How often should your organization post on social media?
This is a question that isn’t always easy to answer, as there are so many differing opinions. Some experts say that you need to be posting daily. Others will say that you don’t need to post as often but that consistency is the key. Opinions multiply even further when discussing the differences between your posting schedules on the various platforms.
Neil Patel says, “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.”
Therefore, the key is finding that happy spot, where you are still front-of-mind but not posting so often that you’re annoying.
Here’s some specific guidance for each platform to help you understand optimum posting amounts.
Think of Facebook as the place where you go to have a daily conversation with your friends, because daily is optimal. If you don’t have time to be posting daily on Facebook, at least plan to post three times a week. But more than once a day may end up working against you.
According to Revlocal, “Hubspot analyzed Facebook data from their 13,500+ customers to see if posting more frequently would help businesses reach more people. They found that businesses with more than 10,000 followers were the only ones that saw an increased number of clicks when posting more than once per day. Businesses with less than 10,000 followers received 50 percent fewer clicks per post when they published twice per day. Brands that posted just 1-5 times per month, though, saw their engagement nearly double!”
Important to remember in this conversation is that posting on social media is meant to build a relationship with potential customers. When you think about your relationships and how you would want to nurture them, it makes sense to check in with them to chat at least once a week. That way, you are able to gauge how they are doing and what their current challenges. To be the business that is front-of-mind when that person decides to solve their problem or find advice, post at least once or twice a week on Facebook at the minimum.
If you use Instagram, which is owned by Facebook’s parent company Meta, you will know that the platform is all about how visual you can be. And similar to Facebook, posting pictures once a day is optimal.
As you post, be sure to change up the visual format for increased engagement. Be adventurous on Instagram and post reels, as well as images and stories. Each one will be noticed differently. Create a story that connects your image to what is inside your post or video.
The key to increasing your following on Instagram is to notice when your ideal customer or client is online and then build your posting schedule around that.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Different from Facebook and Instagram, X is one of the platforms where posting more often works better. The way the feed works is that it refreshes very quickly, which means that your earlier messages disappear very quickly. So any potential customers that log onto X in the evening won’t see it.
Don’t be overly concerned about what time to post on X. Just post often and at different times of the day. As a platform, X is mostly about briefly worded posts. That doesn’t mean you can’t use videos or images to change your messaging up, but short text is the primary form of content on the platform.
People using X like conversations or topics they can comment on. So think of posting on X as starting a conversation. Build your relationships with your customers and potential customers by keeping the conversation going.
TikTok
According to Google, TikTok is the fourth most popular social media platform behind Instagram and Facebook with over one billion active daily users. So the potential is great.
Hootsuite tells us that to be visible on TikTok, it ‘s best to post one to four times a day. Content on this platform is short videos, and organizations that are successful on the platform post multiple snippets a day.
Use video to tell stories or share principles and ideas. Great videos from TikTok are usually shared across Facebook and other platforms. You may not have considered using this platform before, but it does have an extremely large audience available for you to connect with. It may be worth trying to see if there is an untapped audience waiting to connect with your product or service.
As you will be aware, LinkedIn is the place to connect with business people. Posting consistently is the key to connecting with potential clients on this platform.
According to RevLocal, “LinkedIn themselves recommends sharing 20 posts per month, which averages to about once per business day.” People working in the corporate world will check in on LinkedIn daily to update themselves on what is being shared in the business environment.
If you have a topic or product that you think would benefit those working in the corporate or government sectors, then LinkedIn is the place to post your items. You have several options for what to post, from native video to text posts, and even polls.
In an ideal world, you’d be posting everywhere at the optimized times. But to start, take a look at where you’re currently getting the most engagement. Become consistent on that platform first, before moving on to invest in the others. Always look for the types of stories, videos, and posts that capture the most attention, and then try to replicate that success across other platforms.
