And since the ‘gram is heavily favoring Reels these days, it is easier than ever to get on the Explore page. This is a great opportunity for newbies like you to get started!

So are you hyped to level up your Reels game? But first, we have a few factors to consider before you hit Share.

Factors to Consider Before You Post

Instagram prioritizes the content that is posted when your audience is online. The time you post should be when your audience is typically scrolling Instagram. But every audience is unique and has its preferences and behavioral patterns on social media. This means that what may work for one brand’s audience may not work for another. 

How do you know what will work for your audience? It’s simple. Get to know them. Knowing your audience is a fundamental aspect of influencer marketing. Luckily with a creator or business account, you have access to a handy Instagram analytics tool called Instagram Insights.

With Insights, you can check out your audience’s demographics and actions, as well as your content performance data. Take a good look at your Insights dashboard and start to form an idea of just who your target audience is. Then consider the following factors before choosing a specific time to post: 

• Target audience location: The US has the most Instagram users with approximately 130 million. India has 100 million users, and Brazil has 91 million. And then there are millions more users spread throughout the world. Using Insights, you can find out where exactly most of your audience is located. Then you can figure out the different time zones they are in. Find the average of the time zones and use that as a baseline for your post times.

• Daily schedules: Take a look at your Instagram Impressions. What day tends to have the most impressions? If your target audience is teenagers, it is a safe bet they are busy with school Monday through Friday. If your target audience is young mothers, they are likely to be scrolling the ‘gram in between late-night feedings. Check your analytics to see when your audience is most active online. This will help you guesstimate what their daily schedules are like to know when the best time to post is.

• Seasonal trends: Summertime, Christmastime, and other holidays are likely to see a difference in usage. Pay attention to these trends so you can use the data for the following years’ posting times.

• Your goals: If your goal is to increase Instagram engagement, look at the last time your post got a lot of likes and comments. What time of day did you post it? Consider turning that posting time into a habit.

• Your competitors: It is a safe bet that your competitors are also trying to figure out the best times to post. Engage in social listening to be aware of the goings-on in your industry. You can also analyze your competition to see what’s working for them. In all likelihood, they are posting at the top of the hour. To edge out your competition, try posting before or after :00. 

When is the best time to post Instagram Reels?

Generally speaking, the best time to post Instagram Reels is either early morning or midday on weekdays. This data represents posts that had the best engagement rates. Hootsuite’s team determined that the best time to post an Instagram Reel is between 9 AM and 12 PM PST, Monday through Thursday.

When narrowed down, they said the best day of the week to post on Instagram is 11 AM PST on Wednesdays. People tend to take a lunch break midday and scroll through their phones, making it the perfect time to post! If you are just beginning your Instagram marketing journey, try using these peak posting times as a starting point.

Then gather the data after your Instagram account has grown. You can modify your posting time to include the time frames where you’ve had the highest engagement. To break it down even more, here are the peak times to post on Instagram Reels, represented in EST: 

• Sunday: 7 AM, 8 AM, 4 PM
• Monday: 6 AM, 10 AM, 10 PM
• Tuesday: 2 AM, 4 AM, 9 AM
• Wednesday: 7 AM, 8 AM, 11 PM
• Thursday: 9 AM, 12 AM, 7 PM
• Friday: 5 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM
• Saturday: 11 AM, 7 PM, 8 PM

If you’re worried you’ll doze off before your 2 AM Tuesday post time, there is an easier way to get your beauty rest. There are a ton of social media scheduling tools that can help you automate the posting process. No sweat. So when is the worst time to post?

Weekends seem to have the lowest engagement rates, so you may want to avoid weekend posting. The worst day to post is Sunday. Instead, enjoy your free time off in the real world! 

Other Ways to Increase Engagement

It’s not all about hitting the ‘gram at the right time of day. Besides posting when your target audience is online, there are a few other things you can do to increase engagement rates. 

Post a lot

Pay attention to recency. We all like to see what is new, fresh, and happening now. Instagram prioritizes newer posts, so it is important to post often to remain relevant. You are more likely to be put at the top of the Instagram feed. 

Be consistent

When your Instagram content consistently pops up in their feed, your audience develops a sense of trust in you. They know they can depend on you for quality content, which means they are more likely to engage and potentially make a purchase from you over time. You will also demonstrate your credibility and be seen as an expert in your niche. 

Nurture relationships with your followers

To have a dedicated following, influencers must have a strong relationship with their followers. Engage with them by liking and commenting on their comments. You can truly make someone’s day simply by leaving a word of appreciation for them! Interacting with your Instagram followers signals to Instagram that the content is important to them.

Then IG will share your latest video with them when your post drops. To keep the conversation going, ask your followers questions that prompt them to like, comment, or follow you. When Instagram sees you have an authentic connection with your audience, the algorithm adjusts in your favor. 

Be relevant

Instagram only serves users content similar to what they have interacted with in the past. It does this by analyzing your hashtags, as well as the pixels, frames, and audio of your Reels. Then it computes whether your content matches their behaviors and interests.

Within your niche, find what is trending in these areas. Pick out what trends feel authentic to you and your brand. Center your content around it. Then use 3 to 5 hashtags that are accurate and descriptive to help the algorithm determine what your Reel is about. 

Create high-quality content

Hard work pays off. When you post content that is high-quality, your audience will automatically want to engage. Make it entertaining, funny, interesting, inspiring, or a mix of these. Then, when you’ve got ‘em hooked, Instagram rewards you by suggesting your content to other Instagrammers. 

Feature people in your Reels

Hootsuite found that top-performing Reels included people in them. You may want to save product promotions, artistry, and landscapes, and just stick to good ol’ human beings. 

Share Reels to Instagram Stories

When you add your Reel to a Story, it increases the chances it will be seen. Though you can directly share it to your Stories, it is better to reshare the in-feed Reel to your Story because it will end up getting more views that way. This is also beneficial if you have a swipe-up link or CTA because these can’t be included in the in-feed captions of Reels. 

Use trending or catchy audio

Using a trending song or audio clip is likely to get more users’ attention. However, make sure you add your audio in the app rather than another app or music that is unavailable on the social media platform. It is believed that Instagram will prioritize the content with music found in their app. 

Collaborate with influencers

To get in front of a wider audience, propose a collab with an influencer. This cross-promotion is most helpful when their audience overlaps with yours due to common interests. You will both benefit because you are introducing your audience to them, and they are introducing their audience to you. 

You must share similar values because a genuine connection between influencers is easy to see. If you do not mesh well, this could be bad for your content. Nervous or intimidated to ask an influencer you admire for a collab? Start first by asking for a shoutout. Even that can do wonders for reach and follower growth. 

Find Your Posting Sweet Spot

For higher engagement, the optimal times to post Instagram Reels are between 9 AM and 12 PM PST, Monday through Thursday. This is a great starting point to gather data for your social media marketing strategy. However, keep in mind that your audience will likely have its sweet spot for posting. 

The marketing world is a fast-paced one that changes daily. That’s why it is important to always be vigilant in spotting new trends. Always monitor your analytics data to understand the movement of your Instagram posts and your audience’s behaviors.

Look at your top-performing posts every week and ask yourself if any data can help you update your social media strategy or posting schedule. Once you’ve gathered the data that relates specifically to your audience, you can automate the process with a social media management tool. And when it comes to monetization, just set it and forget it with Tappie.