Charts of the “best times to post” are averages of other people’s accounts. Your followers keep their own hours, and Instagram and TikTok both show them to you. Here’s where to look, and what to do with it.
Why the charts disagree
Every chart of the best times to post is an average of someone else’s accounts: other cities, other followers, other kinds of business. A garage’s followers and a café’s followers don’t keep the same hours. Start from yours.
Where to find your followers’ hours
- Instagram. Once you have at least 100 followers, your insights show trends across them, including the times they’re most active on Instagram (Instagram Help Center).
- TikTok. Your analytics show your followers’ activity in your local time zone. The rest of TikTok’s analytics use UTC, and the numbers can take a day or two to update (TikTok Support).
Then think about your own business
Your followers’ hours are one guide. The other is when people decide where to go. A lunch special does its job before lunch, and a weekend post does its job by Friday. Put your strongest posts on the days your business is busiest.
The video matters more than the hour
For Icon Auto Centre, two films posted on the same day, 20 June 2026, both went viral. For Da.Si.Mar Shawarma, the film that travelled was one beef wrap, start to finish, with no words on screen. What those films had in common was what they showed. “How a local business goes viral” looks at them closely.
A simple routine
- Check your followers’ hours once a month.
- Post a little before the busiest hour, on the days your business is busiest.
- Keep the same days each week, so a new post is always coming.
- Compare posts with each other after a few days, never in the first hour.
We handle the timing
On our plans that’s 5 posts a week on Base, 7 or 8 posts a week on Growth and 14 to 16 posts a week on Premium, and we post them for you: videos on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, carousels on Instagram and TikTok. See an example month on each plan.
Questions owners ask
What is the best time to post on TikTok?
There’s no single time for every account. TikTok’s analytics show your followers’ activity in your local time zone; post a little before their busiest hours.
What is the best time to post Reels on Instagram?
Once you have 100 followers, Instagram’s insights show the times they’re most active. Start there, on the days your business is busiest.
Does the time I post really matter?
Some, for the first people who see a post. What’s in the video matters more: our viral films for two Toronto shops travelled because of what they showed.
How do I start?
Apply to work with us: a few quick questions about your business. We read every application, and if we can help, we write back to set up a free thirty-minute video call. Apply to work with us