The Best Time to Post on TikTok and YouTube Shorts for Maximum Reach

These days, short-form video content has gained immense popularity, and platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts have become essential for content creators to gain views and positive user engagement. Creators, however, should note that there is a perfect time for posting videos, and choosing the wrong time will reduce the reach of the video. In this article, we will look into the best times to post on both platforms using data as well as audience tendencies and other ways to improve your posting timetable.

The Importance of Timing

Chances are high that when you are most active on social media, many other users are too. Social media algorithms are built to favour content that provides immediate engagement. As a result, posting during peak user times will increase the chances of your video receiving likes, comments, shares, and increases overall views. Incorrect timing, on the other hand, may result in your content being buried under an excess of uploads and severely decrease the chances of viewership.

When you share content during peak hours, the primary engagement serves as incentive to the algorithm, which is beneficial for a video with low visibility. This is why determining and adhering to a proper posting schedule is essential to your success.

Optimal Time to Publish Content on TikTok

The TikTok algorithm appreciates new content. Therefore, timing is crucial. Studies and analytics suggest that the best times to post on TikTok are:

Everyday: 6 AM – 10 AM and 7 PM – 11 PM (According to your audience's time zone)

Peak Days: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Best Engagement Hours: 9 AM – 12 PM and 7 PM – 10 PM.

These times coincide with when users are waking up, taking their breaks, or winding up in the evening, which makes them more likely to interact with the content. Again, the weekend generally sees higher engagement because users have more leisure time.

Audience Behavior on TikTok

TikTok has a wide-ranging audience across varied ages and locations, so here are a few more things to think about while choosing the best time to post:

Teenagers and Young Adults: This particular segment is most active from late evenings and during weekends.

Working people in general: Usually they scroll on TikTok during lunch hours (12 PM – 1 PM) and in the evening (7 PM – 10 PM).

Global Audience: If your content is meant for a global audience, you may have to consider posting at different times to accommodate various time zones.

Best Time to Post on YouTube Shorts

With numerous active users on the platform, YouTube Shorts benefits from YouTube’s wider audience. It has both casual viewers and dedicated subscribers. The most profitable posting times are:

Monday to Friday: 12 PM - 3 PM and 6 PM - 9 PM

Peak Days: Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

Best Engagement Hours: 2 PM - 4 PM and 7 PM - 10 PM

Posting in these time windows allows your Shorts to be featured on the users’ feeds as they actively browse the platform. It is important to note that just like TikTok, YouTube Shorts can take time to gain views. YouTube, unlike TikTok, requires hours for the content to gain traction due to the recommendation system needing time to adjust.

YouTube Audience Behavior

This category prefers to watch shorts while taking a break from work. A number of users enjoy YouTube shorts during lunch or coffee breaks.

Early Morning Viewers: There are users who check subscriptions as the first thing in the morning. 7AM- 9 AM can be considered as a decent alternative posting time.

Evening & Night Time Browsing: There is a sizable portion of users that prefers watching shorts during the evenings while relaxing at home after a day’s work.

How to Determine Best Posting Times

Finding the best time to post involves much more than following general rules. Here’s what you can do:

Look at Your Statistics: TikTok and YouTube both offer audience engagement statistics, which indicate when followers are most active.

Try Different Posting Times: Schedule your posts for different hours and monitor the accounts that receive the highest engagement.

Think About Your Audience's Time Zone: For international audiences, You should set posts according to the times they are most active.

Track Competitors: Check what times other creators in the niche that have more success are posting their videos.

Leverage Scheduling Tools: Analysts find content scheduling and optimizing tools like Later Hootsuite, or TikTok built-in scheduler truly useful.

Ways to Improve Reach Effectively

For better effectiveness of your posting schedule, consider the following tips:

1. Put Out Content Regularly

If you plan to grow an audience on TikTok and buy YouTube Shorts views, being consistent with your posting is very important. Regular posting at the right times improves the chances of your content being boosted by the algorithm. In an ideal situation, you should try to achieve the following goals:

YouTube shorts: 24 times per week

TikTok: 35 times a week

2. Interact Immediately After Posting the Content

Make it a point to reply to comments and interact with viewers immediately after publishing the content. This tells the algorithm that your content is engaging and should be shown to a wider public.

3. Include Popular Sounds and Hashtags

Optimal timing and popular content leads to higher chances of being visible. Check for sounds, effects, or hashtags that are trending which also relate to your specialty.

4. Take Advantage of Cross-Promotion

Post your TikTok videos on Youtube Shorts and videos from Youtube Shorts on TikTok. Cross posting increases visibility on both apps and helps create an audience.

5. Be Flexible With Algorithm Changes

A shift in social media patterns directly affects an algorithm and a user’s strategy around it. Always pay attention to what's trending and change your times for posting based on the data gathered from your other posts.

Conclusion

Using these methods will increase your chances of going viral on TikTok and YouTube Shorts which includes your content strategy. While these time slots are usually safe to stick to, you still have to remember that your ideal time for posting comes down to your audience's activity. Be sure to try out new strategies and examine the results in an effort to further improve your results.