One of the most common questions that I get from business owners in regards to social media is how often they should post.
I believe that there are few skills that will make or break your social media success more than posting frequency. If you post too infrequently, your audience will forget that you exist and you will quickly fade into the deep dark recesses of their minds. However, if you are posting too often, you will become a complete nuisance and they will dread seeing your posts overcrowding their feed.
So how do you strike a balance?
How can you post often enough to remain relevant but not so often that you get blocked or unfriended?
The answer is found in this Coaching Blog!
The Scoop on Posting Frequency
The “ideal” frequency depends entirely on your business goals and the amount of time that you’re willing to commit to your social media marketing efforts.
The questions surrounding posting frequency seem to elicit different answers from different experts and can leave you still hunting for an answer. However, there may be no tried-and-true answer; because the answers keep changing. That’s why any advice you adhere to with social media posting should come along with your own tests and analysis of what’s working for you (or what’s not working).
That being said, there’s still a lot of good research and strategy out there to give you some ideas on where to start.
On each social network there is an approximate frequency of posting that optimizes a businesses ability to connect with followers, but exceeding this amount results in driving away followers all together. Figuring out what level of frequency is optimal for each network is partly science and part an art. Social media success requires a lot of experimentation and attention to analytics, so make sure to experiment with the frequency for your business’s posts and refer to analytics to better understand the results.
Expert Tip: Before we dive into the specific rules of thumb for each social network, lets start with a broad answer: if you have quality content to share that will bring value to your audience, then share it. Every social network has different posting rules, but if whatever you are sharing is not going to bring value to your audience, then under no circumstance is it worth sharing.
With this said, let’s now look at the general posting frequency rules for the following social networks:
The general sweet spot for posting frequency on Facebook, for
businesses, is 1-2 times per day during the week and no more than 1 time per day on the weekend
Due to the mass popularity of Facebook worldwide, algorithms have been put in place to filter out posts and display what Facebook feels each user would want to see. Simply put, if users are not engaging with posts from a business then they will stop seeing the posts all together. The good news is the frequency of posting required on Facebook is significantly lower than that of other networks such as Twitter, so businesses can really focus on posting high quality content.
Expert Tip: Experiment with different types of posts. Some users prefer seeing primarily videos or photos on their feed, so sharing content in these forms increase the chances of it being feature on their timeline.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not filter out posts. This causes the lifespan of posts to be significantly shorter, 2 hours to be exact (though this number can be reduced to just minutes depending on the number of people a user is following). I have found the sweet spot for most businesses to be between 4-15 tweets per day. Due to this large range of frequencies, it is crucial to experiment and find the right amount for your business. If your business is global, you will probably post closer to 10-15 tweets per day in order to cater to different time zones. If you are a local business, tweeting 4 times a day may be plenty
Expert Tip: Schedule tweets to post multiple times. Tweets have a very short lifespan, so sharing the same content multiple times is a great way to ensure more of your followers see it. If you plan to share the same content more than once per day, try changing the tweets text so users do not recognize the same text.
Try not to post more than 7 posts per week on Instagram. There is an unspoken rule that you should not post multiple times per day on Instagram. Posting twice in a day is not forbidden, but one post a day seems to be the network norm.
Expert Tip: Post behind the scene pictures of your company/employees. Customers love seeing what goes on a daily basis at your business. Instagram is a great place to make your business more human.
Post between 4-10 times per day. Pinterest is a high-volume network, so posting only a few times per week will not lead to much success for your business. Make sure to post high quality images and take advantage of vertical photos. Vertical photos take up a lot of screen real estate and are proven to have higher engagement.
Expert Tip: Use keywords in your descriptions. Even the best pin can get lost in the crowd. incorporate relevant keywords into the description to make it easier to find in searches.
Frequency is only part of the equation. Another important aspect of posting is timing.
Timing
Here’s an overview of some best practice posting strategies that I have developed based on my experiences with a long list of clients and personal split testing!
• Facebook – 7am-9am, 1-4pm and 2-5pm weekdays
• Twitter – 1-3pm weekdays
• Instagram – 5-6pm weekdays and 8pm on Mondays with a sweetspot at 6pm
• Pinterest – 2-4pm and 8-11pm weekdays with weekends being the best
Expert Tip: It is also important to keep your content in mind when developing your posting strategy. For example, motivational posts are typically successful early in the morning because people will share them with others to help motivate them to conquer their day. Posting at the most popular times of the day can sometimes be counter-productive, since there will be so much traffic. If you are not posting early in the morning (before 6:00 AM) or late at night (after 10:00 PM) because the traffic is lower, give these less popular time slots a try. Less competition could greatly increase visibility for your business.
Conclusion
In the end, your ideal posting frequency depends more on your business, your goals, and your following than the platforms themselves. Keep this in mind when thinking of how to apply the above advice.
You need to know what your end goal is with each platform before you decide on your frequency.
Do you want to increase user engagement?
Do you want more traffic and more clicks?
Or do you simply want to maintain a healthy presence while you are investing your time into another aspect of your business?
It’s up to you.
