It seems as though many businesses seem to think that their only need for a Facebook presence is to ensure that a Page exists so no one thinks they’re not “with the times.” This line of thinking is more common than you think and completely ignores the power of social media. People are always connected and, if your’e business isn’t regularly communicating, you could be running considerable risk to your brand.
If you’re not posting regularly or with any purpose, you may run into the problem of people thinking the worst of your business. Through Google and it’s SEO algorithm, your Facebook Page normally lands on the first page (some exceptions include having a popular keyword in your name). If people search for you online and go to a Facebook Page that’s rarely active, or in many cases never active, the perception could be that you aren’t a thought leader. Or worse, that you aren’t even in business. People look to social media for answers to their questions and are actually seeking to be engaged with. Not taking advantage of that is like passing up meetings with thousands of potential clients.
Obviously, the last thing you want is to have people to think negatively of your brand. Especially if you’re actually very active offline and are looking to grow your business to take advantage of a growing infrastructure. Your frequency of posting and communicating should reflect not only your industry and how often your competitors interact with potential customers – it should reflect how often you want to build relationships with your clients and prospects. Since that generally means you’re looking for a constant channel for relationship building, your activity should be often and consistent.
Many business owners and marketers look for some magic number that equates to the right amount of times you should be posting. In all honestly, that doesn’t really exist. The suggested number of posts is usually 2-3 per day. But, if you’ve reached this quota, should you just stop there? There are things that occur throughout a day that are newsworthy and could resonate with an audience.
Your business should be looking to take advantage of those moments and post relevant content that will engage your audience. If you’re looking to tap into the power of social media, you should be very active on Facebook and other platforms that suit you. Your business’ Facebook Page is an extension of your brand. Do you and your staff take periodic breaks of up to 3-4 days at a time, twice a month? Since you don’t, neither should your Facebook Page. The key to any successful social media marketing strategy is consistency. If your business consistently posts engaging content and communicates with your target audience regularly, the answer to how often you should be posting will manifest itself – you should be posting as often as people will interact with you.
