How Often Should I Post on Social Media?
Updated: 3 days ago
Google says you should post on Instagram three to five times a week (plus stories every day), Facebook once or twice, TikTok one to three times, LinkedIn two to five times, Pinterest four or five pins, and a YouTube video every week.
Add that up and you're somewhere north of 40 pieces of content a week, which is part-time job with no paycheck, on top of all the other jobs you already have as a business owner.
So let's talk about a number that actually makes sense for YOU.
More posts won't help if you don't know what to say.
When I first started posting for The Brand Barn, I was doing three posts a week, and it was exhausting. But, the number of posts wasn't the problem. I had NO clue what to say, so every single post took me hours to make.
I had to sit down and get clear on who I am, what I do, and how to talk about it. Once I did, good posts got SO much easier to make.
Now I post every weekday on Instagram (my main platform) in a sequence: discovery, nurture, discovery, nurture, convert. I post on LinkedIn three or four times a week, and my Instagram posts automatically publish to Pinterest, which gets me an extra couple thousand views a week (plus some followers and inquiries) without me lifting a finger.
I don't post on weekends (on purpose).
I've tried it. Number one, I get less reach. Number two, posting on the weekend means my brain is constantly going, you should check if anyone commented. I don't want to spend my weekends like that, so I don't.
Now, it might work better for your business or your schedule to post on the weekends, and that's fine. Your posting rhythm will look different from mine, and that's the point.
For most of my clients, I start at two posts a week.
That's at least eight a month, and it's enough to tell the algorithm you're active and relevant without posting every single day. Some clients want less and some want more, depending on what works for their business and their budget.
What matters more than the number is consistency. If you go quiet for three weeks, the algorithm starts to think you're irrelevant and shows your posts to fewer people. And if you come back and post ten things in one night, the algorithm goes, what the heck just happened? and your posts compete with each other.
Buffer found the same thing when they looked at more than 100,000 accounts. Creators who posted consistently (in 20 or more weeks out of a 26-week stretch) got about 450% more engagement per post than creators who only posted in four weeks or fewer.
Pick the number you can keep on your worst week.
I mean the week the job runs long, somebody's sick, or your biggest client needs everything by Thursday. Your best week, when you're caught up and could knock out five posts on a Sunday, doesn't count.
If your worst week can hold two posts, post two. Two posts a week for a year is 104 posts and a business that clearly still exists. Posting every day for three weeks then abandoning socials for the next 3 months is 21 posts and a whole lot of stress.
Here's what happens when the number is too big.
I'm about to start social media for Gospel Community Church, and their story is one I see all the time. They were posting and posting, then Easter hit, they started running membership classes, and they haven't posted since.
They don't want to get back into it themselves. They just want it handled (if that cycle sounds familiar, here's what DIY social media is really costing you).
Should you be posting more? Don't answer THAT.
When a client asks me if they should be posting more, I look at how much they're posting first. Then I ask, are you getting enough clients from what you're doing now? Is it working for the amount you're putting in?
If it's working, keep it. If it isn't, change it. Some businesses want to post every day and that's great for them, and some only need two posts a week, which is completely fine. One isn't better than the other.
And if you're posting plenty but it still isn't turning into customers, the number probably isn't the problem (this post walks through what usually is).
Not every platform is right for every business.
If you make products, your work is very visual, and you're reaching a younger crowd, I'd probably point you to Instagram and TikTok. If you offer a visual service, Instagram or Facebook usually makes sense. And if your business is more online, or you don't love being on camera or making pretty visuals, LinkedIn or Threads might be your best options.
None of them are bad or wrong inheranlty. You just have to look at YOUR business and your audience and figure out what's going to work for you.
That's the first thing I do before I start anyone's social media management.
Whether you've never posted or you're already on a few platforms, I look at what's working (and what isn't), then build the strategy and the content around it at a cadence that fits your business.
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