Social media is ever-changing. While there are still giants in the field, such as Facebook and Instagram, every few years, a new platform emerges and right now, TikTok is steadily gaining popularity.
Unlike other social media platforms where you upload pictures or post your thoughts, TikTok is all about videos. Short videos, to be precise, as they are keen to distinguish themselves from YouTube, which does not have a time limit.
TikTok videos must be at least 15 seconds long and can only be a maximum of 3 minutes. Furthermore, the video must be in a vertical position, essentially so that you can hold your phone while you’re watching videos and not have to worry about adjusting the screen.
Posting regularly can help you attract more TikTok followers. There is also the option to buy TikTok followers, which can kickstart your growing account. Once you have a bit of confidence in the TikTok realm, you can then start to consider the best time to post on TikTok and what all the metrics really mean.
Who Watches TikTok?
There are over 900 million TikTok accounts around the world. And the demographic that most often uses the platform? Those aged between 18 and 34. In other words, the coveted demographic of most advertisers and businesses.
When Should You Post Videos on TikTok?
TikTok has a news feed similar to other social media outlets. New content appears as it is uploaded, allowing your followers to view your creations. However, if your posts are a lot older than the other people they follow, then those posts won’t be seen as much.
If you have a business you are trying to promote or want to become an influencer and need more followers, the time of day you post your TikTok videos is extremely important.
Being Aware of Time Zones
Whether you need to be conscious of time zones or not depends on how global your business account is. For example, if you only have one store, then you should focus on that time zone as this is where most of your TikTok followers will live.
If, however, you are aiming for a global reach for your followers, you should be mindful of the time zones in your country. Schedule content so that it reaches people across the different zones of your country or area. For example, in the United States, there is a three-hour difference between the western states and the eastern states.
If you are only posting content once a day, then you won’t reach the sweet spot of all the different zones. Having a global audience makes your TikTok posting times easier. For maximum engagement, simply post multiple times a day so that you can reach people all over the world.
Mid-Morning
When you post on TikTok, it should always include a mid-morning video. Most people scroll through their phones while they are eating breakfast or getting ready. They also watch videos when they take a break at work.
Having content ready for when people take their lunch breaks will ensure that your videos are at the top of their feeds when they open the app.
Afternoon
A lot of people commute to work on public transportation. And what do people do, when they are stuck on a bus with nothing to do? Scroll through their phones. Having quality content ready will be much appreciated by people with nothing to do on their way home.
Early Evening
Across all social media, the peak time for watching content is most definitely in the evening. Try to create a TikTok post in the early evening, especially if you live on the West Coast of the United States. Scrolling through TikTok videos has become almost a ritual when people are getting ready for bed. It’s comforting to simply let your mind wander after a busy day, no matter what your age is.
How Often Should You Post on TikTok?
Behind every 30-second TikTok video is potentially hours of work. Not only do you need to come up with an idea, which can take seemingly forever, but you also need to shoot the video and edit it. Suddenly, all of your free time is spent on creating a video that not many people will even see.
Despite all this, it is essential that you post on TikTok multiple times a week. While there are almost a billion TikTok accounts, most people follow just a handful of accounts, many of whom are top influencers. In fact, just one account, that of Khabane Lame, is followed by over 161 million people. There may be a lot of TikTok accounts, but not all of them are at the same level of engagement.
Consider Your Schedule
Before you stress about needing to post to TikTok on a daily basis, start by looking at your schedule. Chances are, you are busy running a business and don’t have a lot of extra time for social media. Add in family and friends, and your free time quickly runs out.
While you can certainly spend money on a social media manager, this is out of the budget for many people. Instead, try to find an extra hour or two in your week to devote to social media, including making TikTok videos. The more you understand how the process works, the more wisely you can use your time.
Post Consistently
Whether you post once a week or five times a week, consistency is key. Your followers will come to rely on your content and if it isn’t there when they expect it to, they can become dissatisfied.
Having themes for your videos can make the process easier. Common TikTok categories include Q and A sessions, inside tours, and challenges. By narrowing down your focus, you can make the creative process seem less daunting.
Can You Create a Posting Schedule?
If all this planning seems too daunting, breathe a little easier as you can create a content schedule on TikTok. Being able to schedule posts is a major game changer for any business or brand, as it allows you to plan ahead and be more analytical with your content.
Here are a few steps to take before you post on TikTok.
Create Videos
Start by creating your TikTok videos. This seems simple but can often be overlooked in the planning stages. You need content. A lot of content. Try to post once a day but if this is too much, aim for at least three times a week. Even though TikTok videos aren’t long, the planning and editing process can eat up quite a bit of your time.
If you have a chunk of free time, take advantage of it. Map out your content so that when it comes time to film the actual video, you are prepared.
To help determine the content of your videos, do your research. See what other TikTok accounts are posting about and what the trending themes are. Finally, be sure to understand your target audience and what they are interested in.
Edit Your Videos
A very important note about scheduling your videos is that once you have them planned, you can’t edit them. Now is the time to use the creator tools available to make your videos pop. You should also include any relevant hashtags in your videos.
Create a Posting Schedule
Once you have a collection of videos, you can plug them into your schedule. The TikTok user face is pretty straightforward, so you shouldn’t have too many difficulties. You can schedule TikTok content up to a month in advance but if you don’t have enough content, simply plan for the next week.
When you’re first starting your TikTok account, test out different posting times. Even though there are recommended optimal times, this may be different for your specific audience. The beginning stage is a time of learning not of perfection, so don’t get too discouraged too early.
Use TikTok Analytics
Once you have a bunch of TikTok posts, you can then look at all the TikTok data to determine what is working and what isn’t. This is why posting consistently is so important – it gives you more information to figure out how to proceed and be successful.
The TikTok app has a lot of resources, so be sure to use them. At its most basic, check to see how many followers you have. While the analytics will tell you this, you can also keep track of your own TikTok data by simply writing down the numbers every week. The goal is to always see growth. If your follower count stalls or worse, decreases, then you need to look at what type of content you are producing and make necessary changes.
TikTok engagement is also important to consider. This data includes the average watch time of a video. If your video is three minutes long, but the average viewing time is only 15 seconds, then it means you don’t have an engaging hook or premise to keep people watching.
Other simple metrics include how many times users have shared your content. If the goal is to become viral, you need your video shared as much as possible. Again, people won’t share what they don’t think is interesting or relevant.
A lot of new TikTok users will simply look at how many likes their TikTok videos generate. While this number is important, it unfortunately does not depict the larger picture. Data analysis is essential to understand engagement rates. It is only through engagement that you can hope to grow your TikTok account and hopefully monetize it.
How to Attract More TikTok Users?
There are many ways to increase your global audience, some easier than others. There are also short-term and long-term solutions, and usually, a mixture of both will create sustainable growth.
First, make sure your content is interesting. It’s incredibly easy to close a TikTok video and go on to the next one, so the first few seconds are essential in hooking a viewer.
The quality of your videos should be good. They don’t have to be made by a professional, but there is no reason for grainy, dimly-lit productions. Any newer cell phone will have a decent camera on it. Ring lights are more affordable than ever and a great investment if you want to create engaging videos.
Finally, use music or other effects to make your video stand out. Again, you want to stand out from all the other videos, so the more creative you can be the better.
As for easier solutions, you can look into purchasing TikTok followers or likes. There are some risks with this action, but as long as the company you use is reputable and uses real TikTok accounts, then you should be safe.
A larger follower count will make your account more appealing to others. It will also increase the likelihood of having your content be shared, which will make all your hard work pay off.
There are only so many corners you can cut when it comes to social media. But the more tools you are aware of, the easier you can make this endeavor. Keep trying, look at all the analytics, and be prepared to make mistakes.
Conclusion
While there is plenty of advice around knowing when the best time to post on TikTok is, it’s important to also focus on good, creative content. Optimal posting times will only get you so far – if your videos aren’t interesting, then other users won’t watch them in their entirety and certainly won’t like or share them with their network.
Take the time to think of innovative themes for your TikTok videos and work hard to gather data to see what is working and what isn’t.
