What is the best time to post on TikTok? After using this app for a couple of years, I’ve learned a few things:
1. There’s no best time to post on TikTok! It all depends on your individual strategy.
2. You shouldn’t obsess to find out when videos are most likely to go viral.
There are some apps like ViralWoot that claim to predict a video’s performance based on certain hashtags, audience, upload month.
The truth is there are so many factors involved in the success or failure of a video that it’s impossible for any app or algorithm to predict whether it will go viral. It’s like playing the lottery—you could win or lose.
Once I realized this, I stopped trying to find the “best time” and focused more on improving my own strategy. That’s why I came up with this blog — so we could learn together and figure out the best way to optimize videos before we hit the upload button.
TikTok is a platform that’s been growing in popularity rapidly, and it might be time for brands to start diving in.
TikTok is a platform that’s been growing in popularity rapidly, and it might be time for brands to start diving in.
The video app has been downloaded more than 1.5 billion times around the world, according to Sensor Tower. It reached 500 million users in China alone by October 2018, and it was downloaded more than 104 million times in India during 2018.
According to the latest reports, TikTok has now surpassed Twitter as the third-most popular social media app after Facebook and Instagram.
So what time of day should you be posting content on TikTok? The short answer is during the evening and weekends.
When should you post?
The best time to post is at 9 p.m
Your followers will be more engaged at certain times of the day, but it depends on your audience. If you’re posting for a younger audience — such as teens in high school — you might want to post closer to 3 p.m., since that’s when they’re getting out of school. Nowadays, that’s even more true, since many students are learning from home and are on social media during the day.
For a wider audience, your best bet is to post between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., since most adults are winding down and checking their phones or watching TV at this time.
The best day to post on is Thursday
As Instagram and Facebook have become saturated with content, some marketers have turned their attention to TikTok. Among the questions they ask: When’s the best day to post?
The answer: Thursday, according to a new report from Later (formerly Latergramme), which examined nearly 4 million posts from more than 200,000 user profiles. Posts published on a Thursday received the most engagement, with an average of 2,139 likes and 44 comments.
Friday and Saturday were the second- and third-best days for engagement on TikTok, respectively, while Monday was the worst.
“We found that posts published between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. receive more likes than any other time of day,” the report said. “And if you’re looking to score as many comments as possible, post during peak hours between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.”The best day to post on is Thursday.
Posting on a weekend will earn you 17% more views than posting on a weekday
To get the most eyes on your TikToks, post on weekends. That’s the conclusion of a report from later.com that analyzed more than 100 million TikTok posts from over 11 million users. The report found that posts made on a Saturday or Sunday received 17% more views and engagement than those posted during the week, with Sunday coming out on top (by about 1%).
The report also determined that posts made in the evening and night hours were best, with posts made at 6 PM Eastern Time being particularly effective. It’s likely that users are in a better mood and more likely to interact with content when they first get home from work or school rather than as they’re heading out the door in the morning.
Another key finding: Instagram influencers tend to earn 13% less engagement on their TikTok videos than regular users.
According to later.com, the most popular time to post on TikTok is between 9 AM and 10 AM ET on Saturdays.
Timing can help you get featured in the “For You” page
TikTok’s algorithm favors fresh content. Users who post at the right time have a better chance of appearing on the “For You” page. That page is where most users get their content, and if you’re featured there, you could get thousands of views in a short amount of time.
Should you follow TikTok’s advice?
TikTok has its own tips for posting, which it shares on its website. The company recommends posting as soon after your event as possible because that’s when people are most likely to see your content.
But others disagree with TikTok’s advice. Social-media marketing consultant Erika Cardinale told Insider that she doesn’t think timing makes much difference to TikTok users because they’re used to fast-paced content: “It’s more like Instagram stories.”
Cardinale also said that it’s important to be aware of what other TikTokers in your niche are doing: “If you’re seeing a lot of people post during rush hour, then post there too,” she said.
Timing Is Everything
The best time to post on TikTok is between 4:00 AM and 9:00 AM ET. This time frame is when your follower’s engagement rates are highest, so your posts are more likely to get likes and comments.
TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes what it believes is the most important content in a user’s feed. To do this, the app analyzes individual behavior and preferences to understand which types of content a user enjoys. The algorithm then shows users more of that type of content.
If you want to take advantage of the algorithm and grow your TikTok following, you need to know when your followers are most active so that you can post during those times. Here’s how you can find the best time to post on TikTok:
Determine the best times to post on TikTok using a third-party tool.
Use an app like Later (free for one social profile, or $9/month with a 14-day free trial for up to three social profiles) or Hootsuite (free for up to three social profiles, or $19/month with a 30-day free trial for up to 10 social profiles) to determine when your followers are most active on Tiktok
Posting at peak activity hours may increase your chances of getting more views, but there are other factors to consider.
Your content will be exposed to a wider audience if you post when TikTok users are most active. Though there isn’t a magic hour when all TikTokers are on their phones, posting during peak activity hours may increase your chances of getting more views, but there are other factors to consider.
If you want your video to reach the widest possible audience on TikTok, here’s what the data says:
Post at 9 p.m. Eastern time. TikTok users are most active in the evening, and 9 p.m. is the peak time for engagement on posts.
Don’t post between 3 and 4 a.m., when TikTok engagement is at its lowest point of the day.
Consider your audience’s time zone and schedule. If you have followers across multiple countries and continents, use an analytics tool that can tell you when your followers are online so you can post accordingly.
Conclusion
So, what does this all mean in practical terms? First and foremost, you need to remember that TikTok’s core audience is very different from what you may be accustomed to on other social media platforms, so don’t waste your time posting content for the other networks. Instead, put your focus on audience engagement.
Post fresh content that will be meaningful to your followers and try out a few different kinds of content – YouTube posts, memes, original footage, etc. Once you find something that works, stick with it! Oh, and if you have a business account – definitely pay attention to when your followers are most active. That way you can make sure your posts will hit their feeds at a time when they’re most likely to engage with YOU.
