How often and when should you be posting?

Sharing some social tea about frequency of posts, times of day and stories.

Although Instagram and Facebook will never share their algorithm, digital marketing companies like South Made Marketing spend a lot of time analyzing data and doing social tests to figure out some secrets to unlocking the code.

Did you know that only 10% of your following will typically see your feed posts. Which is crazy. And also, over 100 million photos are uploaded to Instagram daily. Which explains why you can’t possible see every post from every account you follow.

So how can you maximize those social efforts?

Let’s start with Instagram. Or as we call it, the ‘gram. Or IG. Or just Insta.

Consistency can help your posts perform in the Instagram algorithm. Instagram takes into account all interactions you receive on the platform. The more a user interacts with your content the more likely your posts will show up in their feed.

Most socially concise sites and best practices suggest that you post at least 1 time per day— if you can. But, be careful not to fall into the posting to post trap. Each post should have a specific purpose and call to action. However because most Instagramers have a short attention span and sift through tons of content daily you’re better off having 1 solid, high quality post per week that is engaging then daily low quality posts that people simply fly past. Your success on Instagram is all about engagement.

Although we are all for a good story— we don’t recommend sharing more than 5 stories per day. You want to hold your followers attention, not make them swipe away.

As far as time of day to post- check your analytics. There is a ton of data at your fingertips through the “Insights” page. Get to know these stats, but do play around with time of day to make sure the numbers add up. You can never have too much data.

And what about Facebook?

Facebook is essentially the same but can withstand a high frequency of posts. Since the recent updates to the Facebook algorithm business accounts are having to work harder to get views and engagement then ever before. And, here’s an extra tip when people respond with a reaction other than just a thumbs up that triggers added engagement and thus Facebook will show your post to more followers.

At the core social media is a game, using the data and analyzing how the algorithms work helps you play better.

Need help with your social media? Want to maximize your efforts? Your team just got bigger.