Digital Marketing Guide.

I am often asked questions about the frequency with which you should post or publish “stuff” online.  From website copy to blog articles to social posts and email blasts … how much is too much? How much is not enough? Well here is our digital marketing guide to answer some of those questions.

What is The Point of Publishing Content Online?

Before we get into frequency, we need to make sure we remember why we are creating and publishing all of this content in the first place.  You must always remember, there are 3 important groups who are “watching” you and the content you publish online.

Group #1:  Your Existing Clients

A great way to provide value for your existing customer base is to provide useful, timely, and relevant information which brings “value” to them.  Consider it ongoing customer service or customer relationship management.

Group #2:  Potential Customers

Of course, the content you publish online may be seen by potential customers.  Whether the content is posted to your website, to your blog, to your social media accounts, or even in email blasts, you must always view your online content as sales material.

Group #3: Google and Other Search Engines

Google ranks websites on a number of factors.  One of the important factors is the content you provide.  Are you a valuable resource?  Do you frequently publish new information?  Google wants to ensure your website is current and well-maintained.

We publish new content to meet the needs of all 3 of the groups listed above, so make sure you write your content to be well-received by all of them.  Be useful.  Be timely.  Be relevant.  Be interesting.  Use your keywords!

How Often to Post?

The answer to the question of how often you should post content is … “it depends”.  No one wants to hear that but it’s true.  Depending on your industry, the specifics of your business, your audience, and a whole host of other factors, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should post.  However, if you will allow for gross generalizations, I will provide our “average” answers.

Posting Content to Facebook for Your Business

Frequency: 1 to 3 times per day

Why:  The “average” Facebook post has a lifecycle of 3 hours.  After that, the post gets bumped so far down the news feed that most people won’t see it again.  If you carefully choose the optimal posting times for your audience, you can span 3 to 9 of the “best” hours – garnering you well over 75% of the eyeballs you are trying to attract.

Posting Content to Twitter for Your Business

Frequency: Minimum 5 times per day (if you are serious)

Why:  The “average” tweet only lasts 18 minutes.  Tweets are more likely to get drowned out in the flood of new tweets.  Retweeting (or repeating old tweets) is no problem.  In fact, it’s expected to a large degree, just don’t overdo it.

Posting Content to LinkedIn for Your Business

Frequency: Maximum 1 per day

Why:  Depending on the size of your network, the average LinkedIn post stays in the news feed for 24 hours.  Also, be careful about “repeat posts”.  Try not to repeat yourself like you can on Facebook and Twitter.

Posting Content to YouTube for Your Business

Frequency: No limit

Why:  People love video and are willing to watch more.  In fact, they prefer it.

Posting Content to Pinterest and Instagram for Your Business

Frequency: No limit (just don’t waste people’s time with junk)

Why:  Creative, fun, or interesting posts with images or photos never gets old if the post is good quality.

Posting Content to Your Blog

Frequency: Depends  : – )

Why:  It all depends on your specific goals.  Simply keeping in touch with your clients?  The answer is 1 per month.  If you are attempting to get Google’s attention (ranking) then 1 per week is the absolute minimum.  If you are aggressive and wish to establish an “authority site”, then you must publish a blog article daily.

Sending Email to Your List

This one really does depend.  What do you sell?  How expensive is it?  How often will people buy it in a given period?  For example, I am fine with receiving a Dairy Queen email once a day (with coupons) but don’t send me information about insurance every day, I will unsubscribe.  Sadly, as much as I’d like to give you a solid answer on this one … I simply cannot.

Check out some of our other great posts with tips and great free information!