Post scheduling allows TikTok users to plan and organize their content in advance. By using scheduling, creators can post videos at the optimal times when their target audience is most active on the platform. Scheduling tools enable users to set posting times down to the hour and even minute. This helps increase engagement and views. With people’s limited attention spans on social media, timing is critical for videos to be seen. Scheduling posts at consistent times can also help build an audience over time. Users no longer need to manually post multiple times a day – scheduling saves time and effort. Whether natively through TikTok or using third-party apps, scheduling brings organization and strategy to posting.
Prerequisites
To be eligible to schedule posts on TikTok, you first need to have a TikTok Creator account. This is different from a regular TikTok account. To get a TikTok Creator account, you must apply and be accepted into the TikTok Creator Fund.
The Creator Fund is TikTok’s monetization program that pays creators for their popular content. To qualify for the Creator Fund, you need:
- At least 10,000 authentic followers
- At least 10,000 video views in the last 30 days
- Be 18 years or older
- Have original content that complies with TikTok’s community guidelines
Once you meet these thresholds and are accepted into the Creator Fund, you will automatically get access to the TikTok Creator account features, including post scheduling.
Using TikTok’s Built-In Scheduling
TikTok has a built-in scheduling tool that allows users to plan and schedule posts in advance directly within the TikTok app. This feature is available for both individual creator accounts as well as business accounts.
To access TikTok’s scheduling tool:
- Open the TikTok app and go to the “Post” section.
- After selecting the video you want to post, tap “Next” at the bottom.
- Tap the calendar icon in the bottom left corner.
- Select the date and time you want to schedule the video.
- Tap “Schedule” to confirm.
TikTok allows scheduling videos up to 10 days in advance. The scheduled post will go live automatically at the set date and time.
One advantage of using TikTok’s built-in scheduler is that it’s conveniently part of the app itself. You don’t need to download any third-party apps or link accounts. It also allows you to schedule both videos and images.
Scheduling with Third-Party Apps
While TikTok doesn’t have a built-in scheduling feature like other social platforms, there are many third-party apps you can use to schedule TikTok posts in advance. Some of the most popular and highly-rated options include:
Plann – This app allows you to plan, schedule, and analyze your TikTok content. You can draft and preview posts, schedule them for optimal timing, and get analytics on performance. Plann also provides collaboration features for teams. Pricing starts at $9.99/month.
Schedugram – Designed specifically for scheduling TikTok and Instagram posts, this app provides a calendar view to plan content and schedule it to post automatically later. Schedugram offers real-time analytics and is free to use with basic features.
The key benefit of using a dedicated third-party scheduling app is it takes the manual work out of posting consistently on TikTok. You can plan and queue up a batch of content at once rather than posting each video manually. This saves time and effort while optimizing your TikTok strategy.
Setting the Date and Time
Choosing when to post your TikTok videos is crucial for reaching the largest audience and getting more engagement. According to experts, the best times to post on TikTok are typically in the morning, early afternoon, and evening.
For most days, ideal posting times are around 7-9 AM, 12-2 PM, and 5-7 PM in your local timezone. These tend to be when users are most actively scrolling on the app before work, during lunch breaks, and after work in the evening. Some key times to target per day are:
Monday: 10 AM, 12 PM, 7 PM (Source)
Tuesday: 8 AM, 10 AM, 3 PM (Source)
Wednesday: 1 PM, 2 PM (Source)
Thursday: 5 AM, 3 PM (Source)
Friday: 10 AM, 3 PM, 7 PM
Saturday: 9 AM, 6 PM
Sunday: 5 PM
Timing can also vary based on your target audience and niche. Consistently post at peak times for your followers to build engagement.
Adding Captions and Hashtags
Captions are an essential part of optimizing your TikTok videos. Follow these best practices when adding text to make your videos stand out:
Keep captions concise and engaging. According to research from SocialBu, captions should complement your video and grab attention quickly. Use interesting phrases that pique viewers’ curiosity.
Leverage hashtags strategically. Include a mix of popular and niche hashtags to increase discoverability. According to Hootsuite, placing relevant hashtags at the end can boost engagement.
Customize your captions. While you can reuse snippets, avoid duplicate captions across too many videos. Tailor captions specifically to each video’s content for best results.
Use caption stickers creatively. TikTok’s built-in stickers allow you to highlight key text moments. Place these stickers strategically to call attention to something funny or surprising in the video.
Optimize text for SEO. Include target keywords in captions, but don’t overstuff. Spread keywords naturally throughout the text to help with SEO without sounding spammy.
Choosing the Right Video
When scheduling a post on TikTok, it’s important to choose the right video to maximize engagement. Here are some tips:
Length – TikTok videos are capped at 3 minutes but shorter videos tend to get more engagement. Most successful TikTok videos are between 15-60 seconds long. Keep videos concise and fast-paced.
Style – Videos with fun effects, transitions, text overlay, captions, and popular music often thrive on TikTok. Aim for an entertaining style that shows off your brand’s personality.
Orientation – TikTok supports both vertical and landscape video but vertical works best since users scroll vertically on mobile. Simply filming on a phone in portrait mode creates vertical video ideal for TikTok.
Optimize your video content specifically for TikTok according to current trends and best practices. Plot your content strategy in advance when scheduling posts so each video delivers maximum impact.
Analyzing Performance
TikTok provides robust analytics to help creators understand how their videos are performing. You can access analytics by going to the Creator Portal and clicking on “Content Analytics.” This will show key metrics like plays, likes, comments, shares, followers gained, and more. Analyzing this data can help determine which types of videos resonate most with your audience.
For example, you may notice certain videos drive more followers or engagement. You can then create similar content to build on that success. The analytics also show top videos, most engaging videos, and breakdowns by region, device, gender, and age. Use these insights to fine-tune your content strategy and posting schedule.
TikTok also offers live analytics for livestreams, showing viewers, comments, shares, followers gained and other metrics. Review the LIVE Analytics to better optimize future livestreams.
Regularly analyzing TikTok analytics will enable you to iterate and improve over time. Pay attention to trends and performance to consistently create content your audience loves.
Following Best Practices
To maximize your success with the TikTok algorithm, it’s important to follow best practices when posting content. This includes being consistent, leveraging trends, and optimizing your captions and hashtags.
According to The TikTok Algorithm Explained + Tips to Go Viral, consistency is key. Posting regularly helps the algorithm understand your content and can lead to increased distribution. Aim to post at least 1-2 times per day to build momentum.
Paying attention to the latest trends and challenges can also give your content a boost. As noted in How to Work With the TikTok Algorithm in 2024, trending sounds, hashtags, and effects are given preference by the algorithm. Make content around viral trends to increase discoverability.
Finally, optimize your video captions and hashtags. Use relevant keywords people may search for. Put the most important hashtags first. This helps the algorithm understand your content and match it with users who may be interested.
By being consistent, leveraging trends, and optimizing captions and hashtags, you can follow best practices to perform better in the TikTok algorithm.
Conclusion
Scheduling content on TikTok can be a great way to plan out your posting strategy and make sure your videos go live at optimal times. Using TikTok’s built-in scheduling tool or a third-party app gives you control over when your content is seen.
When scheduling posts, be sure to add compelling captions, hashtags, and choose the right videos to share. Analyze the performance of your scheduled videos to see what works best with your audience. Follow TikTok’s best practices around caption length, hashtag use, and more.
In summary, scheduling TikTok videos in advance takes some planning but can be a valuable part of growing your account and connecting with viewers. Test different posting times and strategies to see what resonates most.