It’s a question that gets asked frequently by small business owners, “How often do I need to post on social media?” Not to be too cliche, but it’s like asking how long a piece of string is.
How often you should be posting on social media is dependent on so many different things, and at the end of the day it comes down to what works for you. Here are five tips to help you figure out how often you need to post:
1. Consistency is Key
Being consistent with your posting is the most important thing you can do. Post content on a regular schedule so your audience gets used to the routine and knows when to expect updates from you. You’d be surprised how quickly they’ll reach out if you miss a regular post.
How many posts can you commit to in a week and be consistent with? That might mean you do one post Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or maybe you post once every day. Or if you’re on YouTube, it might be one video per week, on the same day every week. Choose a frequency that you can be consistent with.
2. Quality Over Quantity
Good quality posts that generate engagement will get you seen by a wider audience. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or another social media platform, the more your content is interacted with, the more it will keep being seen. If you can’t commit to many posts in a week, make the ones you can commit to count.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t post a silly meme or share content from other creators, but you need to have your own quality posts scheduled every week.
3. Consider the Social Media Platform
The social media platforms you choose to be present on will make a difference in how often you need to post. On TikTok you should be aiming to post a lot more frequently (a few times per day, ideally) than you would on Facebook. On Instagram you want to think more about your stories and reels than your typical newsfeed posts.
Take some time to look into each platform and figure out what works best for you.
4. Don’t Post Too Often
You’d think that posting more often would increase your audience reach and engagement, but the opposite is often true. Post too often and social media platforms are likely to consider you to be spamming and limit your reach. Okay, this might not hold true on Twitter since obvious bot accounts seem to get away with it, and TikTok sure loves more content, but on Facebook or Instagram it will hurt you. On those accounts the most you should be aiming for is 1 or 2 posts per day.
Remember, if you’re posting multiple times in a day, it’s best to space those posts out and not publish them in quick succession.
5. Constantly Re-Evaluate
Take time to review your posting schedule and see what’s working. Check your analytics and see when and where you’re getting the most engagement. Are you able to keep up with your current posting schedule? Is it time to modify your social media plan?
Taking it another step, track how many leads or orders you get in relation to your posts. If there was a surge, was it one post in particular, or just the frequency with which you’re posting. Sometimes you’ll find that your posts are not getting a lot of engagement in terms of likes and comments, but when you meet your customers they’ll talk about your social media and tell you how much they love following you.
For small business owners, your goal is to stay in the minds of your customers. That may not manifest in engagement, but if it turns into sales, that’s the perfect result. Posting to social media consistently, with quality content, will do that for you.
