From the day businesses began posting on social media, the same question has been asked – how often should you post? The same question applies to all marketing activities, including blogs.
Like most things in life, there is not a one size fits all answer. Instead, there are some general guidelines that help you make this decision. The correct frequency of posting will vary on a number of factors, which we will explore in this post.
So, how often should you post on your small business blog? Read on to find out.
Understand your Audience
Any marketing activity, including blogs, are as effective as someone screaming to no one from a soapbox if you don’t understand your target audience. When designing your product or service, you would’ve had your target audience in mind and the same goes for your blog activity. You need to understand their behaviours online, the kind of content they consume, what time of day they consume it, how long will engage with a single piece of content before moving on etc.
As an example, if your target market spends 1 hour a week online every Thursday, there’s not much point in posting more than that. This is of course an extreme example, but you get the idea.
Whilst understanding their online behaviour, you also need to understand their needs and the problem your product or service will solve for them. With this foundation of understanding, you can begin to plan your content accordingly and make informed choices as you do so.
As always, Quality over Quantity
With all your content, blog posts included, the goal should always be quality of quantity. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, people simply don’t want to be bombarded with adverts it’s one of the reasons why platforms like Netflix are so popular (no ads). Posting too often will cause disinterest in your blog, which will lead to a decline in your traffic.
Secondly, if people are going to take time out of their day to read your content, it better be worth it. Otherwise, this too will see potential customers looking elsewhere as they aren’t getting any value from your posts.
This is why an understanding of your audience is so key. If you can understand their needs, you’ll be able to create content that is more appealing. If you can give value to your target market in this way, they will keep coming back for more.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is simply posting for the sake of it. Instead, your posts should always be part of a larger strategy or message such as establishing your brand, educating your audience about your products, or offering valuable information and insights.
Consistency is Key
When it comes to blog posts, one of the most common mistakes a business can make is not posting consistently. Posting on a regular basis say every Thursday night, will create a sense of expectation from your audience as they await your next post.
Posting sporadically, however, will cause confusion and people to disengage with your content. One post a week is better than 3 posts in one week, then radio silence for a month.
It is important to adapt your schedule too and you can do this with testing. If you’re not getting the desired traffic, you can try posting on a different day and if you get better results, make a change. This can be to both to increase or decrease your output. Keep your audience in mind, as always, when making these decisions.
Be Realistic
Ideally, most businesses should be aiming to post 2-4 times per week. This is to keep your audience interested, and keep your SEO score up and maintain or improve your ranking in search. However, you need to be mindful of your capabilities. Every business is different in its size and resources.
Don’t strive to match the output of larger companies as you simply won’t have the time to do the job correctly. Instead, assess your capabilities and weigh that up against the need of your audience – perhaps just one, really strong post a week may be enough? Perhaps you may need to do more? This will be up to you.
Final Thoughts
Although there isn’t one answer for everyone, this post will certainly help you to find your own magic number for posting frequency. Should you find yourself struggling to meet the demands of your target market, or simply failing to get your desired results, contact us today. We offer a range of affordable copywriting services starting from just £25.