Social Media Rocks Your Business

It is common knowledge that your business has to have a presence on social media. But it can be overwhelming. It is hard to find the right balance on social media platforms between connecting with your audience and squandering time on posts that no one sees or care about even if they see it.

Social media is extremely valuable to businesses. It can also be costly in terms of the time it takes that may produce little for your efforts. You do not have enough time for social media efforts that don’t get you results.

Part of the trick is to figure out just how much attention you should be giving each social media channel. While it’s hard to get straight answers about what to do on social media, a number of businesses have conducted research to answer this question. How often should you post on social media?

How Often The Research Says To Post On Social Media

Obviously, the answer will depend on which social media sites you are active on. Here is the short answer for each of the five main social media sites:

Facebook: 1-2 times per day. HubSport’s research found that results varied based on how many follower you have. But for most brands, any more than twice a day and you’re likely to see lee engagement per post.

Twitter: 5-10 times a day. On the fast moving platform, more is generally better so you increase your chances of being seen.

Pinterest: 5-30 pins a day. Buffer’s research suggests starting with 5 pins if you don’t have much content, but going up to as many as 30 if you can, as more pins lead to more exposure and engagement.

Linkedin: 20 times per month, or about once per business day. Linkedin’s research shows that, with that frequency, you should be able to reach 60% of your audience on the platform.

Instagram: 1-2 times per day. Union Metrics found that top-performing brands on Instagram post an average of 1.5 times a day.

That about sums it up. This is the most simplistic answer to the question. However; a more extensive answer is quite more complicated.

What That Means For Your Business

Like any marketing research or advice, these answers come with a big caveat. That is every business and audience is different. There is never a one size fits all best practices.

These numbers work best as a starting point when you are developing your social media plan. But you need to carefully consider the following:

What you can realistically manage: Fewer high-quality updates made consistently will basically garner better results than a higher number of low-quality ones.

What your audience responds to: Pay attention to your social media analytics as you go and tweak your frequency based on what works.

Consistency Is Key!

Consistency typically matters more than frequency on social media. It will cause more harm if you get burned out trying to do too much. This can result in your ceasing to post completely.

It is better to begin with a frequency that you can stick with, even if it is a lower number that the research indicates.