It is the dream of every TikTok creator to go viral or at least have their videos seen by as many people as possible. After investing a lot of time and effort in creating a video, watching it die off without attention could be disappointing.

As we know, pulling huge numbers on TikTok doesn't come easily. You have to put the right content in front of the right people at the right time. So, if you have great content aimed at the right audience, what's the best time to post on TikTok? Well, let's talk about it.

Does It Matter What Time You Post on TikTok?

The short answer is: yes—the timing of your posts matters. However, it's not as clear-cut as you would expect.

TikTok's For You page is where most of the action happens on TikTok. It is a combination of recent videos and those that have probably been around for days. Here, you'll find viral videos uploaded at different times of the day.

Considering this, does it even matter what time you post your videos? Since there's no crystal-clear correlation between posting times and going viral on TikTok, why even bother with timing?

Although it holds less weight than the quality of your content and its relevance to your audience, timing is still important in how much visibility TikTok's algorithm gives you.

Your timing affects the window of opportunity you have to gather engagements enough to appeal to TikTok's algorithm to push you to more people. However, there are caveats.

When we say timing matters, it's not timing in a fixed form like 5am or 2pm. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to answering the time question on TikTok; it just doesn't exist. What time works for you depends greatly on your audience.

To better understand how your audience influences what time works for you, let's look at TikTok's algorithm.

How Does TikTok's Algorithm Work?

TikTok's core recommendation algorithm is a bit of a mystery. This is because most of it is a secret, and the parts the company chooses to make public, aren't holistic enough.

Nonetheless, if you pay close attention to the bits of TikTok's algorithm you can find online, there's enough to learn from it to power up your visibility on TikTok.

Firstly, like almost every social network, TikTok rewards engagement. This includes everything from views to comments and likes. The more engagement you get, TikTok is likely to recommend you to more people on its For You page (FYP).

As we know, most of the action on TikTok happens on the For You page. Creators are always hunting for tips on how to get into people's For You Page. Getting into a few people's FYP is easy.

The problem is getting into more people's FYP. To do that, you need social proof. You need to prove to TikTok's algorithm that your content is good enough to get into more people's FYP. To do this, you need a lot of engagement.

But how do you get enough engagement to get to more people's FYP if you need to be in a lot of people's FYP to get views in the first place? And how does timing fit in all of this?

The First Few Hours Matter on TikTok

You need that initial boost to get to more people's FYP, or else there's a good chance your posts might slide into oblivion. In other words, you need to post at a time when a large percentage of your "most relevant" and "initial audience" are active enough to boost the visibility of your content through engagements.

These audiences are like your "judges." Once your video goes up, TikTok shows them to a few hundred random people it considers your most relevant audience. (This is why you can still get views despite not having followers). Your post will even make it to the For You pages of a limited number of people.

How this initial audience reacts to your posts (views, likes, comments, and video completion rate) is used as a signal by TikTok to decide whether to amplify your visibility or not.

For instance, if you create an anime TikTok, but your anime audience is asleep for most of the first few hours after your video goes up, you might not get the engagement you're expecting.

TikTok might end up showing your post to an audience that does not resonate with your content. This audience will likely be bad judges of your content, and their reluctance to engage with your content will send the wrong signals to the recommendation algorithm.

This is why it's crucial to time your posts such that your audience are still active the first few hours after your post goes up. How do you do this? By learning about your audience.

How do you learn about your audience?

• If you're already a creator, you can embrace TikTok analytics to learn more about the people that interact with your content.
• If you're just starting, your content ideas should give you an idea of your target audience.

How Does Your TikTok Audience Influence Your Posting Time?

To better understand what timing is best for your audience, you need the answers to some key questions. They include:

When Is Your Audience Awake or Active?

If you post videos that click with a certain geographical location, you should probably post when that audience is awake and active. If your video targets a single country, create content around their daytime or peak hours (usually in the evening).

If you've been creating content for a while, head to your TikTok analytics page and check which countries most of your traffic comes from. If there is more than one country, try to strike a balance.

What Is the Age Range of Your Most Relevant Audience?

Sure, TikTok is mostly Gen Z, but other age groups are catching up on the platform. So try to find out the age range of your audience. You need to adjust your timing to accommodate the time they're active. For example, if your video clicks among high school-age students, posting just when they're back from school and rested might make sense.

What Is the Culture of Your Audience?

If you create content for a particular group, you should ideally consider their culture. For instance, if your content targets a religious group, you should consider the respective religious events and holidays. It may seem insignificant at first, but every extra initial engagement matters.

Everyone's Best Time to Post Is Different

Most of the information you'd get online regarding the best time to post on TikTok are best guesses. Almost every creator talks about the time that works for them. As well-intentioned as they might be, what works for them might not work for you. You need to learn as much about your audience as possible to know what time will work for you.

However, timing is just a tiny part of the puzzle. You should be more concerned about the quality of your content and how relatable it is to your audience. With the right timing, quality content, a receptacle audience, and a pinch of luck, you're all set to go viral on TikTok.