More is better. While the old quality vs. quantity argument may not apply everywhere in your marketing efforts, it certainly rings true on social media. If you establish a Facebook page or Instagram account, but only post on it occasionally, you could be missing out on crucial opportunities to engage your audience.
Over the last couple of years, a few studies have emerged that suggest just how often your business should post on social media. The results, of course, differ by network. Still, it’s crucial information to help optimize your digital marketing efforts and maximize your audience engagement.
The Importance of Post Frequency
Regardless of network, one thing is clear: you need to post often in order to succeed. That’s because most social media networks now use algorithms to decide which content appears on your follower’s news feeds.
Facebook’s EdgeRank, for example, prioritizes posts based on your followers’ past interactions with you, as well as their overall engagement on the post. The more often you publish an update, the more likely one of them will appear in news feeds.
How Often Should You Post on Facebook?
A study by HubSpot found that ideal post frequency depends on audience size. Pages with more than 10,000 followers should post twice a day, while smaller pages may benefit more from posting every other day for maximum engagement. The key, of course, is to craft content good enough that it generates enough audience interest to be prioritized by EdgeRank.
How Often Should You Post on Twitter?
In analyzing his own posts along with studies on the subject, content marketing expert Neil Patel found that tweeting between one and five times per day will generate most clicks, likes, and retweets. But because of the volume-centric nature of the network, even tweeting 50 times per day will not negatively impact your efforts.
How Often Should You Post on Instagram?
The visual social media network just switched to an algorithm similar to its parent company Facebook this year. Posting about once per day at the most tends to be enough to generate engagement from your audience. Considering the fact that generating unique visual content more than once per day can be difficult, sticking with this frequency also maximizes productivity.
How Often Should You Post on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is particularly effective in B2B industries, where it can generate up to 4 times as many clicksto your website as a Facebook or Twitter account with similar follower numbers. To achieve those kinds of results, of course, you have to be strategic about your post strategy.
To succeed, avoid posting on the weekend, and post about once per weekday for a total of 20 times per month. LinkedIn estimates that this frequency gets you a 60% unique audience reach, significantly higher than average Facebook performance.
How Often Should You Post on Pinterest?
Buffer estimates that top brands are successful on this network by posting multiple times, up to 5 ‘pins’ per day. Other research backs up that estimate, with some experts suggesting ‘pinning’ items between 5 and 30 times per day. Pinterest’s algorithm is personalized and doesn’t punish for post frequency, leaving the ceiling more open than alternatives like Facebook or Instagram.
While the exact timing differs for each social media network, the general takeaway is clear: only consistent posts can reliably ensure success on this marketing channel.
Those posts, of course, have to keep quality in mind. Simply posting for the sake of filling a time slot or frequency specification will not lead to engagement. Each post should vary in type, and be designed specifically to engage your audience.
A content calendar, then, becomes a crucial tool to optimize your social media presence for engagement. By being strategic about how often you post on social media, you can turn the medium into a central part of your digital marketing efforts.
To learn more about how often you should be posting on your Social Media accounts, give us a call or send us a note today at Small Dog Creative 661-702-1310!
{{cta(‘df8a0238-2133-4692-b8ce-fd55fa9b7165’)}}
