Social media is a term everyone is well acquainted with. With the advent of social media, Instagram reels have dominated the arena. Today, everyone competes to perform better and become more visible on Instagram. For this, they constantly post on Instagram and make high-quality videos.
But even after so much hard work, are your reels getting enough engagement? Are your efforts showing no results? If not, you need to rework your strategy a bit.
Various factors affect engagement. One of them is finding the best time to post the reels on Instagram.
Explore the blog below to find out more about the importance of posting reels at the right time and how to find the right time to make your posts go viral.
What are Instagram Reels?
Instagram reels are gaining a lot of popularity nowadays. They were introduced in 2019 as a part of an Instagram story. Today, everyone who is on Instagram engages a lot with reels. 694 thousand Instagram reels are shared via direct messages each minute. But what exactly are reels?
Reels are short videos that can be up to 90 seconds long. They are similar to TikTok videos, where users can record a single video or combine multiple short clips to make it attractive. You can add trending songs to your reels to make them more creative.
Reels are not used only for creative purposes. People from all domains use reels to promote their content and services. Educators, small service providers, and big business owners use reels to advertise their services. Today, there are 169 million Instagram users in the US who use reels.
Why do Reels have the Edge over Other Content?
Over the past few years, reels have significantly dominated Instagram. In fact, reels get 22% more interaction than standard video postings.
Let us find out why reels have an edge over other content because of the following reasons:
- They are Algorithm Favorites: Instagram tends to show more reels in the user’s feed when compared to the images. Therefore, it is best to post reels to gain more visibility.
- They have a Higher Level of Engagement: According to the statistics, 9 out of 10 users actively watch reels. Creative effects and trending audio reels keep the audience hooked on the content until the end. Since they are 30-second videos, they can drive more traffic when compared to long videos.
- They are More Creative: Reels allow the creators to experiment more and create something authentic. It is easy to produce creative content that users like using the reel format.
- They have a Higher Reach: The reach of reels is much higher. It allows small Instagram accounts to reach a wider audience. They also get more likes and comments when compared to other social media formats.
How Does the Instagram Algorithm Determine the Visibility of Reels?
The Instagram algorithm determines the visibility of reels depending on several factors. These include:
1. Relevance of the Content
The Instagram algorithm tracks users’ affinity. It then displays reels similar to the content the users have engaged in in the past, keeping the users hooked on content relevant to their interests.
2. Prioritizes Timing
Instagram usually shows its followers fresh reels. Hence, it is important to find out when your target audience is coming online and post the reels accordingly.
3. Visual Panache
The Instagram algorithm favors videos with high-quality images and camera effects and filters that enhance creativity. These reels are more likely to have more reach than other reels.
4. Consistency
Instagram favors consistency. Therefore, show up every day on Instagram and post reels at the favored times. Do not delete any previous posts or reels to perform better.
5. Stay with the Trend
The Instagram algorithm favors content that is relevant to the latest trends. It is important to post content that matches with the recent trends. This will increase the engagement of the reels.
Factors Influencing the Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram
The best time to post reels on Instagram is not the same for everyone. Instead, it depends on a variety of factors. These include:
1. Peak Activity Hours
Peak activity refers to the hours at which the audience is most active. You can find them through your Instagram insights. Posting reels during this time drives organic traffic to the Instagram pages.
2. Audience’s Daily Routine
Finding your target audience routine can help you determine the best time to post. Therefore, first, find out the target audience and then look for the hours they are most likely to use Instagram and post reels accordingly.
3. Various Time Zones
In case your target audience is not limited to your country and involves a wider demographic, you need to post when they are most likely to use Instagram. It will increase the chances of getting noticed more.
4. In-Depth Analysis
You need to carry out an in-depth analysis to find the best time for your reels. For this, you can analyze the schedule of your competitors’ posts. Experiment with different timings and then find the one that works the best for you.
5. Weekends/ Weekdays
Reels perform better on weekdays. This is because, during those days, people are more likely to expect to use Instagram. On the other end, people spend more time with their families during the weekend; there are fewer chances of them spending much time on Instagram.
Benefits of Posting the Reels at the Right Timings
Posting the reels at favorable times has several benefits. It will help you get the most out of your posts. A few benefits include:
- Reach a Wider Audience: When you post the reels during peak hours, they are more likely to reach a large audience globally. If the content is appealing, people will stick to it until the end, which brings more engagement to the reels.
- Keep up with the Instagram Algorithm: Instagram tends to highlight the recent reels first. Therefore, whenever you post during peak hours, your reels will easily reach the target audience. You can easily generate attractive reels with Predis.ai.
- Capture Your Target Audience’s Attention: There are higher chances of going viral. Posting during peak hours makes it easy to stay in the target audience’s feed. The more the audience engages with the content, the higher the chances of it going viral.
- Better Analytics Provided: During peak hours, Instagram provides better insights. It also helps you understand your audience’s preferences and post content accordingly.
Other Tips to Maximize Engagement
Posting reels at the right time isn’t everything you need to create engagement. You should keep a few other facts in consideration. These include:
1. Post Quality Content
To generate more traffic and better engagement, the content you post needs to be valuable and resonate with your target audience.
2. Engage with Others
Posting content alone will not help you do wonders on Instagram. You should indulge in meaningful conversations with your followers and reciprocate the love they show. This will help build a supportive community on Instagram.
3. Use Hashtags
Hashtags play an important role in making the reels discoverable. Whenever you use relevant hashtags, the reels appear in search results for those hashtags. It increases the chances of posts getting into the feed of targeted audiences. A post with at least one hashtag is expected to form better than the one with no hashtags.
Use Predis.ai's FREE Hashtag Generator for the most relevant hashtags to maximize the chances of the post going viral.
Conclusion
Instagram is the second-most-used social media platform after Facebook, making it reliable for reaching your target audience. However, certain factors, like posting time, quality content, and using relevant hashtags, need to be considered to improve the performance of your reels. This will also enhance the visibility of posts.
In this regard, Predis.ai can be your handy tool to create compelling posts for your Instagram account. So why wait any further? Sign up for a free demo and start posting reels to get the maximum attention and see the magic.
