Hey there! Are you looking to step up your TikTok game in 2024? Finding the best times to post is so important for getting your videos seen.
With over 1 billion monthly users now on TikTok, it’s more competitive than ever to stand out. You need an optimized posting strategy.
In this detailed guide, we’ll explore everything that goes into finding your ideal TikTok posting times. I’ll break down exactly when to post for maximum views, followers, and engagement.
Let’s dive in!
Contents
- Why Timing Matters on TikTok
- When are TikTok Users Most Active?
- Analyze Your TikTok Analytics
- How Posting Schedule Impacts Reach
- Optimizing Your Upload Times
- How Content Type Plays a Role
- Should You Post in The Morning or at Night?
- How Time Zones Impact Your Strategy
- Performance By Day of the Week
- Should You Post on Saturdays?
- Key Takeaways for Finding Your Best TikTok Posting Times
Why Timing Matters on TikTok
Timing is everything if you want to beat the TikTok algorithm. Here’s why it’s so crucial to post at the right times if you want to find success on TikTok:
Maximizing Your Reach
TikTok is more competitive than ever. Over 100 million videos are viewed per day on the platform.
Posting when your audience is most active gives you the best shot at getting views. You can easily get buried if you’re uploading content when few people are scrolling through feeds.
Increased Engagement
Followers are much more likely to like, share, and comment on your videos if they see them at peak times when they’re already using TikTok.
Higher Rankings in the Algorithm
Like all social platforms, TikTok uses complex AI to recommend content to users in their For You feeds.
Uploading when traffic is high signals relevancy to the algorithm, boosting your rankings.
As you can see, timing is hugely influential in determining whether the TikTok algorithm surfaces your content.
But when exactly should you be posting to optimize all these factors? Let’s break it down.
When are TikTok Users Most Active?
Understanding when people are on TikTok is step one to finding the best times to post in 2024.
While usage patterns vary across demographics, some best practice windows consistently emerge.
Here are the peak activity times on TikTok each day:
Time of Day | Peak Activity Spans |
---|---|
Early Morning | 7 AM – 9 AM |
Late Morning | 10 AM – 11 AM |
Lunchtime | Noon – 1 PM |
Afternoon | 3 PM – 5 PM |
Early Evening | 5 PM – 7 PM |
Late Evening | 8 PM – 11 PM |
As you can see, usage jumps up in the morning as people wake up and check TikTok over breakfast or during their commute.
Engagement also climbs in the evening as school and work ends. People load TikTok to unwind before bed.
Now let’s dive into your analytics to customize this further.
Analyze Your TikTok Analytics
While general usage data is helpful, your TikTok analytics should be your guiding light for identifying optimal posting times.
Here are the key reports to study:
Follower Demographics
Check where your existing followers are located. This indicates which time zones may be most active for your channel.
Pay attention to age groups too. Teens likely have different peak hours than professionals.
Content Performance
Analyze when your individual videos get the most traction. Look for patterns between high-performing videos and posting times/days.
Traffic Sources
See if you get more views from people’s For You pages or Followers feeds. This indicates whether to focus more on discovery or follower loyalty.
Followers Activity
This shows exactly when your current audience is most active on TikTok each day. The more data you have, the clearer the patterns.
By combining your audience’s habits with general usage data, you can hone in on your ideal times to post.
How Posting Schedule Impacts Reach
Getting your posting times right is arguably the most powerful lever for growth on TikTok.
Check out how upload schedules can expand or limit your potential reach:
As you can see, just small tweaks to when you post can drastically grow or shrink the percentage of your followers that will see the content.
Optimizing Your Upload Times
Once you’ve dug into your analytics, it’s time to set an optimized posting schedule.
Here are some best practices to follow:
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Post Multiple Times Per Day – Spreading uploads across peak hours for different time zones maximizes exposure.
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Be Consistent – Pick set times and stick to them. This trains users to habitually check for your new videos.
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Consider Weekends – Don’t just post weekdays or you’ll miss key weekend usage surges.
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Use Scheduling Tools – Apps like Later help you easily plan TikTok uploads in advance and keep your schedule consistent.
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Continually Test Times – Keep adjusting your schedule based on performance data to stay agile as trends evolve.
Take the time to get your timing right, and you’ll see the payoff in more content views, follows, and engagement.
How Content Type Plays a Role
Posting schedule isn’t the only factor. You also need to match content formats to times of day for optimal performance.
For example, here are some content types that tend to work best during different daily windows:
As you can see, informational content tends to thrive in the mornings when people are hungry to learn. Funny and entertaining videos suit nighttime escapism.
Look at both your high-performing content and audience habits to select formats that align with your posting times.
Should You Post in The Morning or at Night?
Is it better to post in the A.M. or P.M.? The right answer depends on your audience.
Here are some general upsides for both time frames:
Morning Advantages
- Catch commuters looking to kill time
- Less competition with fewer videos posted
- Viewers may be more responsive first thing
Night Advantages
- Capitalize on pre-bed browsing spikes
- Dark mode viewing makes night comfortable
- Last chance to attract procrastinators
I recommend testing a mix of morning and evening times to determine what performs best for your channel. Spreading uploads across the day diversifies your reach.
How Time Zones Impact Your Strategy
With a global TikTok audience, time zones massively influence posting schedules.
If most of your views come from North America, peak times will look quite different than if you have a primarily European audience.
Here are some tips for factoring in time zone differences:
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Analyze Your Top Viewer Bases – Check your analytics to identify where your views primarily come from.
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Localize Your Content – Make region-specific videos and target corresponding time zones.
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Stagger Broad Content – For globally appealing posts, stagger uploads to reach more zones.
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Use Time Zone Planning Tools – Sites like Worldtimebuddy help visualize overlapping schedules.
While tailoring times, don’t fully ignore any zones where you have existing followers. You want to keep their engagement up too.
Performance By Day of the Week
In additional to time of day, the specific weekdays or weekends you post on can impact views.
For example, here are the average TikTok video view rates by day:
Day | Average View Rate |
---|---|
Monday | 10% |
Tuesday | 18% |
Wednesday | 15% |
Thursday | 19% |
Friday | 13% |
Saturday | 14% |
Sunday | 11% |
As you can see, Tuesday and Thursday tend to attract the most views, while Friday, Saturday, and Monday trail behind.
Confirm patterns for your own account, but Thursdays may deserve extra content focus to capitalize on that natural spike.
Should You Post on Saturdays?
The jury is out on whether to post on Saturdays. Some drawbacks include:
- Teens have more social weekend plans over scrolling TikTok for hours
- Irregular weekend usage makes timing optimization tricky
- More recreational users are active weekends, potentially skewing analytics
However, you may still find Saturday success with the right strategy:
- Tailor weekend content to casual usage – challenges, playlists, laidback videos
- Focus on afternoon and early evening based on analytics
- Monitor performance data – if low Saturday engagement, adjust your approach
I recommend dipping your toes in the Saturday waters and seeing if it delivers results for your channel. You can always pull back if needed.
Key Takeaways for Finding Your Best TikTok Posting Times
Optimizing your TikTok posting times takes effort, but it’s one of the most high-impact ways to grow your channel.
Here are some of the key tips we’ve covered:
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Analyze Your Audience Analytics – Your followers‘ habits should dictate your schedule over general trends. Look at traffic sources and active hours.
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Mind the Time Zones – With a global platform, you need to diversify times to reach different countries.
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Test Multiple Times – Spread uploads over mornings, afternoons, and evenings to maximize exposure.
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Match Content to Times – Post certain formats when users are most receptive, like humorous videos in the evening.
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Stay Flexible – Continually check performance and tweak your times as needed. Consistent testing is key.
Put these tips into action, and you’ll be on your way to TikTok success and expanded reach in 2024. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!