“How often should businesses post on social media?”
For any business kick-starting a new social media campaign, posting frequency is a question without a definitive answer. You know advice articles typically tell you to create new content often — but what does that mean?
While you want to maintain an active profile, you don’t want to overload your followers either. So, how do you find a balance between promoting your brand just enough, but not too often that you appear inactive or overly enthusiastic?
Start with these six tips for when — and how — to post on social media:
1. Post quality content
If you post a dozen quality blog posts over the timespan of a month, you’re much more likely to grow your following than if you publish several low-quality pieces every day.
While it may seem like releasing new content every few hours is the best way to keep your brand top-of-mind, remember that you always want your work to reflect the quality and standards upheld by your company, too.
Focus on creating eye-catching articles, blogs, updates, and photos that capture your audiences’ attention as they scroll through their social media feeds. If you release too much low-quality content, you can come off as “spammy.”
When you appear spammy, it often leads people to unfollow you.
For publishing your content, put yourself in the shoes of your consumers.
When you scroll through your Facebook or Instagram feed, you don’t want to see continual updates from just one user. Produce and publish enough content to remain top-of-mind, but avoid saturating user news feeds.
2. Research your audience’s active times
Many marketers ask the same question, “When should our business post on social media to get the best engagement?” The answer depends on factors unique to your company, like your target audience.
Research when your audience is most active to find out the best times to post your content.
If you run a business geared towards new parents, you might find success in posting content in the morning. A crying baby may get them out of bed earlier than most people, leading them to scroll through their social media as they enjoy their morning cup of coffee.
A company that targets college students, however, is less likely to encounter high engagement levels at 8 a.m. Instead, your business may find success posting in the early afternoon or late evening.
Since you’re always competing with other businesses for the attention of social media users, it’s critical that your company posts your content at the best time. If not, you’re losing valuable views, comments, and likes, actions that can all contribute to a new lead or sale.
3. Relate your content to your business
While it’s okay to post unrelated content on your social media, it’s essential that most of your posts focus on your industry. For example, an accounting firm that shares frequent reviews of restaurants, rather than financial tips, will probably struggle with attracting new clients.
In comparison, a medical practice that focuses on health-related content will most likely earn more followers, as well as engagement on their posts. Why? Because their content demonstrates their expertise, plus highlights the experience users can expect as patients.
When you establish your brand’s presence on social media outlets, remember that posting content relevant to your industry is an essential component of your posting schedule. Even if your business perfects posting frequency, it won’t matter if the content isn’t relevant.
Keep in mind that people follow your business on social media because they want to see updates related to your brand, products, or services. Focus on sharing content that delivers on that expectation.
4. Value consistency over frequency
As you build a following on social media, followers come to expect consistency.
When an individual follows your Twitter, for instance, they may see six to eight updates a day from your business. If you begin sharing only a couple of tweets per day, your engagement levels can drop.
Whenever you make posts on social media, adopt a consistent pattern for your approach. As no two businesses are the same, you probably won’t find it beneficial to match your posting frequency with that of your competitors.
You need to develop a posting schedule that appeals to your followers.
Once you find it, stick with it to maintain a steady level of engagement on your page.
5. Find a rhythm for each site
Most social media sites have one common objective in mind — socialize.
That means sharing written, photographic, and video-based updates with people who follow you on these sites. While the goals of these platforms are similar, how your business markets itself on each social media site may vary.
What content does each social media network prioritize?
On Twitter, for instance, you’d find it beneficial to share quick, text-based updates with your followers. With Twitter, you can post several tweets per day to keep your audience informed.
In comparison, a website like YouTube, which focuses on videos requires much more thought and preparation. On this site, you may only post videos once or twice a week — and that’s if your audience is active on YouTube.
Find what works best for each social media site, then build your posting schedule.
6. Make your own rules
When it comes to how often your business should post on social media, there isn’t an industry standard. While some sites may say to post three to four daily updates on Facebook, other pages recommend posting several times a month.
The reason why answers vary is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.
Every industry and business, as well as audience is different. Your team needs to research your audience and experiment with post times to find the best posting frequency for your business.
It’s also essential for your company to experiment with your post schedule. Audiences, as well as social media platforms, change over time. If your company wants to continue to succeed on social media, you need to adapt.
For example, if you’re in a business-to-business (B2B) industry, you may have an older target audience that checks social media in comparison. As those users retire, however, your target audience will change to a group that relies on social media.
Get started on a social media campaign
Even after you finish reading this article, you may still have questions about how often your business should post on social media. As is the case with most aspects of marketing, the answer is that it depends.
Collect as much data and information about your social media marketing objectives and your audience. When you have a better understanding of the critical aspects of your marketing campaign, you’re in a better position to experience success.
The best way to get started with your social media strategy is by partnering with professionals that have a keen understanding of social media sites. Not sure how to get started?
At WebFX, we’re here to help. Our team of savvy social media marketers knows how to boost your following, curate quality content, and post on these websites with optimal success.
In fact, we’ve driven more than $1.5 billion in revenue for our clients.
Discover how our award-winning team can help your business by contacting us online today!