Post as many Reels a day as you have worth posting. We analyzed over 33,000 Instagram Reels from about 6,500 accounts with 10,000+ followers at Sociable AI, comparing each Reel with the same account's other Reels one hour after posting, and found that posting more in a day barely lowers each Reel's engagement:
- A second Reel in the same day still gets about 94% of the likes and comments it would get on its own.
- From the fourth Reel in 24 hours, each one still gets about 91% of what it would get on its own.
Does posting two Reels a day hurt your engagement?
Only slightly. As we just mentioned, a second Reel posted the same day still gets about 94% of the first-hour likes and comments it would get on its own. So does a third.
Let's say your Reels usually get 500 likes and comments in their first hour. A second Reel posted that day would get about 470.
Each bar is a Reel's first-hour likes and comments compared with the same account's Reels that had none posted in the 24 hours before.
As you can see, every bar sits close to 100%, even for Reels posted after three or more others in the past 24 hours.
As for when to post them, any two times between 8am and midnight Eastern work about equally well.
Is posting three or more Reels a day worth it?
Yes, on days when you have three worth posting. Once three or more were out in the past 24 hours, the next one still got about 91% of what it would get on its own, a little under the 94% a second Reel keeps.
The limit is how many Reels you have that are worth posting. Buffer makes the same point about posting more often. In their words, "You're probably not going to see big gains in followers and reach by pumping out low-quality posts."
If you want to post more Reels than that to test ideas, use trial Reels, which go to non-followers first and show their numbers after about 24 hours.
How many Reels should you post a week?
Post something on most days of the week. Buffer looked at 2.1 million posts from 102,000 Instagram accounts and found that weeks with more posts brought more follower growth and more reach per post. The biggest jump came between one or two posts a week and three to five, and smaller gains kept coming above that.
All this is to say, posting often across the week helps, and a second Reel in the same day still gets about 94% of what it would get on its own. So posting a Reel most days, and more on the days you have them ready, is inside the range where Buffer found more posting still helping.
Further reading
Posting Reels often takes a steady supply of ideas. Sociable AI's Instagram trends page shows the trends taking off right now, with example Reels for each. And if you want each Reel you post to do better, start with the viral hooks that are working on Instagram Reels this year.
Frequently asked questions
Is posting 3 Reels a day too much?
No, as long as each one is worth posting. Even after three or more Reels in the past 24 hours, the next one got about 91% of what it would get on its own.
How many trial Reels should I post a day?
There's no official limit. Trial Reels go to non-followers first, and their likes, comments and views show up after about 24 hours, so post as many as you can review and learn from. You can also have Instagram share a trial Reel with your followers automatically when it does well on views in its first 72 hours. Meta says 40% of creators who tried trial Reels started posting Reels more often, and 80% of those got more reach from non-followers.
Does posting more Reels get you more followers?
Yes, going by Buffer's data on Instagram posts. Even posting once or twice a week brought significantly more follower growth than weeks with no posts, and the gains kept coming as accounts posted more.
