How Much Is Too Much to Post on Social Media?

Social media provides an incredible opportunity for today’s businesses. Any business can broaden its reach, get discovered by new prospects, and strengthen existing relationships with fans by posting and engaging properly on social media sites.

But a lot of businesses are unclear about how to act on social media. Post too little, and people won’t know that you’re there. But post too much, and followers might get irritated by your constant presence in their feeds.

While there are some general rules you should be following across all social platforms, different sites come with different expectations about how regularly to post. So, what are the major social sites and how frequently you should be posting on each?

Ground Rules for All Sites

The cardinal rule for all social media posting, regardless of what platforms you use most actively, is to post quality content consistently. Sharing on a regular basis keeps your current followers engaged and gives you the best shot at getting discovered by new, interested consumers.

However, the other key word here is “quality.” Your content must also be useful.

People follow you when they think they’re going to get value from your content each and every week. If you’re only posting once in a blue moon, or simply re-sharing a lot of filler content, it’s going to be difficult for you to build up a meaningful, engaged base of followers.

Posting to Facebook

The general rule of thumb for Facebook is that you should be posting content once per day. Most businesses find that after two posts, they see a decrease in engagement, and followers begin to feel a spammy vibe.

The great thing about Facebook is that there are a lot of options for the type of content you can share. Unlike with other social sites that have a more rigid structure for what and how you can post, Facebook allows you to create live video, pre-recorded video, images, short-form written posts, and longer-form posts”the world is your oyster!

Mixing up the way you deliver your content is a key part of keeping your audience engaged. If they see long text post after long text post, they’ll begin to glaze over and pass by your content in their feed. However, if you keep them on their toes and wondering what they’ll see next from you, they’re a lot more likely to give your content a closer look.

Posting to Twitter

Things move lightning-fast on Twitter. Because you’re dealing in 280-character soundbites, your content grows stale quickly. That’s why posting on Twitter should be a more frequent occurrence. Conventional wisdom says that you should be posting at least three times per day on Twitter, while most larger brands aim for around 15 posts per day.

These tweets can be a mix of curated content and original posts. It’s also best to space this content out throughout the day; engagement with tweets tend to be highest within the first hour of posting, so don’t fire off all your tweets at the same time.

Posting to Instagram

The guidelines for posting to Instagram are similar to those for Facebook. According to research from Union Metrics, most brands are posting one to two times per day.

Unlike with other social sites, though, there doesn’t seem to be a downside to posting more frequently. While there’s generally a drop-off with engagement on Facebook or Twitter, brands that posted as much as ten times per day did not see a negative effect. Rather, it’s a matter of whether or not you can keep pace with that amount of content.

Posting to LinkedIn

Posting to LinkedIn should be least frequent of all. Because it’s a business-focused network, you only need to post on weekdays. And there’s no need to post more than once per day on the site.

There’s also less of a need to create as much original content on LinkedIn. It’s okay to post your own content two times a week and then share content from others the rest of the time. The trick here, though, is to make sure that the content you’re curating is of value and that you’re sharing that content with your own commentary on the article or post, rather than simply hitting the re-share button and calling it a day.

How to Manage It All

When you’re active on a number of social sites, it can be difficult to keep up a regular posting schedule if you’re trying to do it manually. That’s where an experienced social media management team can come in handy. If you’d like support with your social media marketing, from content creation to channel management and engagement, we’ve got you covered.

More Resources

Social Media Dos & Don’ts

How a Paid + Organic Social Media Strategy can Help You Stand Out

5-Minute Clean-Up: Social Media Sites

Stephanie Heitman

Stephanie is the Associate Director of Content for LocaliQ and WordStream. She has over 10 years of experience in content and social media marketing and loves writing about all things digital marketing. When she’s not researching the latest and greatest marketing news and updates, she’s probably watching reality TV with her husband, reading, or playing with her two pups.