TikTok is one of the most important channels right now, for brands, influencers, and other content creators to reach new and engaged audiences. In fact, it is the sixth most popular social media platform, with over 1 billion monthly active users! Given this, knowing the best time to post on TikTok is crucial to growing your presence. ⏰
While it’s nearly impossible to pinpoint exact and foolproof TikTok upload times that will work for everyone, we’ve done our best to compile a comprehensive guide to help you hone your TikTok business strategy.
Let's dive in…
When is the Best Time to Post on TikTok?
- Tuesdays 9 AM
- Thursdays 12 AM
- Fridays 5 AM
Facebook may still be the biggest platform by active users; but the average time per month users spend on TikTok is actually higher than they spend on Facebook 🤯.
TikTok usage is tied with YouTube at 23 hours per month (and in fact, it’s eked out a small lead, at 23 hours and 28 minutes compared to YouTube’s 23 hours and 9 minutes.)
Want more stats? Check out the Global Digital Report for over 400 pages of digital marketing and social media data, take a look at general social media statistics, YouTube statistics, TikTok stats, and Twitter statistics!
Because TikTok is used in such capacity worldwide, brands can have good luck using TikTok post times that are calibrated to Eastern Standard Time. This way, you can capture people during waking hours, in top TikTok usage countries across the globe.
For example, 6am ET is 7pm in China. Meaning if you play your cards right, you can get in front of early morning scrollers as well as dinnertime scrollers. Talk about two birds with one stone!
The top times to post on TikTok for maximum engagement, from Influencer Marketing Hub, are:
- Tuesdays 9 AM
- Thursdays 12 AM
- Fridays 5 AM
If you don’t believe your intended audience is on TikTok at 12 AM on Thursdays, Hootsuite also ran a comprehensive experiment, analyzing 30,000 posts. They concluded that 7 PM on Thursdays was the optimal time to post on TikTok.
The best TikTok post time fluctuates of course — according to industry, seasonality, and your specific business goals and location. But based on the analysis that led to the times laid out here, all these times are worth testing in your TikTok marketing.
Best Days to Post on TikTok
Posting to TikTok throughout the week will soon give you insights into what content performs the best. According to the study done by Influencer Marketing Hub, these are optimal times to post each day for maximum engagement:
Note: All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time
Best time to post on TikTok on Monday
- 6 AM
- 10 AM
- 10 PM
The best time to post on TikTok on Monday is 6 AM, 10 AM, 10 PM. Looks like most people enjoy an early morning pre-work scroll, a mid-morning break scroll, and a wind-down scroll before the busy week ahead.
Best time to post on TikTok on Tuesday
- 2 AM
- 4 AM
- 9 AM
The best time to post on TikTok onTuesday is 2 to 4 AM and 9 AM. We’ve got some early riser scrollers on Tuesdays it seems!
Best time to post on TikTok on Wednesday
- 7 AM
- 8 AM
- 11 PM
The best times to post on TikTok on Wednesday are 7 AM, 8 AM, and 11 PM. It seems people get their fill of hump-day content before the work or school day ahead then log on again to celebrate heading into the end of the week.
Best time to post on TikTok on Thursday
- 12 AM
- 9 AM
- 7 PM
The best times to post on TikTok on Thursday are 12 AM, 9 AM, and 7 PM. Apparently people scroll between 11 PM on Wednesday to midnight the following day.
Best time to post on TikTok on Friday
- 5 AM
- 1 PM
- 3 PM
TGIF! The best times to post on TikTok on Friday are 5 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM. Friday evenings are out, but we’ve got some more pre-work scrollers and afternoon scrollers. They worked hard all week, they deserve that 1 and 3 PM break to check out what’s happening on TikTok.
Best time to post on TikTok on Saturday
- 11 AM
- 7 PM
- 8 PM
The best times to post on TikTok on Saturday are 11 AM, 7 PM, 8 PM. Social media managers tend to be divided on whether or not posting on weekends is a good idea, but the evidence is clear. There are some brunch scrollers and some early-evening TikTok scrollers on Saturday, so create some pass-the-phone-around, share-worthy, content for their friends and family to enjoy while sipping their mimosas.
Best time to post on TikTok on Sunday
- 7 AM
- 8 AM
- 4 PM
The best times to post on TikTok on Sunday are 7 AM, 8 AM, 4 PM. People seem to fight the Sunday scaries with a morning scroll and a late afternoon scroll before the week begins again!
Again, Hootsuite ran their own analysis of the best times to post on TikTok, with the following results:
- Monday: 10 PM
- Tuesday: 9 AM
- Wednesday: 7 AM
- Thursday: 7 PM
- Friday: 3 PM
- Saturday: 11 AM
- Sunday: 4 PM
How Often Should You Post on TikTok?
Once you’ve figured out the best days and times to upload on TikTok, now you need to know the cadence with which you should post your videos. How often you post on TikTok is an important factor that determines how frequently people see your posts, and how much you’re favored in the algorithm.
Unlike other social media channels, such as Instagram, where the recommendation is to stick to posting around 3 time per week max, you should think about posting at least 1 TikTok video per day. The general recommended cadence for brands posting on TikTok is between 1-3 times per day.
This frequency will improve your chances of showing up on the “For You” page more often.
Using TikTok scheduling tools can help you keep up with posting at lease once a day, and give you information quickly on when your videos perform the best.
Related: Best Times to Post on Social Media guide, covering Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. Looking for more local information? Learn about the best time to post on Instagram in Australia and take a look at the best time to post on Instagram in South Africa.
Finding the Best Time to Post on TikTok For Your Brand
For brands, there are a few key steps you can take to start off on the right foot for determining the right days and times to post.
1. Make sure you’re on a “Pro” account
With a TikTok Pro account, you have access to a lot of useful information and analytics that will help you narrow down which of the above optimal posting times for TikTok are ideal for your brand.
Getting a Pro account on TikTok is very straightforward and takes 3 simple steps:
- Access the privacy settings from your profile page
- Select “Manage Account”
- Tap the “Switch to Pro Account” button
And you’re done!
See also: Using TikTok for Business, How to get verified on TikTok
2. Get to know your audience
Using TikTok Pro, you can see your audience broken down by location, gender, and times when they’re most active on the app. Combine this knowledge with other metrics such as watch time and videos that get the most comments and likes, and you’ll soon pinpoint how, and when, your content resonates.
That's a wrap! By now you should feel ready to experiment and find the best TikTok posting times for your brand, to build a following, encourage engagement, and increase your brand presence on TiKTok.
Curious how Meltwater can help with your social media management? Request a 15-minute demo by filling out the form below to find out!
