How many posts per week on instagram
How Often You Should Post on Instagram: Complete Guide (2023)
Figuring out how often to post on Instagram is the pillar of any strategy for the platform. It’s also a balancing act. You don’t want to post so little that no one sees your content, but you also don’t want to post so much that Instagram thinks you’re a spam account. On top of that, you also have to consider how much time and energy you realistically have to dedicate to the platform.
Whether you have a social media team or you’re a mighty entrepreneurial team of one, we have advice on how often you should post on Instagram as you build your social media marketing strategy.
I looked at what Instagram has posted publicly, checked out Shopify’s own strategy, and talked to a merchant at the top of their game to get the best advice for how often to post on Instagram.
How Often Should You Post on Instagram
It's recommended to post 3 stories a day evenly spaced out around popular viewing times for your target audience.
As I said, Instagram isn’t particularly forthcoming with tips on how to optimize your strategy for its algorithm, but it has occasionally given some advice.
Instagram’s @Creators account hosted a Q&A with the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, where he was asked the best way to grow an account in 2021.
“A couple of feeds a week, a couple of Stories per day.”
He mentioned the importance of utilizing videos and hashtags, but he also said it’s important to have a “healthy feed.”
“A couple of feeds a week, a couple of Stories per day,” he said.
By that suggestion, you can take away that while your feed is important, posting more frequently to your Story is also valuable, maybe even more so.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)
It’s a great pace to aim for and one that allows room for experimentation.
Adam also talked about ranking, which is how Instagram decides what it shows its users. According to a blog post he wrote in June 2021, there isn’t actually a single algorithm determining how Instagram shows content but “a variety of algorithms, classifiers, and processes, each with its own purpose.” That system looks at information such as how many likes a post has and how many times a user has interacted with your account in the past.
It’s a system that is constantly being tweaked, which can be frustrating for brands.
“We can’t guarantee stable reach. It’s not that we don’t want to, we would love to,” Adam said in the Q&A. “But even if we stopped changing how ranking works, what people are interested in changes. More and more people are joining Instagram and posting more things, so there’s more competition.”
That goes back to Adam’s advice, which, in essence, is to be consistent in your posting strategy.
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Get into a consistent rhythm
The most important piece of advice for when to post on Instagram is that consistency is more important than volume, especially as you start out.
It can be easy to forget when you're navigating through Instagram, or your favorite brands that you regularly check in on, started at zero. There was a moment for each of us where we had zero followers, lacks comments or a plan.
Gretta van Riel, in an edited excerpt from the course Grow Your Business with Instagram
According to research from Hubspot, the median cadence of feed postsa across Instagram users was four per week. However this is higher for business accounts, which posted an average of 1.56 times per day to their main feed. As well, 20% of business accounts posted to their Story at least once per week.
Combining this research with Adam’s comments, we can ascertain that posting one feed post and two Stories per day is a pretty good bet for growing your engagement. Whether you are able to start at that pace depends on how much time, experience, and personnel you have.
Instead of jumping into the deep end right away, you should focus on a consistent posting schedule that makes sense for you and your business where they are right now.
At Shopify, our social team noticed a marked rise in engagement from posting once per day.
That can sound daunting, especially if you’re handling all your social accounts on top of all the other work it takes to keep a business running.
Here are some tips to get your rhythm going.
Start with what’s do-able
Instead of jumping into the deep end right away, you should focus on a consistent posting schedule that makes sense for you and your business where they are right now. That might look more like three feed posts per week and three Stories per week.
Create a schedule
However much you’re posting, you want to spread them out. A good idea is to schedule days. For example, maybe you post a feed photo on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and a Story on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Spreading posts out not only pleases the algorithm but gives your audience an expectation of when new content is coming and gives each post breathing room so they’re not competing with each other for likes and comments.
Streamline with apps
To make this all easier, you can use Instagram management apps like Sked, Later, or Hootsuite to schedule posts in advance. That way, you can create your posts in bulk ahead of time and not have to worry about checking in and coming up with new content every day. And keep it up—dropping off for a week or two isn’t the end of the world but could potentially lower your ranking in Instagram’s eyes because it also rewards how recent a post is.
As you get more comfortable with scheduling and coming up with high-quality post ideas, you can increase your cadence and aim for daily content.
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How Wilderdog grew its Instagram audience
Rachel Friedline is the co-founder of Wilderdog, a company that makes leashes, harnesses, and other accessories for dogs who love outdoor adventures. Founded in 2015, Rachel launched an Instagram page for Wilderdog right away, knowing it would be a key part of her social media marketing strategy.
Since then, Rachel has grown the account to 292,000 followers, and she’s done it by herself, running the page along with her business.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by WILDERDOG (@wilderdog)
Right now, Rachel aims to post one feed post per day, although she has missed a day here and there. She saves high-quality photos, whether her own or from a customer, for the feed, taking care to include a variety of dog types.
“I don’t think there’s very many times in our seven year history that I’ve posted more than once on one day,” she says.
On her Story, which she updates more frequently, she posts more casual content, like sharing posts from customers. She’s built a customer base that loves to tag her company in photos of their dogs, so the Story is a good place to post ones that are particularly funny or encapsulate her brand.
“I think that by making mistakes along the way, you’re going to figure out what’s best for your company."
Her biggest tip for other entrepreneurs is to just keep posting and experimenting.
“The culture surrounding the app seems to be changing faster than ever now,” she says. “Yes, strategize, but also be willing to change your strategy.”
She says that even she is surprised when sometimes a post she thinks is great doesn’t get much engagement. It may be the algorithm at work, but you can use it to your advantage, too.
Because she uses the app every day, Rachel was able to notice when Reels were picking up steam and post more of those. Or, once she noticed posts tagged with shoppable items were doing better, so she leaned into that. She was able to build her audience by posting consistently, but switching up exactly what she was posting.
“I think that by making mistakes along the way, you’re going to figure out what’s best for your company,” she says.
Conclusion
Consistency is king when it comes to how often to post on Instagram, and that applies to more than just your posting cadence.
Creating and maintaining a posting rhythm will build a habit for you or your team, let your audience know when to expect news posts, and keep you in tune with trends and your own metrics. Plus, the more you’re able to post, the more room you have to experiment.
The key to growing on Instagram is to consistently provide high-quality content that people love interacting with. Exactly what that content will be depends on your business and what resonates with your customers, and you need to be prepared for it to change sometimes.
“I do think one of the most important things is to experiment, is to try new things and try to figure out what’s resonating with your audience now. Because it might be different than it was half a year or a year ago,” Adam said in the Instagram Q&A.
Experimenting with new formats, like video, as well as using hashtags, thoughtful captions, and geotagging locations can all help boost your content.
Keep an eye on your metrics and monitor what works, what doesn’t, and what your customers respond to most.
Illustration by Adamastor
How Often to Post to Social Media in 2023
It’s the question that launched a thousand sleepless nights: “How often should I post to social media?”
Of course, there’s much, much more to a successful social media strategy than just posting the optimal number of times: it’s not a magic formula, let’s get that straight.
Still, there’s a lot of pressure on to find that sweet spot of frequency. You don’t want to overwhelm your followers or feel like you’re spamming the news feed. You also don’t want to be forgotten or miss opportunities for exposure.
But how much is too much? How much is too little? (And then once you’ve figured that out, when’s the best time to post?)
Well, good news: you can stop your social posting panic spiral. We’ve got all the info you need about exactly how often you should be posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to really optimize your reach — without annoying your followers.
We dug into the research and grilled our own social media team for insights to discover the ideal number of times a day (or week) to post for each platform. Here’s a quick summary of what we found, but read on for more in-depth details:
- On Instagram, post between 3-7 times per week.
- On Facebook, post between 1 and 2 times a day.
- On Twitter, post between 1 and 5 Tweets a day.
- On LinkedIn, post between 1 and 5 times a day.
Every social media account is unique, so testing and analyzing your results is absolutely key. But read on for a detailed breakdown of some general rules of thumb to use as a starting point… then, you can let the great experiment begin.
How often to post on Instagram
How often to post on Facebook
How often to post on Twitter
How often to post on LinkedIn
How to know the best posting frequency for social media
How to schedule social media posts
Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.
How often to post on InstagramIt is generally recommended to post to your Instagram feed 2-3 times per week, and no more than 1x per day. Stories can be posted more frequently.
During Instagram’s Creator Week in June 2021, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri suggested that posting 2 feed posts per week and 2 Stories per day is ideal for building a following on the app.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)
To keep up with your competitors (or frenemies!) it’s probably good to note that businesses post 1.56 posts to their feed per day. This might seem like a lot, but a social media content calendar can help make regular posting a breeze!
The Hootsuite social media team’s current strategy is to just post to the main feed 2 to 3 times each week, and to Stories 2 to 3 times a week.
“Think about how often your audience wants to hear from you,” says Brayden Cohen, social marketing team lead. “Focus on building a regular cadence: you can grow your followers by 2x by simply posting every week consistently, compared to those who post less frequently than once a week.”
And if you think that an algorithmically controlled timeline means post timing doesn’t matter, think again. Our experiments have proven that post timing does have an impact on Instagram engagement.
Key Instagram statistics to keep in mind when posting:
- Instagram has 3.76 billion visits every day
- 500 million people use Stories every day
- The average user spends 30 minutes a day on Instagram
- 81% of people use Instagram to research products and services
- 63% of American users check Instagram at least once day
View all the latest Instagram statistics here, and details on Instagram demographics here!
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How often to post on FacebookIt is generally recommended to post 1 time per day, and no more than 2 times per day.
In fact, some studies have even found a drop in engagement if you’re posting more than that… so don’t get too post-happy. Aim for quality over quantity.
The average Facebook Page shares 1.55 posts per day. So, for Hootsuite’s social goals, 1 to 2 posts per day is just right.
“Daily posting will grow followers 4x faster than posting less than once a week. Makes sense: more visibility,” says Brayden.
To keep that regular content coming, it’s a good idea to create a content calendar to stay organized. Try out our free content calendar template, or play around with the Hootsuite Planner tool.
Key Facebook statistics to keep in mind when posting:
- Facebook is the world’s third most-visited website
- More than half of American users check Facebook several times per day
- The average user spends 34 minutes per day on Facebook
- 80% of people access the platform using mobile only
Get some more fascinating numbers in our breakdown of the latest Facebook statistics and Facebook demographics.
How often to post on TwitterIt is generally recommended to post 1-2 times per day, and no more than 3-5 times per day.
Of course, there are plenty of power users out there… accounts posting 50 or 100 times a day. If you’ve got the time, we’re certainly not going to stop you.
But to keep your brand’s presence active and engaged on Twitter, you really don’t need to drop everything and commit to a FT gig Tweeting.
In fact, for the general @Hootsuite channel (where the audience is followers, customers and prospects), the Hootsuite team posts one thread of 7 to 8 Tweets daily, plus one other post. On our @hootsuitebusiness channel (aimed at supporting Enterprise initiatives), they stick to 1 to 2 Tweets daily.
Finding a typo in a post that's already generated a ton of engagement too. The worst.
— Hootsuite 🦉 (@hootsuite) June 10, 2021
For the team, that’s more than enough to drive engagement and growth.
Remember that, however frequently you’re posting, the best practice is to follow the rule of thirds:
- ⅓ of tweets promote your business
- ⅓ share personal stories
- ⅓ are informative insights from experts or influencers
Find more Twitter marketing wisdom over here.
Key Twitter statistics to keep in mind when posting:
- One-quarter of American users check Twitter several times a day
- Watch time on Twitter has increased 72% since last year
- 42% of American users check Twitter at least once day
- The average time a user spends on Twitter is about 15 minutes per visit
Check out our complete list of 2021 Twitter statistics (and explore our guide to Twitter demographics while you’re at it!)
How often to post on LinkedInOn LinkedIn, it is generally recommended to post at least once a day, and no more than 5x per day.
LinkedIn itself has seen brands that post once a month gain followers six times faster than those who keep a lower profile. That pattern continues with more frequent posting: companies that post weekly see twice the engagement, while bands that post daily gain even more traction.
Hootsuite tends to fall on the more-frequent end of that spectrum… in fact, the social team increased their daily posting on LinkedIn in 2021: from two posts per day to three, and sometimes up to five depending on campaigns and events.
“The increase in posting cadence has also meant an increase in engagement rate,” says Iain Beable, social marketing strategist. “This however is more reflective of the type of content we are creating. Generally, if you increase cadence, there is a good chance you may see a drop in engagement rate as there is more content. As we have seen an increase, it shows the content we are creating is more relevant to our audience and more engaging. “
To make sure your posting strategy is aligned with your engagement goals, keep track of LinkedIn analytics with a social media management tool like Hootsuite.
Source: Hootsuite
Explore ideas for building your LinkedIn brand with our LinkedIn marketing guide.
Key LinkedIn statistics to keep in mind when posting:
- 40 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs each week
- Companies that post weekly on LinkedIn see a 2x higher engagement rate
- 12% of American users check LinkedIn several times a day
Here’s the full list of 2021 LinkedIn statistics (and LinkedIn demographics, too).
How to know the best posting frequency for social mediaAs with all things social, finding the best frequency to post on any platform is going to require some trial and error.
“I personally have always found the topic of how many times per day should I post a little over-thought and definitely secondary to the quality of the content one is publishing,” says Iian.
“Increase in key performance metrics such as clicks and high quality engagements (comments and shares over likes) is fundamentally due to whether a piece of content adds value to me as the reader. ”
In a nutshell: The quality of content matters more than frequency. While posting more content may help to some extent, the more relevant and useful your content is to the audience, the better your social channels will perform.
“In a similar way to how organic search has pivoted from being focused on the keyword to the intent behind the keyword, the same can be said for social,” adds Iian. “Social algorithms are now placing emphasis on the types of content which will provide the user with value, rather than just showing the user everything that is published. “
How to schedule social media postsSo there you have it: there’s no perfect answer to this Big Juicy Question, but at least you’ve got a place to start.
Now, it’s time for the fun part: create some great, engaging content and get it scheduled to go out into the world! Prep your posts in advance to hit those frequency sweet spots with a scheduling tool like Hootsuite — get started with our complete guide to scheduling your social media posts.
Use Hootsuite to schedule and publish all of your social media posts, engage with your followers, and track the success of your efforts. Sign up for a free trial today.
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Optimal Instagram Posting Frequency: 20+ Expert Tips
How often do you post on Instagram? Many bloggers, no matter how many followers they have, don't know if they should post new posts once a day, three times a week, or several times a day.
You don't want to bore your audience with too frequent posts, but being forgotten is a so-so prospect.
What to do?
There may not be a universal answer to this question, but in this article you will find advice from 20+ marketers with years of experience in managing Instagram accounts. You will learn how to develop a strategy that is right for your company and audience. nine0003
Article content
How often to post on Instagram: best practices
Daily posts
1. Instagram algorithms may reward you
2. Increased visibility
3. You keep the attention and interest of the audience
Posting 3-5 once a week
1. Engagement rate can grow
2. Opportunity to improvise
3. You won’t have to post irrelevant content
Posting 1-2 times a week
Do I need to make a schedule?
Quality over quantity
What's next?
How often to post on Instagram: best practices
If you've been looking for the secret formula to find the exact answer to this question, we're going to have to disappoint you: best practices vary by industry and company type. Much depends on the preferences of your audience.
Only one thing is universal - you need to study your subscribers and find out how often they want to see you in their feed. Below you will find recommendations from marketers, most of whom have been blogging on Instagram for more than three years (>40% of respondents), which means they have had enough time to test different strategies and find out which ones work best. nine0003
How long has your company had an active Instagram account?
Less than a year
1-3 years
Over 3 years
We don't have an account
Read also: How to grow your business by attracting leads from Instagram?
Daily posts
Some companies benefit from publishing new posts every day. This may depend on your goals, or whether you work in B2B or B2C, or what other channels you use to promote your products or services. nine0003
If Instagram is your main social media platform for finding new potential buyers, then according to experts, posting every day can be especially beneficial for your company.
There are three reasons for this:
1. Instagram algorithms might reward you
You may have heard complaints about Instagram's algorithms: if you take a moment to distract yourself, your audience reach shrinks. While it's not true that all activity on an app is tracked by a single algorithm, frequent and regular posts do get more attention. nine0003
John Frigo of Best Price Nutrition says, "Instagram's algorithms, and indeed most social media, reward frequent posts, so it's best to post daily."
2. Increase visibility
Many companies benefit from publishing one post each day. Marketing experts believe that this frequency of posts is optimal: they do not overload the audience and at the same time do not let you be forgotten.
Only 10% of survey participants have an audience between 25,000 and 50,000 subscribers, the majority (more than 30%) have less than 1,000. In order to attract more, increase visibility and expand your reach, it can be beneficial for you to post every day. nine0003
How many followers does your Instagram account have?
Less than 1,000
1000 - 3000
5,000 - 10,000
3,000 — 5,000
25,000 - 50,000
10,000 - 25,000
For Finding Balance's Lily Ugbaia, daily posts are the best fit for her company and audience. This frequency of posting helps to attract the attention of new followers: “Instagram is a very visual platform. Therefore, to get the most out of it, you need visuals that represent your company so that customers and potential buyers can see you all the time.” nine0003
Harriet Chen of CocoFinder also believes that daily posts increase visibility on Instagram. It can be useful to post even a few posts a day: “Experts believe that you need to post new posts every day. But for maximum engagement, you need three posts a day. This frequency increases the visibility of your brand and helps boost sales of your products.”
3. You keep the attention and interest of the audience
Daily posts give engaged audiences exactly what they want. If your followers enjoy interacting with brands, posting daily will help keep them engaged and allow followers to enjoy new content all the time so they don't lose interest. nine0003
“For years, we have been experimenting with post frequency and choosing the best strategies for our business Instagram account,” says Jonathan Ofrey of Growth Hackers Agency. "We've found that daily posts work best because by providing content regularly, we keep engagement without overwhelming our community."
Chloe Sisson of Zen Media agrees that posting more than once a day can overwhelm subscribers unless the posts are related to each other. “If Instagram is your main marketing tool, it is recommended to post once a day. Set a specific time for this so your followers know when to expect your content. We post once a day. We have found that this frequency works best for our audience.” nine0003
Read also: How to build a large audience on Instagram: 7 recommendations
Posting 3-5 times a week
What if you can't post every day? Or, for example, is your audience dissatisfied with an overabundance of content? Do not worry. Some experts recommend posting once or twice a week, as well as posting on weekdays rather than weekends.
Once again, it all depends on your audience. If your target followers commute during the week and spend the weekend with their family without looking at their phones, you'll schedule your schedule so your best posts don't go unnoticed. nine0003
1. Engagement rate may increase
The majority of survey participants (more than 30%) name an engagement rate of 1-3%, and this is good for Instagram. The majority of those surveyed only post a few times a week because such a schedule increases engagement. The audience has more time to explore the content and interact with it.
What is your average Instagram engagement rate?
Less than 0.5%
0.5 - 1%
1 - 3%
Over 3%
Don't know
2. Ability to improvise
Sometimes something unexpected happens that you want to tell subscribers about. If your schedule calls for two or three posts a week, you can always cram in an announcement or post something impulsively without overwhelming your audience.
A strict schedule also robs your profile of authenticity. Authenticity is important because people want to get to know you, feel your energy, and see if you're the right fit for them. People want to talk to people, not robots. nine0003
So always leave space for spontaneous posts, as Stephanie Gutierrez of Online Optimism advises. She thinks it's best to post 3-5 times a week if you want to "maintain an active Instagram account that grabs and keeps attention. It's important to leave room in your content plan to accommodate the new material that's coming out this week and stay on schedule."
3. You don't have to post irrelevant content
What if you post a post a day and have nothing prepared for today? Will you post anything just to stay on schedule? Frequency is important, but not enough to post irrelevant content. nine0003
Dennis Hancock of Mountain Valley MD thinks you shouldn't post just to tick off a plan. The best practice is to “post often enough for your audience to remember your brand, and if your posts are engaging, Instagram will reward you with a wider audience reach. Posting once a day is good if you share something important. No need to post irrelevant or weak content. ”
Charlotte Spence of Mattress Nerd says, “Posting 3 times a day is annoying for most users and will quickly lead to unfollowing. Make a schedule and post anywhere from 5 posts per week to 2 posts per day, but only if you're sharing high quality content. Create your posts ahead of time when you have a good idea, and if you don't have a good post ready, don't post anything. Better to remain silent than to post irrelevant content." nine0003
Read also: Lead generation on Instagram: how to create photo captions?
Posting 1-2 times a week
If Instagram is just one of your marketing channels, then you don't need daily posts to maintain your online presence and keep your audience up to date with all the latest news about your brand.
Posting once or twice a week works well if you're consistent. Mitchell Harad of Expert Opportunities says it's important to stick to a schedule, and consistency is "the most valuable quality" for a company looking to win over an audience. nine0003
“If you only post once a week, that's fine. Just make it a habit to do it at the same time so your audience will expect it. The same goes for posting three times a week. This strategy isn't three times better: it's just as valuable if you stick to your schedule. The audience craves consistency, and when the frequency of your posts provides it, that's good."
This is true: people love routine and predictability. If your followers are used to reading your content over their Tuesday morning coffee, don't disappoint them. nine0003
"It's important to set up a schedule and stick to it so your community knows what to expect from you," says Jordin Jewell of Simple Machines Marketing. - If you decide to post twice a week, then twice a week share valuable, engaging content that your audience will want to keep and forward to friends. If you can post content like this five times a week, that's great! But it’s better to share valuable content 1-3 times a week than to post anything every day for show. ” nine0003
Read also: Why Your Instagram Posts Don't Engage: The Scientific Reason
Do You Need to Schedule?
Does every company need a schedule for posting content? Scheduling is useful because people will get used to you posting at certain times and will wait for them.
Tarlia Smedley of Pulse Recruitment says consistency is key. “Instead of requiring a fixed number of posts every day or every week, I believe that success on Instagram depends on the quality and consistency of the posts.” nine0003
“There is no point in posting low quality content, especially if you are not achieving the desired engagement metrics. In that case, I would suggest posting less content overall to focus on the quality of posts with higher engagement rates.”
For those who don't know how often to post, Smedley's advice is: “Determine how much content you can create in a week and stick with that amount of posts. You may only post them three times a week, but if you spread them out by day of the week and stick to a schedule, you'll get better results in the long run. Each company is different, so set achievable goals for yourself and post at least once a week and no more than three times a day.” nine0003
Engagement is important, of course, but sometimes it can be difficult to create engaging content for Instagram, especially if it's not the only platform you use to advertise and find new audiences. Alex Birket of Conversion.AI thinks the key is to create something of value and attention: “Actually, I think you shouldn't be posting as often as you think. Creating interesting content for Instagram is not easy, especially for companies: you are competing with friends and family of your followers. Your ad may not be the most interesting thing they see in a day.” nine0003
Most people don't go to Instagram to shop and watch ads, so your job is to create an interesting and engaging story. Birket says: “I think you should post when you have something interesting for your followers. But don't overdo it. Instagram algorithms are such that the more followers interact with your content, the higher you will appear in their feed, and vice versa. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity. Anyway, it's about posts, but you can post more stories." nine0003
Also read: Stop organic social media activity to increase profits
Quality over quantity
All experts agree on one thing: quality is always more important than quantity.
Over time, your audience will get to know you better and understand which of your posts are authentic and which are posted for show. If you don't have the time or material to create a quality post, it's best not to post anything.
It takes a lot of time to experiment and find out what works for your audience. To get started, try the best practices recommended by the experts. This way, you will probably find your ideal posting frequency faster and develop a schedule that works for you and your audience. nine0003
The main thing is to listen to what your followers want and monitor their reactions to your posts. Then you will be able to strike a balance, delight and engage your audience, and provide them with high-quality content so that your Instagram community will grow and grow.
What's next?
Suppose you have collected a large number of followers on your Instagram account, how to convert them into buyers? A prominent avatar, a competent offer, a clear call to action in the profile and a link to a mobile landing page are aimed at attracting potential customers from Instagram as much as possible. Therefore, if your bio does not contain these elements, it's time to correct this omission. nine0003
High conversions for you!
Source: databox.com. Image: freepik.com
02-09-2021
Optimal Instagram Posting Frequency: 20+ Expert Tips
How often do you post on Instagram? Many bloggers, no matter how many followers they have, don't know if they should post new posts once a day, three times a week, or several times a day.
You don't want to bore your audience with too frequent posts, but being forgotten is a so-so prospect. nine0003
What to do?
There may not be a universal answer to this question, but in this article you will find advice from 20+ marketers with years of experience in managing Instagram accounts. You will learn how to develop a strategy that is right for your company and audience.
Article content
How often to post on Instagram: best practices
Daily posts
1. Instagram algorithms may reward you
2. Increased visibility
3. You keep the attention and interest of the audience
Posting 3-5 times a week
1. Engagement rate can increase
2. Ability to improvise
3. You don’t have to post irrelevant content
Posting 1-2 times a week
Do I need to make a schedule?
Quality over quantity
What's next?
How often to post on Instagram: best practices
If you've been looking for the secret formula to find the exact answer to this question, we're going to have to disappoint you: best practices vary by industry and company type. Much depends on the preferences of your audience.
Only one thing is universal - you need to study your subscribers and find out how often they want to see you in their feed. Below you will find recommendations from marketers, most of whom have been blogging on Instagram for more than three years (>40% of respondents), which means they have had enough time to test different strategies and find out which ones work best. nine0003
How long has your company had an active Instagram account?
Less than a year
1-3 years
Over 3 years
We don't have an account
Read also: How to grow your business by attracting leads from Instagram?
Daily posts
Some companies benefit from publishing new posts every day. This may depend on your goals, or whether you work in B2B or B2C, or what other channels you use to promote your products or services. nine0003
If Instagram is your main social media platform for finding new potential buyers, then according to experts, posting every day can be especially beneficial for your company.
There are three reasons for this:
1. Instagram algorithms might reward you
You may have heard complaints about Instagram's algorithms: if you take a moment to distract yourself, your audience reach shrinks. While it's not true that all activity on an app is tracked by a single algorithm, frequent and regular posts do get more attention. nine0003
John Frigo of Best Price Nutrition says, "Instagram's algorithms, and indeed most social media, reward frequent posts, so it's best to post daily."
2. Increase visibility
Many companies benefit from publishing one post each day. Marketing experts believe that this frequency of posts is optimal: they do not overload the audience and at the same time do not let you be forgotten.
Only 10% of survey participants have an audience between 25,000 and 50,000 subscribers, the majority (more than 30%) have less than 1,000. In order to attract more, increase visibility and expand your reach, it can be beneficial for you to post every day. nine0003
How many followers does your Instagram account have?
Less than 1,000
1000 - 3000
5,000 - 10,000
3,000 — 5,000
25,000 - 50,000
10,000 - 25,000
For Finding Balance's Lily Ugbaia, daily posts are the best fit for her company and audience. This frequency of posting helps to attract the attention of new followers: “Instagram is a very visual platform. Therefore, to get the most out of it, you need visuals that represent your company so that customers and potential buyers can see you all the time.” nine0003
Harriet Chen of CocoFinder also believes that daily posts increase visibility on Instagram. It can be useful to post even a few posts a day: “Experts believe that you need to post new posts every day. But for maximum engagement, you need three posts a day. This frequency increases the visibility of your brand and helps boost sales of your products.”
3. You keep the attention and interest of the audience
Daily posts give engaged audiences exactly what they want. If your followers enjoy interacting with brands, posting daily will help keep them engaged and allow followers to enjoy new content all the time so they don't lose interest. nine0003
“For years, we have been experimenting with post frequency and choosing the best strategies for our business Instagram account,” says Jonathan Ofrey of Growth Hackers Agency. "We've found that daily posts work best because by providing content regularly, we keep engagement without overwhelming our community."
Chloe Sisson of Zen Media agrees that posting more than once a day can overwhelm subscribers unless the posts are related to each other. “If Instagram is your main marketing tool, it is recommended to post once a day. Set a specific time for this so your followers know when to expect your content. We post once a day. We have found that this frequency works best for our audience.” nine0003
Read also: How to build a large audience on Instagram: 7 recommendations
Posting 3-5 times a week
What if you can't post every day? Or, for example, is your audience dissatisfied with an overabundance of content? Do not worry. Some experts recommend posting once or twice a week, as well as posting on weekdays rather than weekends.
Once again, it all depends on your audience. If your target followers commute during the week and spend the weekend with their family without looking at their phones, you'll schedule your schedule so your best posts don't go unnoticed. nine0003
1. Engagement rate may increase
The majority of survey participants (more than 30%) name an engagement rate of 1-3%, and this is good for Instagram. The majority of those surveyed only post a few times a week because such a schedule increases engagement. The audience has more time to explore the content and interact with it.
What is your average Instagram engagement rate?
Less than 0.5%
0.5 - 1%
1 - 3%
Over 3%
Don't know
2. Ability to improvise
Sometimes something unexpected happens that you want to tell subscribers about. If your schedule calls for two or three posts a week, you can always cram in an announcement or post something impulsively without overwhelming your audience.
A strict schedule also robs your profile of authenticity. Authenticity is important because people want to get to know you, feel your energy, and see if you're the right fit for them. People want to talk to people, not robots. nine0003
So always leave space for spontaneous posts, as Stephanie Gutierrez of Online Optimism advises. She thinks it's best to post 3-5 times a week if you want to "maintain an active Instagram account that grabs and keeps attention. It's important to leave room in your content plan to accommodate the new material that's coming out this week and stay on schedule."
3. You don't have to post irrelevant content
What if you post a post a day and have nothing prepared for today? Will you post anything just to stay on schedule? Frequency is important, but not enough to post irrelevant content. nine0003
Dennis Hancock of Mountain Valley MD thinks you shouldn't post just to tick off a plan. The best practice is to “post often enough for your audience to remember your brand, and if your posts are engaging, Instagram will reward you with a wider audience reach. Posting once a day is good if you share something important. No need to post irrelevant or weak content. ”
Charlotte Spence of Mattress Nerd says, “Posting 3 times a day is annoying for most users and will quickly lead to unfollowing. Make a schedule and post anywhere from 5 posts per week to 2 posts per day, but only if you're sharing high quality content. Create your posts ahead of time when you have a good idea, and if you don't have a good post ready, don't post anything. Better to remain silent than to post irrelevant content." nine0003
Read also: Lead generation on Instagram: how to create photo captions?
Posting 1-2 times a week
If Instagram is just one of your marketing channels, then you don't need daily posts to maintain your online presence and keep your audience up to date with all the latest news about your brand.
Posting once or twice a week works well if you're consistent. Mitchell Harad of Expert Opportunities says it's important to stick to a schedule, and consistency is "the most valuable quality" for a company looking to win over an audience. nine0003
“If you only post once a week, that's fine. Just make it a habit to do it at the same time so your audience will expect it. The same goes for posting three times a week. This strategy isn't three times better: it's just as valuable if you stick to your schedule. The audience craves consistency, and when the frequency of your posts provides it, that's good."
This is true: people love routine and predictability. If your followers are used to reading your content over their Tuesday morning coffee, don't disappoint them. nine0003
"It's important to set up a schedule and stick to it so your community knows what to expect from you," says Jordin Jewell of Simple Machines Marketing. - If you decide to post twice a week, then twice a week share valuable, engaging content that your audience will want to keep and forward to friends. If you can post content like this five times a week, that's great! But it’s better to share valuable content 1-3 times a week than to post anything every day for show. ” nine0003
Read also: Why Your Instagram Posts Don't Engage: The Scientific Reason
Do You Need to Schedule?
Does every company need a schedule for posting content? Scheduling is useful because people will get used to you posting at certain times and will wait for them.
Tarlia Smedley of Pulse Recruitment says consistency is key. “Instead of requiring a fixed number of posts every day or every week, I believe that success on Instagram depends on the quality and consistency of the posts.” nine0003
“There is no point in posting low quality content, especially if you are not achieving the desired engagement metrics. In that case, I would suggest posting less content overall to focus on the quality of posts with higher engagement rates.”
For those who don't know how often to post, Smedley's advice is: “Determine how much content you can create in a week and stick with that amount of posts. You may only post them three times a week, but if you spread them out by day of the week and stick to a schedule, you'll get better results in the long run. Each company is different, so set achievable goals for yourself and post at least once a week and no more than three times a day.” nine0003
Engagement is important, of course, but sometimes it can be difficult to create engaging content for Instagram, especially if it's not the only platform you use to advertise and find new audiences. Alex Birket of Conversion.AI thinks the key is to create something of value and attention: “Actually, I think you shouldn't be posting as often as you think. Creating interesting content for Instagram is not easy, especially for companies: you are competing with friends and family of your followers. Your ad may not be the most interesting thing they see in a day.” nine0003
Most people don't go to Instagram to shop and watch ads, so your job is to create an interesting and engaging story. Birket says: “I think you should post when you have something interesting for your followers. But don't overdo it. Instagram algorithms are such that the more followers interact with your content, the higher you will appear in their feed, and vice versa. Therefore, quality is more important than quantity. Anyway, it's about posts, but you can post more stories." nine0003
Also read: Stop organic social media activity to increase profits
Quality over quantity
All experts agree on one thing: quality is always more important than quantity.
Over time, your audience will get to know you better and understand which of your posts are authentic and which are posted for show. If you don't have the time or material to create a quality post, it's best not to post anything.
It takes a lot of time to experiment and find out what works for your audience. To get started, try the best practices recommended by the experts. This way, you will probably find your ideal posting frequency faster and develop a schedule that works for you and your audience. nine0003
The main thing is to listen to what your followers want and monitor their reactions to your posts. Then you will be able to strike a balance, delight and engage your audience, and provide them with high-quality content so that your Instagram community will grow and grow.