We’re officially ready to reveal the best time to post Reels on Instagram across 14 top industries.
Instagram Reels can feel tricky, and marketers definitely want to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to these usually time-intensive videos by posting at the perfect time to catch followers. Figuring out the best time to post Reels on Instagram can help your brand increase your reach and engage more of your followers, and can be easily achieved in just a few steps.
We put together the definitive guide for the best time to post Reels on Instagram using data from thousands of top brands across all 14 industries we study in our Social Media Industry Benchmark Report. We broke it down by industry, time of day, and day of the week so you can fully optimize your Reels posting.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram
Before we jump into the rankings, let’s talk about how to read the embedded data below. We computed the average engagement rate over the course of the day for a big set of brands, and then correlated whether engagement rates in that time period were better or worse than their average content and by what percentage. Use the temperature indicator to see how engagement rates vary from the average (red is bad, blue is good). For example, a 1.3 ratio in dark blue indicates a 30% increase for brands over their average engagement rate. This setup makes brands relative to themselves for extra data accuracy.
The size of each dot is the relative volume of posting in each time slot to help give you a sense of how popular a time slot is. It’s important to look at both the engagement rate ratio and the volume of posting in each time slot for a true sense of how to apply these findings to your brand. Just because the engagement rate ratio is high in the overnight slot doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the key to social media success for your particular brand or industry.
Cross-Industry Data for Instagram Reels
As we noted above, the best time to post Reels on Instagram is unique to your brand and deserves some study and experimentation. That said, here are a few key Instagram Reels takeaways from our Cross-Industry data:
- Try posting before or after work on weekdays: Posting during the workday hardly did any favors for brands on Instagram Reels this year. Try moving away from the lunch hour and into dinner and bedtime for an engagement boost.
- Experiment with weekend posting: Many brands are focusing their Reels posting on the work week as evidenced by the bigger grey dots. These brands might want to try posting in weekend time slots which have smaller circles (less competition) and higher engagement rates, especially after dinner and overnight on Saturdays and Sundays.
Let’s jump into the best time to post on Instagram Reels broken down by industry.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Alcohol
The graph below displays the median engagement rate lift for Alcohol brands, disaggregated by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is in proportion to the number of Reels published by Alcohol brands during this time.
Midday on weekdays and first thing in the morning on the weekends are popular times for Alcohol brands to post Instagram Reels to get people planning their happy hours. But to no one’s surprise, bar times are the true winners for these brands, including late on Mondays and between 10pm and closing time on Fridays and Sundays.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Fashion
The graph that follows displays the median engagement rate lift for Fashion brands, broken down by day of week and time of day. The size of each bubble is relative to the quantity of Reels published by Fashion brands during this time.
Weekends and overnight weekday posting smoke other time slots for Fashion brands on Instagram Reels, so these brands should forget about workday posting and focus on targeting customers after hours.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Financial Services
The chart below illustrates the median lift in engagement rate for Financial Services companies, broken down by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is in proportion to the number of Reels published by Financial Services companies during this time.
Financial Services brands were most likely to catch their followers with Instagram Reels after dinner on weeknights or bright and early on the weekends. These brands posted Reels most frequently during the workday, but might want to look for after-hours slots to maximize their impact.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Food & Beverage
The visualization that follows illustrates the median engagement rate lift for Food & Beverage brands, broken down by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is in proportion to the quantity of Reels published by Food & Beverage brands during this time.
To no surprise, Food & Beverage brands earned the highest engagement rates on Instagram Reels with posts that hit when followers were wining and dining in the afternoons and evenings. These brands can help their fans plan their next meals with overnight weekday posting or daytime posting on Saturdays.
Best time to post on Reels on Instagram: Health & Beauty
The visualization below illustrates the median engagement rate lift for Health & Beauty brands, broken down by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is in proportion to the number of Reels published by Health & Beauty brands during this time.
Health & Beauty brands saw way more Instagram Reels traction with weekend posting than with posting during the work week. Posting overnight on Thursday and Friday was especially challenging for these brands, but they shouldn’t sleep on bright and early posting on Tuesdays.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Higher Education
The chart below illustrates the median lift in engagement rate for Higher Education institutions, grouped by day of week and time of day. The size of each bubble is relative to the amount of Reels published by Higher Education institutions during this time.
The best time for colleges and universities to reach their audience with Instagram Reels is before work or after dinner on weekdays, which checks out since many of these posts are geared towards keeping parents and alumni in the loop from afar. Saturday is a great day to post for these schools as well, though focusing on the early morning or the overnight slots lead to extra engagement oomph.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Home Decor
The following chart illustrates the median lift in engagement rate for Home Decor brands, disaggregated by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is relative to the quantity of Reels published by Home Decor brands during this time.
Followers of Home Decor brands ate up Instagram Reels posted first thing in the morning Monday-Thursday and Saturday. With the exception of afternoons, Reels posted on Sundays earned below-average engagement rate for these brands, and other weekday posting was a little all over the place.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Influencers
The following chart displays the median engagement rate lift for Influencers, disaggregated by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is in proportion to the volume of Reels published by Influencers during this time.
Big red bubbles in so many weekday slots mean Influencers are all vying for the same users at the wrong time. Influencers would do better to increase posting on weekends and in super late time slots.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Media
The graph below illustrates the median engagement rate lift for Media brands, broken down by day of week and time of day. The size of each bubble is relative to the number of Reels published by Media brands during this time.
Media brands earned killer engagement rates with Reels posted early in the morning or late at night on any day of the week. Other weekday posting lagged, but weekends saw lots of high-engagement slots for these brands.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Nonprofits
The visualization that follows displays the median lift in engagement rate for Nonprofits, disaggregated by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is relative to the quantity of Reels published by Nonprofits during this time.
Small blue circles with big engagement rate numbers attached to them mean Nonprofit organizations have some untapped gold mines for Reels success, especially late in the day and overnight Thursday-Sunday. These organizations are posting much more frequently during the workday but aren’t optimizing the engagement rates they could earn by focusing on non-workday time slots.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Retail
The chart below illustrates the median engagement rate lift for Retail brands, broken down by day of week and time of day. The size of each bubble is in proportion to the volume of Reels published by Retail brands during this time.
Post-dinner and weekend time slots helped Retail brands maximize their Instagram Reels success this year, though these brands were much more likely to post during the workday despite lower engagement rate returns there. Catching people as they’re thinking more about shopping and less about work is a strong engagement strategy for these brands.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Sports Teams
The chart below shows the median lift in engagement rate for Sports Teams, broken down by day of week and time of day. The size of each bubble is in proportion to the quantity of Reels published by Sports Teams during this time.
Sports Teams were all about afternoons and evenings when it came to Reels this year, suggesting followers were much more likely to be thinking about their favorite team outside of work hours. Weekends were also a strong choice for Sports Teams.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Tech & Software
The chart below illustrates the median lift in engagement rate for Tech & Software companies, broken down by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is relative to the volume of Reels published by Tech & Software companies during this time.
With the exception of a few time slots like Monday afternoon and Friday morning, Tech & Software brands didn’t have much to show for workday posting. Better for these brands to stick to weekend posting or the occasional after-dinner time slot on weeknights.
Best time to post Reels on Instagram: Travel
The graph below illustrates the median lift in engagement rate for Travel, broken down by day of week and time of day. The area of each bubble is in proportion to the quantity of Reels published by Travel during this time.
Travel brands were a little all over the place with Instagram Reels engagement this year. Saturdays were a safe bet for these brands, and Wednesday afternoons and evenings were also winners.
How to Find Your Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram
Instagram makes it tough to find the perfect time to post a Reel, but third-party social media analytics tools like Rival IQ can get you this info in the blink of an eye. Here’s how to find your brand’s (or your competitor’s!) best time to post Reels on Instagram.
Hop into Social Posts in Rival IQ and change your post type to “Reel” to have the whole page instantly repopulate to be about Reel performance for you and anyone in your competitive landscape.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Post Times table for the ultimate way to visualize your Instagram Reels publishing activity and how it relates to your followers’ engagement with your Reels. As you can see in the example below, our followers use Instagram pretty consistently throughout the week, but midday is definitely the right time to catch them with a post or video.
For even more information about the best time to post Reels on Instagram, Rival IQ can help you make sense of how your posting activity correlates to engagement rate by day and time. Don’t miss the dotted grey line that compares your average activity and engagement rates by day and hour to that of your main competition. This competitive view comes in especially handy when trying to gain an edge over your competitors by helping you schedule your Reels at times when your followers are active and engaged.
Don’t forget you can also visualize your follower online times in Rival IQ for easy access to deeper insights into when your followers are most likely to interact with your Reels.
Methodology
We analyzed Reels from more than 2,100 brands between July 1, 2022-December 31, 2022 on Instagram Reels to find the best time to post. We studied the same group of brands from 14 diverse industries that we use in our Social Media Industry Benchmark Report.
Wrapping it up
We hope these heat maps give you a better understanding of the best time to post Reels on Instagram for your industry and brand. Of course, the best thing any brand can do is test and measure their own results over time, so don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and start experimenting with Instagram Reels.
Ready to find your best time to post Reels on Instagram? Sign up for a free 14-day trial in Rival IQ.
Happy posting!
