The best time to post on Instagram Reels depends on where your followers are. Follow these four steps to discover what posting times can bring you more results.

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Since 73% of people would like to learn about a product or service by watching a short video, it’s easy to see why Instagram rushed to launch Reels.

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Instagram users spend 20% of their time on the platform. It prioritizes quick, fast-paced videos, allowing individuals and brands to publish ‘snackable’ content that expresses their brand story, educates their target audiences, and drives engagement.

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But it’s not enough to have a good social media marketing strategy and great content. Successful implementation often hinges on timing. 

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When you post a reel can be the difference between delighting your target audience and making sales, or your reel getting buried by others shared after yours.

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So, what’s the best time to post on Instagram reels for maximum engagement? Let’s dive in.

Why Does Timing Matter for Instagram Reels?

Your videos might be entertaining and informative, but that means nothing if your audience can’t see your Instagram content. 

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Knowing the perfect time of day to post on Instagram Reels helps you: 

• Increase visibility
• Improve views
• Boost engagement
• Build relationships with your target audience

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But how do you figure out what posting times will be most engaging for your target audience?

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First, you need to understand the Instagram Reels algorithm, which ranks reels based on activity, interaction history, and data about the post and author.

How the Instagram Reels Algorithm Works

Whenever users open the app, Instagram’s algorithms scan all the available content and use specific rules to decide: 

• Which posts to show at the top of the users’ feeds and in what order
• What posts will feature on the Explore tab
• The order in which Instagram Stories, Reels, and Live videos appear in their feed and respective tabs

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To understand how all these aspects of the Instagram Reels algorithm influence your timing and overall Instagram marketing strategy, let's see what factors determine when to post on Reels.

Factors That Determine Your Best Time to Post on Instagram

It’s just as important to know why certain times are more popular as knowing the times themselves.

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To figure out the best time to post on Instagram specific to your industry, audience, and different time zones, you need to know:

• When your audience is online: Uncover the specific times your audience is most active and post compelling reels at those times.
• Your audience’s demographics: Use Instagram analytics tools to understand your Instagram followers’ demographics. 
• Where your audience is located: Knowing where your target audience is located helps you publish during peak engagement hours in their time zones.
• How to match your audience’s daily activities: How well does your content match what your audience is interested in at that time of day? If you're a juice brand that sells a breakfast smoothie, then creating a post about a morning routine featuring your drink may appeal to your followers. 

The Best Time to Post on Instagram Based on Data

So when is the best time to post on Instagram Reels? A HubSpot study shows the best days and times to post on Instagram based on location. Here are some key takeaways:

• The highest engagement levels are between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., making evenings a safe bet. 
• Sundays have the highest engagement rate (6.47%), followed by Saturday (6.05%) and Monday (5.95%). The rest of the week hovers around 5.6%. 
• Weekend posts tend to get the best engagement volumes (not just rate). But if you're looking for the best weekday to post, it’s Wednesday. 
• In North America, the best engagement is between 5 p.m. and 12 a.m. And the best days are Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday — with more than 400 average engagements. Evenings remain the highest for Instagram engagement. 

High Engagement Periods by City

Let’s dig deeper by looking at engagement periods in popular cities:

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Atlanta: 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. EST; Saturdays and Sundays; Wednesdays and Fridays

Houston: Highest at 10 a.m. CST, then 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., followed by 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.; weekends

Kensington-Chinatown, Toronto, Canada: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST, 4 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Fridays, weekends, and Tuesdays.

Los Angeles: 3 a.m. and 5-8 p.m. PST

Miami: 9 a.m. and 8 a.m. EST; Fridays, weekends, and Wednesdays

UK: 5 p.m. with high engagement rates through midnight GMT+1; 2 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Wednesdays and Sundays

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While this isn’t a complete guide on the best times to post on Instagram Reels, you can find your peak times with a little bit of trial and error and research.

How to Discover the Best Time to Post on Instagram Reels in 4 Steps

It’s important to post at the right time on all social media platforms, including on Instagram. And while the above data is helpful, your followers will share unique characteristics that influence your top engagement periods.

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Fortunately, you can discover the best time to post based on your industry, Instagram audience, time zone, and content by:

• Switching to an Instagram creator or business account
• Reviewing your best-performing posts and their publish date/time
• Determining when your audience is most active online
• Posting in your audience’s time zone

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We’ll take you through these steps one at a time.

1. Switch to an Instagram Business or Creator Account

With an Instagram business or creator profile, you can access key insights about your followers, including their location, to fine-tune your posting schedule.

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Don’t have a business or creator profile yet? Here’s how to switch:

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Open Instagram, go to your profile, and tap on the three horizontal lines (burger menu) in the top right corner.

Next, tap Settings.

Then, click on Account. 

Scroll to the bottom and tap Switch to Professional account.

‍Select a niche that best describes you (e.g. clothing brand, digital creator, retail, etc.), and then select Done.

‍Note: If you already have a creator or business profile, you'll get the Switch back to personal account option instead.

2. Review Your Top-performing Posts

Review your top-performing reels and the time of day you posted them so you can identify the optimal time to publish reels on Instagram. To do this: 

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Decide what kind of metrics matter for your brand: If you want to build awareness, look closely at the number of impressions on your post. If you want to drive engagements, focus on reels with the most likes, shares, and comments.

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Evaluate your Instagram insights or manually sift through your posts each week or month. Manual reviews can be tedious and time-consuming, but there are social media management tools, like Sprout Social, HootSuite, and Buffer, that can do this to help you identify the best posting times and days based on your previous performance.

3. Find Out When Your Audience Is Most Active Online

Check the times your audience scrolls through Instagram so you can test and predict when they’re online. You can use tools like Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature that automatically breaks down audience data into heatmaps while suggesting posting times to help you adjust your schedule.

4. Post in Your Audience’s Time Zone

Is your audience distributed globally or in a certain time zone? Whatever the case may be, automate your posts to go live at the right time in your audience’s time zone every day.

Tips for Getting Better Engagement on Instagram Reels

You’ve got great video content — it’s time to make sure people see it. 

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With the information above, you can adapt your approach to creating Instagram Reels and timing to increase visibility for your reels and reach more of your customers. 

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Use the following tips to improve engagement on your Instagram Reels (outside of publishing at the right time/day):

• Share the Reels to your feed first.
• Add relevant hashtags and location tags.
• Interact with Reels that appeal to your target audience.
• Post content at the right time/day based on your audience's time zone.
• Analyze your top-performing content to determine why people like it.
• To find the best days and times to post, look to your competitors. Check when they post and whether they're getting a lot of engagement.
• Continue monitoring and testing your posting days and times to see what works.\
• Test for at least a month before switching up your strategy.
• Respect the Instagram Community Guidelines.

Maximize Your Posting Schedule

Getting better engagement for your Instagram Reels requires knowing your audience's online habits. By discovering when they're online the most and what type of content they enjoy, you can entice them to watch your reels so you can grow your brand. 

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When deciding the best time to post on Instagram Reels, remember these key takeaways:

• While the Instagram Reels algorithm includes many factors beyond timing, your post schedule makes a great difference in terms of follower engagement.
• Studying high engagement data for your followers’ locations can help you reach them at the best times.
• Review your top-performing posts to find out when your audience is usually online.
• To gain these insights, you’ll need to use a Business account.

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To keep learning about how to optimize your social media engagement, check out the Hype blog.