In 2024, the power of TikTok is undeniable. In less than five years, the platform has grown immensely in popularity and become one of the most significant online marketing channels for brands, businesses, and influencers alike. 

Even more impressive is the fact that its growth isn’t projected to slow down anytime soon. In fact, it’s expected that the number of monthly active TikTok users will exceed 2.2 billion by 2027.

With this in mind, you may be eager to leverage TikTok and all its capabilities to the fullest extent. To do that, however, you’ll need to understand one key element: the TikTok algorithm. More specifically, how posting at the right times can boost your content in the algorithm and elevate your social media presence. 

Here, we walk you through everything you need to know about TikTok post times, including how to find the best times to post on TikTok and the benefits of identifying your ideal post times. 

Is there a best time to post on TikTok?

Although there is no hard rule when it comes to TikTok post times, there are guidelines you’ll want to consider to ensure you get the best results from your content. 

Another important thing to remember? These guidelines are different for everyone. While there may be general trends across certain demographics, your ideal posting times will depend largely on your unique audience and their usage behaviors (e.g. when they are most active on the app). 

It’s also important to remember that boosting your content in the TikTok algorithm is about more than when you post – it’s also about what you post, how often you post, and who you’re collaborating with (if applicable). In short, getting the best results from your TikTok content requires a holistic approach. 

However, if you’re just getting started on the platform or you’re interested in learning about broader time-based trends, we explore the overall best times to post on TikTok later in this guide.

When to post on TikTok? Best times to post on TikTok

As previously mentioned, the best times to post on TikTok will vary depending on your distinct follower base and their online behaviors. These behaviors and activity trends are influenced by several factors, such as gender, age, location, employment status, and more. 

For example, if the majority of your followers are women aged 25-35 who hold full-time, 9-to-5 jobs, they may be likelier to be active on the app in the evenings once they have finished work.

To effectively reach your target users, it’s important to familiarize yourself with who they are and how they behave on the app. We’ll provide a step-by-step guide on the metrics to assess in the What to analyze to find your best time to post on TikTok section.

On the other hand, there are general times that are best to post on TikTok across various niches and audiences. You may want to use these optimized TikTok post times when you’re getting started on the platform and/or need more time to gather data on your audience’s behaviors. 

For instance, as of December 2023, Influencer Marketing Hub reports that the best times to post on TikTok are those in the table below (in EST). 

3 reasons to find the best times to post your TikTok content

Again, while these general guidelines provide a helpful starting point on TikTok, the best way to maximize your results is to identify the ideal posting times for your particular audience. After all, in marketing, it is impossible to cater to all types of audiences – and social media marketing is no exception. 

Below, we take a look at three of the top benefits you can reap from finding your ideal TikTok post times.

1. It boosts your chances of getting on the For You page (FYP)

The FYP is the holy grail for brands and businesses on TikTok. It’s the section of the app most frequently visited, featuring curated content based on each user’s history, including their searches, popular audio, and hashtags they follow. 

By getting on the FYP, you’ll reach a wider TikTok audience and, in turn, increase your chances of engagement (e.g. likes, shares, comments). Plus, by accessing more users, you’re likely to attract new followers and increase brand awareness. 

2. It could save advertising dollars

Posting at the right time can also do wonders for your marketing budget. Because you’re posting at your optimized times, you’re improving your odds of getting views and engagement organically. As a result, you may not necessarily need to allocate as much of your marketing budget to TikTok ads. 

3. It could boost conversions

Finding and abiding by your ideal TikTok post times can also aid in increasing your conversions. Whether it’s increasing profile views or driving more traffic to your website, posting when your target users are online will help you grab their attention and achieve these objectives. 

How to find your own best times to post on TikTok

Finding your best TikTok post times is simple and seamless with the help of Sociality.io.

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:

1. Once you’ve logged into your Sociality.io account, head to the Analytics module.
2. At the top of the page, select your TikTok account and set the date range you would like to assess. Click Apply. 

3. Sociality.io will then generate your TikTok analytics for that period. 
4. Scroll down to the Online Followers section. 
5. Here, you will see a table outlining the days of the week and times of the day when your followers are most active on TikTok. The average number of online users during that period will be reflected, but the table also acts as a heat map (i.e. the darker the shade of the square, the more users are active during that period). 

What to analyze to find your best time to post on TikTok

While the heat map on Sociality.io is an excellent tool for identifying your best post times, you can dive even deeper into TikTok Analytics and gain further insights into your audience. Here are some of the most salient metrics to keep your eye on.

Where your audience is located

A key part of understanding who your audience is is knowing where they are. When you know where these users live, you’ll get a better sense of the issues that affect them, the things that matter to them, and how they engage with media. With this information, you can make content that relates to and resonates with these users on a deeper level.

To see which countries your users are from, you’ll want to check out the Country distribution metric on Sociality.io Analytics. Similarly, if you want to see which countries your viewers are from (i.e. the people who are watching your videos, but not necessarily following your account), take a look at the Viewer countries metric. 

How your content performs

Another great tactic for finding optimal TikTok post times is to cross-examine the publication time of past posts with engagement performance. You can see these metrics at a glance by heading to the Engagement distribution heat map on Sociality.io Analytics.

You may also want to take a closer look at your top-performing posts in terms of engagement. Then, manually assess if there are any trends in terms of posting times (e.g. were they all posted in the morning? Were they all posted on a particular day of the week?). 

To find your posts with the highest levels of engagement, scroll down to the Posts section at the bottom of the Analytics module. In the Sort dropdown menu, you’ll have the option to select engagement metrics. For example, you can sort from highest to lowest engagement rate or highest to lowest total engagements. 

Schedule your TikTok posts with Sociality.io

By now, you’ve hopefully identified your best times to post on TikTok. Now comes the fun part: posting! This process is made uber-convenient with the Sociality.io Publish module. By leveraging this tool, you can plan your content schedule well in advance and ensure that your posts are aligned.

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving world of TikTok, timing is everything – which is why it’s crucial to find your best post times. Allowing this data to guide your TikTok practices will ensure that you’re not only creating content but reaching users in a meaningful way.

Whether it’s the crack of dawn or the stroke of midnight, posting at the perfect time is one of the most effective steps in growing your audience and expanding your brand’s TikTok presence.