Create the right impression on social media
How we ought to post, and how often we should do it was a topic recently discussed here on the blog. Most people and companies don’t post enough content to get attention, and a few post way too much and risk getting seen as spammers.
The best strategy is in finding a balance between posting as often as possible.
(because most connections will not see most of your posts)
– But not letting the problems of volume occur.
(Problems such as posting irrelevant posts, or posts with insufficient accompanying notes attached).
If we listen to ‘social media mentors’, they’re likely to have guidelines. For example, it’s common to see standard recommendations of posting between two and ten times a day, with the posts spaced out by using software such as Hootsuite or Buffer.
This frequency is general advice and is good advice. If we’re busy with other things (aren’t we all?) we can fall into the trap of posting articles that are uninformative or off-message. We attach short notes to the post, which ought to be a guide and conversation starter. With time pressure, they can turn into one-liners (so we can post to Twitter and LinkedIn at the same time).
The problem is that posting can get sloppy over time. Many of your followers won’t tell you that your message is becoming less relevant to them.
So, how often to post on social media?
The answer is that we should post as often as possible with the following caveats:
The article, diagram, video or image must be able to stand alone, valuable in its own right. It should incite some positive emotion in you. If you’re in touch with your peers and customers, you’ll instinctively know what offers value. This value can change peoples lives, or be only for entertainment, but it has to provide some reward of seeing it.
It should be relevant to your audience and network and demonstrate your personal and brand vision and integrity. It could be that what you’re posting isn’t precisely niche related, but likely to still appeal. For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, your audience is expected to be interested in diet and supplements. If you’re a business conference organiser, your audience might also be interested in business travel topics.
The post must have some accompanying explanation of why you’re sharing it. A ‘take a look at this, you won’t believe your eyes’ will not cut it. Saying that something is a ‘good read’, or ‘had you in stitches’ is not sufficient, even if it’s true. If people are on LinkedIn, it’s because that is the choice they have made with their time. Your link away from LinkedIn ought to be worth the effort or people will be annoyed. If you don’t have a compelling enough ‘hook’ then no-one will click your link anyway. This ‘hook’ should involve mentioning why you are sharing, what you found interesting about it, and some question, controversy, mystery or conversation starter.
So, we post as often as these three factors occur
We choose value over quantity and quality. If you’re a full-time dedicated social media manager, you can make this happen between five and ten times a day. Perhaps, even more, depending on your industry niche.
If you’re a busy start-up entrepreneur or small business owner, then perhaps once a day is OK, twice on a good day. As your company grows, there’ll be an opportunity to post more often as your audience grows and you can also get help in posting. But still make sure that the three rules get followed so that no-one gets annoyed, and you’re helping social media become a better place.
