If you have a Facebook Page that you are using for business, you may be wondering how you should be updating your Page. Well, it depends…
Sorry, I know you that you probably want a more definite answer but the answer is not a simple number. It is a balancing act between posting too frequently and not enough. So here are a few questions you need to ask yourself:
1. How often you can commit to updating your Page a week?
If you are starting out 3 times a week may be a big stretch for you, but if you use Social Media all the time you may be able to commit to posting 3 times a day.
Think about what is realistic for you to do on a consistent basis. Social Media is a marathon not a sprint, so you need to be able to maintain your activities over a long period of time. It is better to start slowly and increase your frequency of updates over time than start with a spurt of activity and then stop because you become overwhelmed with it all.
2. How often do you think you can produce good quality engaging updates?
Having a clear idea of what content you are going to share on Facebook will help you to collect great articles, YouTube videos and pictures for your Page so that you can plan your content in advance.
Remember: You are more likely to get more fans when you give your fans content that is relevant to them.
Get the balance right between too frequent posting and not posting enough
The biggest reason people give for unliking a Page is too frequent posting! Most people are on Facebook to be connected with their friends and family, they don’t want their feed to be filled with what they consider spam. It is not that they mind being connected to your business page, they just don’t want to miss their friends news because their News Feed is filled with your stories.
On the other hand, if you post too infrequently, you are unlikely to get much activity on your Page and your visibility of your Page will be low. Posts might not be seen even by people who liked your Page.
Did you know that even if someone has liked your Page, they may not see your posts because of the Edgerank system that Facebook uses? Read the following post to find out more about how to increase your visibility. 5 Facebook Tips to increase your Visibility
The number of friends your fans have will also have an impact on the frequency that you can post. If your fans have liked a large number of Pages and have loads of friends, they will probably not see your post unless you post very frequently. If your fans have only a few friends and a few Pages they are very likely to unlike your Page if you post too frequently. You will only get the balance right by getting to know your Fans.
So what do you do?
There is no absolute figure for how many times to post on Facebook, it really depends on your business. SocialBakers suggest the optimum posting is 5-10 times a week.
- If you post more than once a day, I would suggest you leave at least a few hours between posting.
- If you post once a day, I would suggest you think of posting at the time your audience is most likely to be using Facebook.
The best way to find out how often to post is:
Get to know the analytics for your Page.
Facebook Insights makes it really easy to see how effective you are on Facebook, but you need pay attention to what the figures are telling you and be willing to experiment to see what works for your Page.
(You need to have 30 Likes on your Page before you can see your Insights)
Test and Measure.
If you have a new Facebook Page and post three times a week
- Test which days of the week give you the best response
- Test which times of the day give you the best response.
If you post once a day.
- Test the time that you post and see if that improves the reach for your post.
- Test posting twice a day and see whether it increases the activity and likes for your Page or has a neutral or negative impact.
If you post more than once a day
- Test which types of post give you the most response.
- Test which times of the day give you the most visibility
- Test what happens if you only post once a day (at the best time)
- Test to find at what point people start to unlike your Page.
On Social Media for Newbies I tend to post every day, but I have found that twice and up to three times a day works for me because I have fans in different time zones. First thing in the morning gives me the best response with UK people. Early afternoon and late afternoon gives me a good response with American people. Late evening tends to get me very little response.
Personally, I would rather post when I find a good quality article to share than just because I have to. While I have seen good results from posting more frequently, I cannot do it consistently because time is a precious resource to me as a business owner and sometimes earning money gets in the way of being prolific on Facebook. The point is to use Facebook as a tool for marketing my business, not to be good at Facebook.
Let me know what works for you by leaving a comment below.
Nicky Kriel
Nicky Kriel is a Social Media Coach & Trainer inspiring, educating and empowering Business Owners to use Social Media more strategically. She is also the author of How to Twitter for Business Success. For more information visit http://www.nickykriel.com or to find out about her courses that she runs in Guildford visit http://www.nickykriel.com/courses
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