VidovaHow often should a business post Reels and TikToks? (2026 data)
How many Reels and TikToks a week a business should post, from Buffer studies of 2.1 million Instagram posts and 11.4 million TikToks, plus a weekly plan you can keep.
Vidova teamLast updated
The short answer
Post 3 to 5 times a week on Instagram and 2 to 5 times a week on TikTok. Buffer's study of 2.1 million Instagram posts found that 3 to 5 posts a week more than doubled follower growth compared with 1 or 2. Its study of 11.4 million TikToks found that 2 to 5 posts a week gave up to 17% more views per post than one. More posts help, with smaller gains at each step.
Key takeaways
- Instagram: going from 1 or 2 posts a week to 3 to 5 more than doubled follower growth in Buffer's model.
- TikTok: 2 to 5 posts a week. More posts raise the ceiling for a breakout video more than they lift the typical one.
- One 30-minute shoot can give a week of videos. Plan the shoot around the cuts you need.
How many Reels a week to grow on Instagram
Buffer analyzed 2.1 million feed posts from 102,000 Instagram accounts and published the results in August 2025. Feed posts include Reels, photos and carousels. Stories were not part of the study. Buffer's data scientist compared each account with itself over time, so large accounts did not skew the result.
| Posts per week | Follower growth rate in Buffer's model | Reach per post, compared with 1 to 2 posts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | +0.12% | Baseline |
| 3 to 5 | +0.26% | About 12% more |
| 6 to 9 | +0.44% | About 18% more |
| 10 or more | +0.66% | About 24% more |
Buffer's advice from the data is 3 to 5 posts a week for steady growth, and at least 1 to 2 to avoid stalling. Hootsuite's guide from April 2025 gives the same 3 to 5 for Instagram. It also measured what businesses did in the first quarter of 2025: they averaged 9.3 Instagram posts a week.
The study shows a pattern across many accounts. It does not promise growth for one account. The first step, from 1 or 2 posts to 3 to 5, gives the largest jump in reach per post.
How often a business should post on TikTok
Buffer's TikTok study covers 11.4 million posts from more than 150,000 accounts and was published in October 2025. It used the same method of comparing each account with itself.
| Posts per week | Median views per post | Views of the top 10% of posts | Views per post, compared with 1 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 489 | 3,722 | Baseline |
| 2 to 5 | 506 | 6,983 | Up to 17% more |
| 6 to 10 | 487 | 10,092 | Up to 29% more |
| 11 or more | 459 | 14,401 | Up to 34% more |
The typical post stayed near 500 views at every frequency. The top of the range grew: the post at the 90th percentile went from 3,722 views at one post a week to 14,401 at 11 or more. More posts give you more chances at a video that takes off. Buffer's advice is 2 to 5 posts a week. Hootsuite suggests 3 to 5, and found that businesses averaged 3.7 TikTok posts a week in early 2025.
What Instagram and TikTok say about posting frequency
TikTok's Creator Academy article on posting cadence, updated in July 2026, says there is no single answer for every account, but “success cases show that publishers who post multiple times a day experience higher video views and exposure on the For You feed.” Its advice: “We suggest setting a daily post target you can consistently hit and planning your content around that goal.” TikTok's help page on growing an audience says to upload high-quality content on a regular basis.
Instagram does not publish a number. Its creators page lists what helps a reel's reach, such as a resolution of at least 720p and at least 30 frames per second, and a hook in the first 3 seconds. Its list of what hurts reach includes third-party watermarks, copies of other people's reels and reels over 3 minutes.
Instagram's trial reels address the fear of posting too often. When it launched them, Instagram said creators had told it they feel nervous about posting too much to their followers. A trial reel goes to people who do not follow you first. See Instagram trial reels explained.
A weekly plan a small business can keep
The numbers above point to 3 to 5 videos a week. Most small businesses can keep that pace when they film once and edit once a week. Here is a plan for three new videos posted to both apps, plus two cuts for TikTok only.
| Day | Video | Length | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Before and after of one job | 8 to 10 seconds | Reels and TikTok |
| Tuesday | Monday's video with a different first shot | 8 to 10 seconds | TikTok |
| Wednesday | One tip or one answer to a customer question, with captions | 20 to 40 seconds | Reels and TikTok |
| Thursday | The best moment from the shoot, slowed down | 6 to 8 seconds | TikTok |
| Friday | The product or offer of the week | 15 seconds | Reels and TikTok |
Post at the times your analytics show. Our guide to the best time to post Reels and TikToks shows how to find them. If a week gets busy, keep Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Three good posts do more than five rushed ones.
How one shoot becomes five videos
Film once a week for about 30 minutes. Hold the phone upright and shoot short clips of 5 to 10 seconds, each with one action. This shot list covers the plan above.
- The job before you start, from a fixed spot.
- Your hands at work, filmed close, three or four times.
- The finished result from the same spot as the first shot.
- You or a staff member answering one customer question, filmed at chest height.
- The product or offer on its own, in good light.
- One moment worth slowing down: a pour, a spray, a cut or a lift.
Then ask for all five cuts at once. Vidova's agent cuts them from the same clips, and you can change any cut in plain words or on the timeline. Vidova saves versions of a project, so an earlier cut stays available while you change the next one.
From these clips, make five vertical videos for this week. 1: a 9-second before and after that opens on the finished glass. 2: the same before and after with the spray as the first shot. 3: my answer to “How long does the coating last?” with pauses cut and word-by-word captions. 4: the spray hitting the glass in slow motion, 7 seconds, as a loop. 5: a 15-second promo that ends on “10% off this week” and our phone number. Keep all text inside the area Reels and TikTok leave clear.
This is an example brief for a glass coating service. Replace the question, the offer and the words with yours.
Plan this week's videos
Pick the five slots, film the shot list and make the cuts in one sitting. You can start free. Paid plans start at $19 a month, remove the watermark and export up to 4K at 60 fps.
Sources
- Buffer: How often should you post on Instagram, 2.1 million posts (August 2025)
- Buffer: How often should you post on TikTok, 11.4 million posts (October 2025)
- Hootsuite: How often to post on social media (April 2025)
- TikTok Creator Academy: Posting cadence best practices (July 2026)
- TikTok Help Center: How to grow your audience
- Instagram for Creators: How to grow
- Instagram for Creators: Trial reels (December 2024)
