One of the frequently-asked questions I get when presenting about social media or talking to clients is “How often should I post?” To me, this question isn’t the right question. When I think about how I built my own committed and loyal social media audience, how the relationships got started with the people who turned into paying customers, and the general idea of “social” media, I believe the real question should be “how do I create great engagement?” Because I believe that social media engagement is more impactful than the posting you do.
I have seen the same infographics and stats you have. Many experts have weighed in on and shared the science behind how many times a day and what times a day you should post on social media. But, honestly, those answers are usually scary. And intimidating. And unrealistic. How are you supposed to be on social media all the time and run a business?
For those who try to follow these so-called industry standards of how much to post, the burn out rate is high. Those stats don’t take into account how many hats you are wearing in your business and how many clients you want to serve.
If you want to know how much you should post for your business, I suggest you be realistic about how often you can consistently post on social media. Can you post once a day? Three times a day? Twice on weekdays? Will you be able to stick with that volume a year or two from now? That is the threshold to shoot for. Start with the minimum of what you can do consistently. For more on this, read here!
“But,” I tell them, “when you have extra time, engage on other people’s pages.”
Posting great information is nice for establishing yourself as an expert in your industry. However, it needs to be coupled with social media engagement if you want to get the most out of your posts. What really turns heads on social media is the conversation you generate. It is proof that other people are listening to you and care about what you say. And you are more likely to get people paying attention to you when you start engaging with them off your page.
The reality is that on most social media platforms there is a high volume of content being shared all the time. As people become more connected to each other, most platforms try to account for the flood of content by making guesses about what you are going to care about most. Very often they are factoring engagement into the equation. The more people interact with a post, the more notifications there will be that the post happened, and the more people the post will reach.
So, posting a ton is all well and good, but if people aren’t interacting with your posts it is only going to get you so far.
The great news is that you can generate social media engagement anytime you want without having to think of content all day long. It is as simple as using your business page’s profile to like, share, pin, tweet, chat, or comment on other people’s posts. People who are in your target market, that is.
There are a couple reasons this is a good idea. First, these people will feel heard. Somebody cared about what they shared, and that somebody is you. If you are consistently interacting with what they say, they will notice and at some point many of them will come visit you and return the favor.
Second, they now know how to visit you, because you were engaging as your business (not sure how to do that? Read here for information relevant to Facebook!). Every time you comment or like something as your business, everyone starts connecting your business and brand with this goodwill and the opinions you are sharing.
I’m telling you, if you make it a point to visit other people’s pages and engage with their posts regularly, eventually they catch on. The ones who think collaboratively will start to visit your page. They’ll be curious. They will want to show you kindness in return. And as those people start interacting with your posts, your posts get shown to more people.
Social media is intended to be social. It is a place to build relationships. So, the first step to selling on social media is building relationships. The posts you run are a conversation piece, but you have to start the conversation with social media engagement. And the kindness you show to others – on average – comes back to you on your page.
For more on this topic, check out my “How to Win at Social Media (even with no budget!)” course on the RESA Online Store here.
See all of my courses on the RESA Education store here.
- Why Social Media Engagement Is More Impactful Than Posting - August 9, 2018
