Compared to other social media platforms, TikTok can feel like there’s some magic at work.
A cool dance, a funny phrase, a new song—any of these can turn from obscure to mega-viral overnight, in ways that are hard to predict but delightful to watch. However, if you’re a creator or a business, hoping for a little luck and magic isn’t a very good place to build a social media strategy from. There is, in fact, some science and data to what can seem like viral chaos.
A TikTok strategy—especially one for a brand, not a celebrity—takes legwork. Finding the best time to post is one piece of that strategy, and one of the simpler aspects to figure out.
Let’s dive in.
What the data says about the best time to post on TikTok
If we’re looking at TikTok as a whole, research has been done to find what the best times to post are, and they vary by day of the week.
Influencer Marketing Hub analyzed more than 100,000 TikTok posts to look for engagement trends and determined these are the best times to post every day, all in Eastern time:
- Monday at 6 a.m., 10 a.m., and 10 p.m.
- Tuesday at 2 a.m., 4 a.m., and 9 a.m.
- Wednesday at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., and 11 p.m.
- Thursday at 9 a.m., 12 a.m., and 7 p.m.
- Friday at 5 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.
- Saturday at 11 a.m., 7 p.m., and 8 p.m.
- Sunday at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., and 4 p.m.
In this study, the highest engagements overall were on Tuesday at 9 a.m., Thursday at 12 a.m., and Friday at 5 a.m.
The huge caveat here is that to make these numbers useful for you, you need to consider your viewers’ own time zone and location.
This data is certainly interesting and not a wrong place to start when first crafting your TikTok strategy. However, it won’t be long before you can get personalized analytics, and that’s when you’ll find out what’s truly the best time to post on TikTok for your specific account. For more insights, you can explore resources like recharge TikTok, which offer additional guidance and tips for optimizing your content and engagement on the platform.
How to find the best time to post on TikTok for your business
There’s a method in the TikTok app for finding when your audience is the most active, and we’ll walk you through the steps to get there.
Step one: Make a business account
First, you must ensure you have a Pro or Business account on the app. It’s free and simple to switch. Go to Settings and Privacy, then Manage Account, and tap Switch to Business Account. This will give you access to analytics, as well as other features.
Step two: Open your analytics dashboard
Next, you’ll want to find your account’s analytics. You can get there by clicking the menu at the top right of your profile screen, clicking Creator Tools, then Analytics.
That opens TikTok’s analytics dashboard, which offers all kinds of insight into your account and your followers.
Step three: Find your follower activity
If we’re looking for the best time to post on TikTok, you’ll want to find the Followers tab at the top. From there, scroll down and see a pane called “Follower activity.”
This is what it looks like on mobile.
This pane will show when your followers are most active.
As you can see above, the data shows that the activity of the followers of this account ramp up through the day and peak at 10 p.m. UTC. TikTok always displays these times in UTC, so you must convert to your local time zone. For this account, for example, 10 p.m. UTC converts to 5 p.m. ET. From that, we can determine that this account should aim to post around that time for the best chance of high engagement.
You can also find this information on a desktop at www.tiktok.com/analytics. This gives a more detailed view, like below. You can also download your data from the desktop dashboard.
This is invaluable information because it shows when users are generally active on TikTok and when your followers are active.
This matters because your followers and your customers may have different peak activity times compared to others. If your target audience and customer base are parents, for example, their activity might peak in the evening when they have more free time. If your target is students, their activity might peak after school hours.
This is the method Shopify’s TikTok team uses to determine the best time to post. Our community of entrepreneurs is most active in the late afternoon but, again, this might be different for you.
The dashboard will also show where your followers are located. If, for example, you’re based in the US but notice you have a lot of followers in the UK, you may want to split your posts to target different time zones. You can schedule your TikTok videos to overcome the time difference and post outside your working hours.
Step four: Crosscheck your activity on individual TikTok posts
Seeing when your followers are most active gives you a good idea of when they’re most likely to engage with your content through likes, comments, and watch time. Navigate to the Content tab in your analytics dashboard to drill down further.
From here, you can see data on individual posts from the last seven days, including total play time, average watch time, how many people were reached, and whether they found the video via your profile or the For You page.
This also includes the exact time and date you posted your video. By combining your follower analytics with this data, you can figure out if your strategy for when you post on TikTok is working. You may even find that specific content does best at a particular time of day compared to others. Again, it’s all highly individual, so digging into your dashboard is critical.
Your priority is just to start posting
As you can see, the analytics dashboard is much more personal and specific than the Influencer Marketing Hub study and can offer excellent guidance for your TikTok strategy.
The downside here is that this information doesn’t start to get detailed until you’ve reached 100 followers, and, of course, you have to have posted content to get any analytics at all. You’ll start off with some insight, but building your audience is critical for the best analytics. As a rule, many TikTok content creators enjoy posting travel and hiking videos to attract more and more followers and get analytics. That might be a tour du Mont Blanc or any walking holiday in Europe that can be informative and attractive for their audience at the same time.
If you’re starting a TikTok account for your business, the most important thing is simply to start posting.
TikTok recommends that businesses post one to four times daily and focus on authentic, engaging content. You can check out our TikTok marketing guide for tips on creating the best content for TikTok.
The more you post, the more data, feedback, and followers you’ll gain, and the more you’ll be able to pinpoint the best time to post on TikTok.
Use Third-Party Data As A Jumping Off Point
When considering the best time to post on TikTok, utilizing third-party data can be a valuable starting point. It serves as an initial guide to shape your content strategy and gain insight into potential optimal posting times. This data, although not personalized to your specific target audience, offers general trends and patterns that can inform your posting schedule.
However, it’s important to remember that relying solely on third-party data may not provide the most accurate information for your particular audience. To truly determine the best time to post on TikTok, personalized analytics are essential. These analytics provide you with detailed data specific to your content and target audience, giving you a comprehensive understanding of when they are most active and engaged.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the best time to post on TikTok may differ from other social media platforms. As each platform has unique audience demographics and content preferences, it’s essential to examine your analytics across multiple platforms. This enables you to identify the optimal posting times specifically for each platform and adjust your content strategy accordingly.
By using third-party data as a starting point and subsequently delving into personalized analytics, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s behavior on TikTok. This knowledge ultimately allows you to make informed decisions regarding when to post your content for maximum visibility and engagement.
Why does my TikTok get no views?
There could be several reasons why your TikTok videos are not getting any views. Here are some possible factors to consider:
1. Content Inappropriateness: TikTok has community guidelines in place to ensure a safe and positive environment for its users. If your videos contain content that violates these guidelines, such as nudity, hate speech, or violence, they may not be recommended to other users, leading to lower view counts.
2. Low Quality Production: The quality of your videos plays a significant role in capturing viewers’ attention. Videos that are poorly shot, have bad lighting, or low-quality audio may not be as engaging to users. Investing some time in improving the production value of your content can help attract more views.
3. Absence of Relevant Hashtags: Hashtags are essential for increasing the discoverability of your videos. By including relevant hashtags related to your content, you improve the chances of appearing in searches and reaching a wider audience. Avoid using irrelevant or overused hashtags, as they may not effectively promote your videos.
4. Timing of Postings: Consider the timing of your video uploads. If you post when the majority of your followers are inactive or busy, your videos may not receive optimal engagement. Understanding your audience’s time zones and the analytics provided by TikTok can help you identify the best times to post your content.
5. Lack of Engagement: Building an engaged follower base requires actively participating on the platform. Take the time to engage with other users by liking, commenting, and sharing their content. Respond to comments on your own videos, as this helps to foster a sense of community and encourages others to engage with your content in return.
6. Limited Visibility: TikTok’s algorithm determines which users are shown specific content. It’s possible that your videos may have limited visibility, being shown to only a specific audience rather than a larger user base. Continuously creating high-quality content, engaging with others, and attracting more followers can improve the visibility of your videos over time.
Take a holistic approach to address these potential reasons, focusing on both the quality and promotion of your content, as well as engaging with the TikTok community. By doing so, you can increase the chances of your TikTok videos receiving more views.
