The #1 question I hear from business owners who have decided to use Facebook for marketing their business is: “How often should I post?” They’ve taken the time to set up their page and now they want to make sure that they are using it right. Sometimes they are nervous about what they are getting into and looking for specific instructions. Either way, what they are looking for is a specific magic number.
The thing is – the answer to this question is a number that only you can determine because how often you should post each week is unique to your business. Everyone should always post regularly and consistently, but frequency is a unique variable.
Here is a list of criteria to help you determine the frequency that is right for you and your business:
- Post two times a week minimum Keep in mind that two times a week is the absolute minimum and your goal should always be for more than that. To get any use out of your Facebook business page, you have to establish a presence. Post regularly and consistently, build up a history and a habit of posting, and you will build an audience.
- Often enough to accomplish your business goals. There are many reasons to use Facebook for your business. You can, of course, focus on increasing sales, but you might instead want to raise brand awareness, build a community, or improve customer service. Each of these goals has the potential for a different posting schedule. Who is your audience and when are they online? What will you post about? What method of engagement do you intend to use? Are you incorporating other social media tools? These deeper questions will help you clarify the frequency that will be necessary in order to accomplish the goal you have turned to Facebook to achieve.
- Reasonable frequency for the size of your business. The answer to the question, “How often should I post?” is going to be different for a solo-entrepreneur than it is for a 25-person company. They might very well have the same business goals, but they have very different resources available to them. Posting on Facebook is important for building your presence on Facebook, but it’s not worth killing yourself over. If you are strapped for time, just do what you can for now; do what is reasonable for your current schedule.
When you have decided what this number is and put it into play, keep in mind: That number is not your final answer! If you find that it’s too much for you – i.e. not meeting criteria #3 – consider reducing the number so that you can manage it or finding another way to meet your goal by getting assistance or taking advantage of the many online tools available to you. On the other hand, once you get going you might find that the number you’ve come up with is easy to attain and so you may choose to increase it. Either way, aim for regular and consistent posting and you will get where you need to go.
This article was first published on February 26, 2013 on the SMPSBoston blog. Author & Owner of material: Suzan Czajkowski, MyCommCoach
