Find the Best Time to Post on TikTok Without Sacrificing Authenticity
When determining when to post on TikTok, go beyond established guidelines. Despite their recognized effectiveness, aligning with your individuality is the core.
Nancy J. Hassler
Engagement Grows in front of Your Eyes with the Best Time to Post on TikTok
Every creator has the power to transform their passion into a thriving presence on TikTok. However, in the excitement of planning, preparing, and editing content, many overlook the crucial element of timing. Posting inconsistently can lead to unexpectedly low reach and leave you feeling confused about your efforts. But understanding the best times to post can unlock your potential and help your content shine!
Is There a Best Time to Post on TikTok?
When the questions of niche, direction, audience requests, features, equipment, and content format are resolved — or even after the material has been crafted — a dilemma arises: is there a best time to post on TikTok, and when is it? Despite the varying insights on possible options, clearly defined days and times serve as guidelines for content creators to maximize the post's impact, effectively hitting the nail on the head. Commonly highlighted as the best day for posting content on a key platform that has driven the dominance of vertical formats, Wednesday has proven effective in increasing engagement, especially at 5 PM, as well as an hour earlier and later.
The engagement tends to peak in the afternoon, making the optimal posting times 5 PM on Thursday and 4 PM on both Friday and Tuesday. Hold off on posting your creation on Monday and Sunday. At the beginning of the week, aim to wait until 7 PM. By the end of the weekend, engagement varies, peaking around 8 PM, which indicates a typical recovery after a decline. Paradoxically, the worst days to make it onto TikTok's For You Page (FYP) are at the end of the week:
- Friday: Engagement drops at the end of the workweek due to users' weekend plans. However, if you choose to publish on this day, consider posting in the morning (around 5 AM) or afternoon (between 1 PM and 3 PM), while being prepared for lower activity.
- Saturday: The shift from work routines to personal matters, entertainment, or time spent with loved ones marks the most significant dip in user engagement on TT throughout the week. Despite the quiet activity levels on Saturdays, the best time to post remains at 5 PM.
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For What It Signifies
By aligning with TikTok’s publication algorithm and posting at optimal times throughout the week, creators can significantly increase the visibility and reach of their content. Understanding the perks and modus operandi of the good times to post on TikTok substantially increases the chances of landing on the For You Page — the platform's core and a coveted goal for all creators. It leads to immediate engagement through likes, comments, and shares, signaling the value of your content to social media algorithms and promoting its reach.
What Does It Depend On?
While knowing when to post remains crucial, understanding the factors that may influence timing will help you optimize your schedule and maximize engagement metrics, regardless of the day of the week. The target audience leads this list, as different demographic groups and locations can significantly affect engagement on your profile. The activity patterns of younger users may not align with those of older demographic groups, making a lack of this knowledge a significant drawback when planning an effective content schedule.
In addition to age groups, the audience can vary by geographic location, influencing subscribers' online or offline status. This means the best posting times in Pacific Time (PT) may not align with Eastern Time (ET) or other zones. Moreover, the factors that define the ideal posting window must consider the content itself. Different niches and formats have varying objectives, which create distinct time intervals. Industry-specific timing factors also come into play and vary by sector. For B2B fields, business hours are the most suitable, while wellness and healthy living content is most effective in the morning and evening to boost viewer motivation.
Weekly Schedule Example
Regular posting simultaneously helps establish a consistent presence on the platform. This consistency lays a strong foundation for building a loyal audience that knows when to expect new content and can capitalize on that expectation.
Instagram Story Size and Dimensions
This headline has recently captured widespread attention due to revolutionary changes in Instagram's structure. The social network has moved away from the long-established traditional 1:1 grid layout, taking a step toward a vertical format that guides new opportunities. Although the connection between the best time to post on TikTok and content size may not seem clear at first, both factors are vital for maximizing engagement on the platform.
With a fixed size of 1080 x 1920 pixels and a 9:16 aspect ratio, short videos rapidly gain momentum while spreading across an increasing number of platforms. Despite its fast-paced nature, TikTok videos can last up to 10 minutes, while other social media platforms significantly limit the available duration. The relationship between TikTok posts' timing and size metrics is as follows:
- Both aspects are integral to an overall strategy, and their proper alignment leads to greater reach and engagement, ultimately enhancing visibility on the platform.
- Understanding when your audience is most active and posting short videos from top TikTok content categories can yield significant results.
- Available analytics help creators and marketers by tracking which types of content perform best at specific times, allowing for an optimized schedule.
A lack of knowledge about TikTok sizes and dimensions can hinder optimal posting times and potentially require additional editing if mistakes occur. When preparing vertical content, it’s essential to consider the "safe zone": avoid placing key visuals in the top 10% of the screen and keep the bottom 20% clear.
Why Should You Customize Your Social Media Posting Schedule for TikTok?
While increasing visibility on TikTok and maximizing engagement rates are top priorities, tailoring the posting schedule will simplify and accelerate promotion efforts, instilling an understanding of the platform's secrets. Despite the distinction between the worst, optimal, and best days for posting, building a strategy involves many more aspects that expand as one absorbs information and content delivery approaches.
Fortify Your Strategy with Intentional Planning
Planning posts in advance is key to a successful strategy on any social media platform. It ensures that publications occur at optimal times when audience engagement is highest. This approach aligns your strategy with marketing goals and frees time for other essential tasks. Additionally, it allows for batch content creation without sacrificing quality or reach.
Flexibility Across Devices
Among the primary advantages is the flexibility offered across different devices, especially considering the limitations of TikTok's native scheduling on desktop. In contrast, using Sprout Social and other tools allows for simultaneous scheduling from mobile platforms. This capability enables you to maintain a consistent publishing schedule regardless of location, delighting your audience with timely posts even when you're on the go.
Room for Experiments
The constructed publication schedule, which encompasses a wide range of available TT formats, allows you to remain flexible with your content while continuously experimenting. This approach helps you discover the materials that resonate most with your audience and identify the optimal times for publication. At the same time, it enables you to adapt to trends while balancing this with your unique style and maintaining the authenticity that is always valued.
How to Schedule TikTok Posts Effectively
TikTok has an internal video scheduler designed to help you plan your posts. However, it’s essential to pay attention to specific requirements and nuances. First, you need to change your account type in the settings to either Business or Creator, as this feature is only available for those account types. Additionally, keep in mind that it can only be accessed from a browser.
Uploaded videos must meet the following requirements: a duration of up to 10 minutes, a size of less than 10 GB, and a resolution of at least 120 pixels. You can schedule the desired date and time for publication up to 10 days in advance, with the time zone corresponding to your computer's settings.
Know Your Target Audience Inside Out
Analyzing your followers' demographics is a treasure trove of knowledge and a crucial step toward achieving various goals, including determining the best posting times. Business accounts can explore key information about their audience's age, gender, location, and interests, allowing them to tailor content that resonates most for maximum engagement. The TikTok Audience Insights feature, integrated into TikTok Ads Manager, enhances this data by providing multidimensional information about your audience, beginning with age. Even the minor details contribute to forming a complete picture of your audience. This allows you to assess their active hours and potential behaviors, ultimately enhancing your understanding of how to grow your TikTok account. Geographic targeting is integral to this analysis, as understanding the locations of your followers enables you to tailor your efforts to specific regions.
Consistency Is Above All
Maintained consistency serves as the foundation for building a loyal community. The ideal posting frequency is between 1 and 3 times a day, signaling to TikTok's algorithm that you are an active creator. Mixing different types of content encourages your audience to discover what you have prepared for today.
Stay Updated
Let go of the idea of standing still. Today, the number of incredible technologies is skyrocketing, along with the abundance of ideas and the confusion about how to use them effectively. In addition to subscribing to the official TikTok community, keep an eye on trends and influencers. Expanding beyond TikTok will also benefit you as a content creator, as the digital space is filled with exciting innovations, like the recently launched Loca App, which offers a host of surprises.
What to Pay Attention to When Adjusting Strategies
While the recommended frequency includes several daily posts, quality always outweighs quantity. The key to success is balancing content that resonates with your audience and maintaining high quality. Analyzing audience analytics will help you understand when to post on TikTok.
Remember that uploading videos is just half the job. Pay attention to audience feedback and keep engagement in focus. Connect with your audience through comments and other means to increase visibility and stimulate interactions. Regularly test different times and frequencies to determine your ideal posting strategy, and track the performance of your posts, preparing for adjustments as needed.
What Other Tools Come in Handy
In addition to the built-in video scheduler, numerous tools focused on scheduling and analytics can help you find the best time to post on TikTok. A prominent example is Hootsuite, an all-in-one solution that provides powerful tools for managing content across various social media platforms. With Hootsuite, you can upload your video and select your desired publishing time, allowing the platform to handle the rest. Furthermore, the analytics offered by Hootsuite can enhance your chances of appearing on the For You page.
Buffer, a solution to streamline your workflow, supports TikTok for scheduling posts. Later, another tool, which provides features for managing posts, including comments, analytics, and auto-posting, was designed explicitly for TikTok. Providing clarity through well-defined goals and understanding how to go viral on TikTok can guide your strategy in the right direction. Additionally, incorporating a content calendar makes the publishing process even more organized.
Awareness of specific time slots for posting, along with influencing factors, tools, and strategies, can significantly enhance your TikTok reach. While exploring these nuances, you can visit local venues and showcase your creativity by posting reviews on the cutting-edge Loca App. Have you tried it? Hurry up and claim your rewards!