Learning how to schedule TikTok posts ahead of time will keep you one step ahead — and make sure your audience is never hungry. Picture it: Your content goes live at the moment where your followers are the most active. That means more chances to get likes and shares, which can help even more people discover your stuff.
It’s easy to schedule TikTok posts in app, either via desktop or mobile device. As a marketer, you’ve got enough going on, especially when it comes to social media management. There’s not always time to drop everything and post a new video. Let a TikTok scheduler do the heavy lifting so you can focus on creating quality content your audience will devour.
Follow these steps to schedule posts on TikTok on desktop and mobile devices, whichever you prefer.
Contents:
Can You Schedule Posts on TikTok?
Why You Need to Schedule TikTok Posts
How to Schedule TikTok Posts: Desktop and Mobile
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Scheduling TikTok Posts
Using Third-Party Tools like Meltwater to Schedule TikTok Posts
Can You Schedule Posts on TikTok?
If you have a business or creator account, you can schedule TikTok videos using two types of tools: the native TikTok scheduler or third-party TikTok scheduling tools.
TikTok’s platform lets you schedule posts in advance. You can access the TikTok scheduler via desktop or mobile. It’s free to use, and you can schedule posts up to 10 days ahead of time.
Third-party tools like the Meltwater suite can also let you schedule posts on TikTok. Rather than heading to TikTok, you’ll connect your third-party tools to your TikTok account and use that interface to schedule posts.
Using third-party apps gives you extra flexibility you might not have with the TikTok app itself. For example, you might be able to schedule TikTok posts more than 10 days out. Additional recommendations like the best time to post can remove the guesswork from scheduling content.
Why You Need to Schedule TikTok Posts
TikTok’s scheduled posts offer you advantages over brands that aren’t scheduling content in advance. When you plan your content instead of posting “in the moment,” you can expect to:
- Be consistent with posting TikToks, which helps you attract the algorithm
- Create a predictable presence
- Post at times when your audience is most active and engaged
- Free up time by batch-posting content and avoid disrupting daily routines
- Craft a more thoughtful and cohesive content strategy
- Avoid last-minute scrambling to create or post content
- Allow team members to review or approve content in advance to help maintain brand consistency
- More easily adjust your strategy without disrupting your schedule
Scheduling posts on TikTok gives you the gift of time. You have more leeway to think about your content rather than rushing to post something. You move away from the “done is better than none” mentality so you can focus on quality and engagement.
And if a better idea comes along, you can just as easily unschedule your posts and replace them with something else.
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How to Schedule TikTok Posts: Desktop and Mobile
You can use TikTok’s built-in scheduler tool from your desktop or mobile device.
Let’s look at the process for each.
How to schedule TikTok posts on desktop
If you want to know how to schedule TikTok posts on a desktop, there are just a couple of extra steps to take compared to posting in real time.
Here’s what you need to do.
- Go to TikTok and log into your account.
- Click “Upload” next to the search bar to add your video.
- Fill in the details of your post, including the description, hashtags, mentions, cover image, and privacy options.
- Use the “When to Post” option to choose “Schedule.” Select the desired date and time, keeping mind you can post up to 10 days in advance.
- You’re done!
How to schedule TikTok posts on phone
You can schedule TikTok posts on mobile, but there’s a catch — you can’t do it from the TikTok app. Instead, you will need to open a web browser on your mobile device.
Here’s how to schedule TikTok posts on iPhone or Android.
- Open a web browser on your phone (e.g., Safari, Chrome) and go to TikTok.
- Log into your account.
- Click “Upload” next to the search bar to add your video. Your video will need to be on your mobile device’s storage or accessible from your mobile device.
- Add your post details, including the video’s description, hashtags, mentions, cover image, and privacy controls.
- Under “When to Post,” choose “Schedule” and select your date and time.
- You’re done!
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Common Mistakes to Avoid When Scheduling TikTok Posts
Learning how to schedule TikTok posts can give your strategy a significant boost. You aren’t constantly posting content manually and can think about and plan your content more effectively.
But even simple-to-use tools like a TikTok scheduler can come with unexpected learning curves.
Over-relying on scheduling tools can mean falling into common traps, like these:
Ignoring audience activity
Scheduling TikTok posts ahead of time offers convenience to marketers. But it can also damage your visibility if you’re scheduling content when your audience isn’t active.
Use TikTok analytics or other social media management tools to find when your followers are most engaged. Use this data to schedule your content accordingly, and review it often, as habits can change over time.
Over-scheduling posts
Scheduling posts in advance lets you maintain an active presence on TikTok without having to think about it. However, don’t let convenience lead to overkill.
Filling your schedule with too many posts can lead to content fatigue for your audience. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
It’s best to stick to a consistent yet manageable schedule. This will help you keep your audience’s interest without overwhelming them. It also leaves a little wiggle room to be spontaneous when new (and timely) ideas come up.
Not paying attention to emerging trends
TikTok lets you schedule posts up to 10 days ahead of time. If you’re using other social media management platforms like Meltwater, you can schedule posts even further in advance.
But don’t think too far ahead; it can diminish your ability to be spontaneous, and that’s part of TikTok’s charm.
You need to keep current trends in mind when creating your content. A new sound, theme, or challenge might crop up at any time that you’ll want to flex into your strategy. Hopping on that trend and making it your own, a practice known as trendjacking, can help your content reach new audiences and turn new potential customers onto your brand.
Or, cool trends might fade overnight. If your scheduled posts contain them, your content will feel irrelevant and outdated.
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Not monitoring scheduled posts
Automated TikTok schedulers (either built-in or third-party) can ease the burden of posting every day for you. But don’t assume they’ll work perfectly every time. You need to double-check that your content has been posted successfully; otherwise, no one can engage with it.
Also, it’s helpful to review your schedule over time to make sure you’re still posting at the best times. If engagement starts to slip, you might need to rethink your posting strategy.
Failing to replace outdated elements
Running a copyright check on your TikToks before going live is a good idea. However, a lot can happen between the time you run the check and when your scheduled post goes live.
Sometimes, sounds or effects can become outdated or restricted due to copyright issues. As part of your scheduling strategy, make sure you stay up to date on TikTok’s sound and effect policies and replace questionable or outdated elements.
Not engaging after posting
Once your scheduled post goes live, your work is far from done. Scheduled posts aren’t “set it and forget it” posts. You still need to engage with your audience once content goes live.
Set aside time to respond to comments and engage with viewers after each post. This will help you maximize views, feed the algorithm, and bring more people to your channel.
Not testing your posting strategy
When you schedule posts, don’t let testing fall by the wayside. You still need to test your content, including content styles, posting times, and hashtags, to see what resonates.
Experiment with different strategies to find the best practices for your brand. Even if you’re using data to identify trends and posting times, it’s still a good idea to try new things and see if something else might work better.
Scheduling posts without a backup plan
Things can go wrong with scheduled content, such as errors or inappropriate timing due to unexpected events. When this happens, you need a backup plan that will help you minimize risks to your brand.
Have a process in place to quickly pause or adjust scheduled posts if needed. You might also have a stockpile of “filler” content just in case you need to pull a post and replace it with something else.
Using Third-Party Tools like Meltwater to Schedule TikTok Posts
Meltwater’s social media management suite brings all of your social media channels together. Schedule posts, find trending topics, and receive and respond to DMs in one place. You can get a bird’s eye view of your social media performance, then dig deeper into each channel to see what’s driving your best conversations.
For TikTok, Meltwater shows you the best days and times to post according to your audience’s activities. See your entire content calendar to know what’s going live on each day and where you have gaps in your schedule. You can schedule TikTok posts ahead of time, see when content is live, and watch the engagements roll in.
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