TikTok Guides

When Is The Best Time to Post on TikTok?

When is the best time to post on TikTok? Is there even such thing as a "best time?" In this article, we explore different options for finding your best posting schedule and how to track your analytics for TikTok success.

I know you want to hear there’s a magic posting hour.

I could say 11:24 EST is the universal launchpad to going viral on TikTok. But that would be silly.

Even if that were somehow true for one particular account, each creator’s audience is unique and user patterns change as the social media landscape evolves.

So when do you post?

There’s a best time for you, but this takes time and testing to track, as you grow your following and learn how your particular corner of TikTok acts
Large-scale analyses have noted some potential trends that can be a good starting template for your schedule

Read along to learn what the data says about what times and which days and how often to post—plus how to find your account analytics.

Does It Matter When You Post a TikTok?

Yes... to a degree.

A good rule of thumb to follow on social media is that engagement breeds engagement. On TikTok, the more likes and shares and comments your video has, the more likely it is to show up on another user’s FYP (which is where you have to be to go viral).

Your video will fare better when the people who will engage with your content—aka your target audience—are most active. And there are times when they are commenting and sharing and times when they aren't. Like when they're at work or asleep.

It sounds elementary, but it's important to bear in mind. If your target audience is in a much different time zone than you, you'll need to adjust your posting schedule.

Of course, this isn't the same from one audience to the next, but user activity does ebb and flow throughout a day and a week, and leveraging that can show in your follower count.

Broad TikTok Engagement Trends

General data says…a lot and nothing at all.

As of spring 2022 when Influencer Marketing Hub analyzed 100,000 posts, they found the following posting times (note: Eastern Standard Time) met peak engagement:

Monday at 6AM, 10AM, and 10PM. Tuesday at 2AM, 4AM, and 9AM. Wednesday at 7AM, 8AM, or 11PM. Thursday at 9AM, noon, or 7PM. Friday at 5AM, 1PM, or 3PM.Saturday at 11AM, 7PM, or 8PM. Sunday at 7AM, 8AM, or 4PM.

I know. Those times are all over the place. Some trends do emerge, though.

In general, it seems there’s morning traffic and evening traffic Mondays through Wednesdays, and more midday activity Thursday through Sunday.

Social media management platform Hootsuite analyzed 30,000 posts and determined Thursday at 7pm (note: Pacific Standard Time) was The Singular Best Time for engagement. Here’s their daily breakdown:

Monday at 9AM, 10PM, and 11PM. Tuesday at 8AM, 9AM, and 10AM. Wednesday at 6AM, 7AM, and 8AM. Thursday at 7PM, 8PM, and 9PM. Friday at 2PM, 3PM, and 4PM. Saturday at 10AM, 11AM, and noon. Sunday at 7AM, 8AM, and 4PM.

Digital advertising agency Advertisemint claims that in any particular time zone, mornings between 6AM-9AM and midday from 11AM-2PM are the most reliable windows. They reason that people are active when they’re starting their day and when they’re taking a lunch break.

Social media strategy blog Later, with around 55k followers as of this post, backs up that lunch break model. They determined their particular peak engagement hit reliably around 1pm PST on weekdays, with an extra surge on Thursdays and Fridays.

What's the Best Day to Post a TikTok?

Data from the above sources suggests there may be some extra heat to Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

What's the Worst Time to Post a TikTok?

3:30pm.

I'm joking.

From the above data, you might want to avoid posting during the middle of the day Monday through Wednesday and keep steer clear of late night posting on the weekends.

What Does TikTok Say The Best Time to Post Is?

TikTok doesn't offer formal assertions on peak engagement time, but here's what they do recommend:

Post 1 to 4 times a day to test out your platform and see what works best for you, activity-wise
Posting 3 to 5 times a week “has proven to be successful for steady growth.”

When Is Your Personal Best Time to Post a TikTok?

Mysterious as the TikTok algorithm may be, the app isn’t trying to hide your account’s analytics from you. Checking your individual account’s analytics is the best way to pinpoint an optimal posting time for engagement.

TikTok semi-recently opened analytics up to users from any type of account, so all you have to do is (on mobile) click the hamburger menu in the top right corner of your profile, hit Creator tools, then Analytics.

You'll see info on follower activity, video engagement, where followers found your video, and more.

This is where you'll find a detailed charting of when exactly people engaged with your posts.

What Do You Do With TikTok Analytics?

Start by posting frequently and at different times.
Track the variation in engagement. Organize relevant data points for yourself—make a spreadsheet, if you like that kind of thing.
Act on the patterns in your data (e.g. looks like Tuesday morning gets lots of engagement, so I'll post every Tuesday morning).
Come back every month and do this again. Remember that the algorithm updates, user habits evolve, and your audience will grow and change over time.

Now that you know about timing on TikTok, get started on your next video with free resources like Kapwing’s TikTok templates.

You'll also find inspiration and all the latest TikTok news on this dedicated TikTok resources page. For even more creator news, tips, and resources, join our newsletter.

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