The Best Time to Post Reels On Instagram in 2022 [Updated]

Want to know the best time to post Reels on Instagram? It can help you get a lot more engagement and views.

Knowing the best time to post is essential if you want to crack the Instagram Reels algorithm and improve the way you use Instagram for your business. It will get your content in front of more people, which will help you attract more Instagram followers and grow your brand.

Focusing on the best time to post will deliver the most consistent engagement. And increased engagement will help your Reels go viral.

Follow this guide to learn the best time to post Reels, the worst time to post on Instagram, and what you can do to beat the Instagram Reels algorithm to get more likes, engagement, views, and followers.

1. What’s the Best Time to Post Reels On Instagram?
2. The Best Time to Post Instagram Reels Based On Location
3. How to Hack the Instagram Reels Algorithm
4. 7 Tips to Get Maximum Engagement With Instagram Reels
5. Worst Time to Post Instagram Reels
6. FAQs

What’s the Best Time to Post Reels On Instagram?

Choosing the best time to post Instagram Reels can be tricky because it depends on your specific audience.

However, there are a couple of best times that Instagram users are most active. According to a study by Later, here is a breakdown of the best times to post Instagram Reels for each day of the week:

Monday: 5AM
Tuesday: 6AM
Wednesday: 6AM
Thursday: 5AM
Friday: 6AM
Saturday: 6AM
Sunday: 6AM

Interestingly, the best time to post tends to be in the very early morning.

However, not everyone will be posting at 5am. That’s ok, there are other optimal times to post Reels. Influencer Marketing Hub identified the top three Instagram Reels posting times for each day of the week. These are:

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

Wait, what’s going on here? These best posting times seem to be a bit all over the place.

before you get confused, let’s explain why…

These best times to post on Instagram are all valid, and they are a good starting point to help you get more consistent engagement. However, these times might not necessarily be the best for your Instagram Reels.

Every audience is different, with unique patterns of Instagram engagement. This means the best time to post is also always different.

So if you really want to optimize your audience engagement, you will need to carefully analyze your own audience to find the optimal posting time for them.

Because really, the best time to post Reels on Instagram differs for every account.

So, to figure this out, you should ask two important questions:

1. Where is Your Target Audience Located?

To figure out the best time to post Instagram Reels, you’ll need to know where your target audience is based.

Instagram has a global user base, with 1 billion users spread out worldwide. This means you’ll need to get the time zones right when you post.

If you post Instagram Reels while your audience is asleep, you’ll never end up getting the engagement you want. Time zones have a massive impact on peak engagement hours.

The other reason to know where your audience is based is that this can affect the type of content you post. Your Instagram posts should always appeal to the geographic location of your audience. If you’re focused on local marketing, this is pretty obvious.

So, how do you find and use this information to boost the success of your Instagram Reels?

First, find out where your followers are. If you have a business account, you can access Instagram Insights, which reveals the cities or countries where your followers are based.

To find this information, open Instagram, go to your profile, tap on Insights, and then tap on Total Followers.

Your Follower Breakdown screen now shows up. Scroll through this until you get to Top Locations. You can view this as either cities or countries.

Now you get a clear insight into where your audience is located.

Use this information to determine the optimal posting times based on the time zone where the bulk of your audience is based. The best time to post is generally in the morning and during midday.

Avoid times when your audience is sleeping or during peak work hours.

This brings us to our next question.

2. What Time is Your Target Audience Awake?

Now that you know where your audience is located, you can use this data to increase engagement. To do this, you’ll need to know when your audience is awake and optimize your posting for this.

You can either use an analytics tool or figure it out yourself.

To optimize your posting manually, you’ll have to understand the time zone differences between your audience.

Let’s say half your audience is in the US, and the other half is in the UK. This means there’s about 8 hours difference between them that you’ll need to work around.

If half your audience is in Australia and the other half is in Japan, then the time zone difference is only about 2 hours.

Figuring out the perfect Instagram Stories posting schedule with this information can be tricky.

With an Instagram business account, you can access basic scheduling functions. However, this doesn’t work with Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels, so you’ll have to post these manually.

Put together a content calendar that includes the main geographic areas and time zones your audience comes from. Make sure you only schedule content at the times when the most extensive section of your audience is online.

You can use a social media management tool to automate this or upload Instagram Reels manually.

This can be tricky to manage if you have major time zone differences. The best option is to test out which time zones offer more engagement when you post.

How to Figure Out the Best Time to Post Reels

You can figure out the best time to post manually if you aren’t using a social media platform to monitor the busiest posting times. This is also a good idea if your audience covers many different time zones and you want to find which one offers the most engagement.

To do this, pick five different times during the week. Post an Instagram Reel in each of these times, and write down how many views and likes you got with each post.

It should look like this:

Now do this again the next week, but switch the times for each social media post with a different day.

For example, post your Reel at 6AM on Monday during the first week and at 6PM in the second week.

Continue to roll out this social media strategy over a few weeks until you start to see patterns. Soon you’ll be able to identify the best hours to post your Reels each day.

This takes a fair amount of work, but the results are always accurate and customized to your audience.

Bingo, now you have the best time to post Reels on Instagram.

The Best Time to Post Instagram Reels Based On Location

If you know what location you’re trying to target, there are a few best posting times to consider.

It’s not just about time zone – different regions have different audience behaviors. It’s essential to understand exactly how your audience uses Instagram to make sure you post your Reels at the perfect time.

According to the same study by Later, here are the best times to post on Instagram across different areas and time zones:

US and Canada (Western): 12AM – 6AM
US and Canada (Central): 6AM – 8AM
US and Canada (Eastern): 4AM – 9AM
South America: 4AM
UK: 4AM – 6AM
Europe (Western): 6 – 8PM
Europe (Eastern): 5AM – 7AM
Africa: 6AM
South Asia and Middle East: 3AM
East Asia and Southeast Asia: 11PM – 4AM
Australasia: 11PM – 2AM

Why is it Important to Post Instagram Reels at the Best Time?

Now that you know the best time to post reels on Instagram, why does it matter?

Well, the Instagram algorithm works by showing users the most relevant and most popular content. If your Reel attracts a lot of engagement straight away, Instagram will see this as a sign of quality content. This means it will recommend the Reel to more Discover feeds, which will help you go viral.

If you don’t get any engagement on your Reel for hours after it’s been posted, the chances of going viral are much more slim.

It’s important to remember that Reels are one of the best ways to get a lot of reach and exposure on Instagram. So, if you want to make the most of this feature, then you should focus on optimizing your posting time.

How to Get More Views On Instagram Reels

You may know the best time to post, but if you want maximum views and engagement, you need to understand how the Instagram Reels algorithm works.

If you fully understand the Instagram Reels algorithm, you’ll be in charge of one of the biggest growth hacks on the social media app.

How Does the Instagram Reels Algorithm Work?

Reels have always been a bit of a mystery when looking at the Instagram algorithm. Instagram Reels get totally different levels of engagement than regular Instagram posts and Stories.

How does this work?

When we talk about the Instagram Reels algorithm, we refer to how the content becomes a recommended post on the Explore page.

Essentially, Instagram recommends the type of content to users that they have shown an interest in in the past. With this in mind, posting about a specific niche or topic helps you connect with the right audience.

There are many more factors to consider than just this. This includes things like content picking up a lot of traction and content following a specific trend.

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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

Tips to Beat the Instagram Reels Algorithm

According to Instagram, here are a few Instagram hacks and strategies that brands can take to get better engagement with Reels.

Create fun and entertaining Reels – don’t take yourself too seriously
Create inspiring Reels – try to start a trend
Reels that use creative tools like filters, camera effects, and text generally perform better
Shoot Reels in vertical video format
Use music from the Instagram music library or original audio, and always try to use trending audio
Be experimental and have fun. Reels are all about trying new ideas and seeing what works for you
Share your reels offline through an Instagram QR code which will help increase the reach of your reel

While it’s important to experiment, there are also some important things for brands and creators to avoid when posting Reels. This includes:

Never post low-resolution or blurry videos
Never recycle Reels from other apps – the TikTok watermark will affect the Reels algorithm
Don’t upload videos with a border around them
Don’t cover the majority of the image with text
Always make sure you meet Instagram’s Community Guidelines

Find the best time to post, follow these strategies, and you should see better results from your Instagram Reels.

Check out our complete guide to the Instagram algorithm for more information.

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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

7 Tips to Get Maximum Engagement With Instagram Reels

Now that you know the best time to post your Reels, there are a few Instagram tips and things you can do for more Instagram engagement.

1. Create a Unique Offering

One of the best things about Instagram Reels is that they offer a more fun and engaging perspective for Instagram users.

Unlike regular posts that can involve hours of posing and editing, Reels are a bit more realistic – which is a great way to show off your personality.

With this in mind, try to find the thing that makes you unique. Just be yourself and let your personality shine through.

There’s no need to try to make Reels “perfect”. Highlight difficulties and flaws, and use your Reels to depict what’s uniquely you.

Once you find your personality, you’ll start to create a much stronger connection with your followers. Ultimately, this means increased engagement, more views, and more Instagram followers.

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2. Post Regularly

Knowing the best time to post is the first step. Now you need to make sure you capitalize on the best time to post by posting frequently.

This may be obvious, but producing more content is a sure-fire way to get higher levels of engagement. This doesn’t mean you should spam your followers or create sub-standard content just because you want to churn a lot out of Reels.

The good news is that Instagram Reels are a bit more informal, so you don’t have to worry too much about groundbreaking content ideas. You could just use them to do simple updates on your life.

And the more Reels you post, the better you will start to get with creating this form of content.

3. Schedule Your Reels in Advance

This is another no-brainer, but when you find the best time to post, make sure you schedule your content for this time. There are many social media scheduling tools to help you do this.

Whether it’s your personal best time to post or the best time to post recommended by us, scheduling your posts at the right time will make a big difference to their levels of engagement.

And this has a compounding effect. The more engagement you get on your Reels straight away, the better the Reels’ position will be on the Instagram Explore page. This will only result in more views and better engagement.

4. Use Relevant Hashtags

Utilizing the right posting times will get you more Instagram engagement, and using hashtags will make your Reels more visible.

Find and use hashtags that are relevant to your content if you want to increase your reach.

Doing this will make it easier for your exact audience to find the type of content they’re interested in. Just make sure you only use hashtags that apply to your Reel.

To find the right hashtags, you can do the following:

Search for your main keyword that your content is about on Instagram
Tap tags, and you’ll end up on a page showing all of the hashtags in use for that keyword. This also shows you how popular the keyword is.
Choose the hashtags that are most popular and most relevant
Add these hashtags into the description of your Reel, just like you would with a regular Instagram post

5. Repurpose Popular Content

If you’re struggling to come up with content ideas for Instagram Reels, you can always repurpose content that you already have.

You could use the same ideas that have been popular on your TikTok account or create Reels content that matches your best content on YouTube or your blog. You could even do repurposed content as simple as a flashback post.

Just edit this content to be the right length for your Reels, and now you have fresh Instagram content without all the effort.

6. Join Or Start Challenges

Viral challenges are one of the best ways to gain a lot of attention on TikTok, and they can also work on Instagram Reels.

If you find any fun, trending challenges, join them and use the right hashtag. This will get you a lot more exposure, which could bring more followers to your Instagram account.

And if you don’t want to join a viral challenge, you can always try to create your own.

Invite social media users to join your branded hashtag challenge and motivate them with a prize. Your challenge could be a dance, a creative way to showcase your brand, or anything else. Get creative here.

Starting a challenge is an excellent way to gain lots of awareness through user-generated content.

If you want to set up an easy and effective Instagram giveaway, then try Wishpond’s social promotions tools. It’s one of the best ways to build up an engaged audience.

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7. Prioritize Your Posts

Even when you know the best time to post, there will still be occasions when some days don’t get as much engagement as others. For example, posting on the weekend might not be as good for your business.

If you want to post a continual stream of Instagram content, but have days that vary in popularity, make sure you post your most important content during the best posting times. This is where clearly recording the best time to post is so important.

Save your best message for the times with the highest engagement. This way, you’ll know that your most important posts always go out at the best posting times.

8. Collaborate With Other Instagrammers

If you want your Instagram Reels to reach a larger audience then you should consider cross-promotion. This is a tactic where you team up with another Instagram user whose audience overlaps with yours and collaborate on a post or series of posts.

This is a mutually beneficial strategy, as they can access your audience and you can access theirs. Just make sure that you collaborate with an individual or brand who shares a similar audience with you. If their audience is not your target, then there’s no point in your collaboration.

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Worst Time to Post Instagram Reels

To fully understand the best time to post your Reels, you should also know the worst time to post on Instagram.

Here is a breakdown of the worst times to post on Instagram each day of the week. Of course, this might differ between audiences, but if you aren’t sure what time to post, then avoid these times.

Monday: 2PM
Tuesday: 1PM
Wednesday: 10AM
Thursday: 11PM
Friday: 9AM
Saturday: 8PM
Sunday: 4PM

Find the Best Time to Post Reels

Instagram Reels are undoubtedly the best way to get a lot of organic reach and awareness from this social media channel. Unlike regular posts on Instagram, Reels have a far greater chance of going viral.

You’ll just need to make sure you focus on the best time to post to get this right.

Most Instagram followers tend to be actively swiping through their Instagram feed early in the morning or on lunch break. Use this information, along with your own experiments, to find the peak time to post every day.

Get this right, and you might start to master Instagram and get your Reels going viral.

FAQs

What is the best time to post on Instagram Reels?

Finding the best time to post Reels on Instagram really depends on your audience, where they are located, and when they are most active online. However, according to various factors, the best times to post Reels on Instagram are generally:

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
Sunday: 7 AM, 8 AM, 4 PM

Do hashtags work on Instagram Reels?

They absolutely do! Hashtags are an excellent way to increase the reach of your Instagram Reel and get it seen by more people. Hashtags are also used on Reels to help explain what the content is about, whether it’s part of a trending hashtag challenge or to distinguish a business’s content through a branded hashtag.

How do I get more views on my Reels on Instagram?

Do the following to get more views on your Instagram Reels:

1. Find the best time to post when your audience is most active
2. Post Reels consistently
3. Create valuable content that is interesting, fun, and/or entertaining
4. Use trending songs and sounds
5. Use Reels filters, text, and camera effects
6. Write an engaging caption with the right hashtags
7. Create the right content for your niche and audience

When should you post your Reels on Instagram?

The best time to post Reels is generally early morning or around midday. Peak hours depend on where your audience is located – make sure you post in the same time zone that they’re in. Wednesday is often the worst day to post Reels. Instagram prioritizes content if you post Reels consistently and at the right time.

Should I post two Reels a day?

Instagram recommends you post 5 – 7 Reels per week, which works out to about 1 Reel per day. Post content often and post content at the right time. This will make a big difference to your engagement levels. Just make sure you focus on quality content and know the best time to post this content.

The Best Time to Post Reels On Instagram in 2023