Facebook is a potentially powerful tool for any business that is looking to build its audience and increase loyalty among existing followers. This is not only a marketing tool but also a communication tool that can be used to interact with your fans and buyers and thereby build a stronger relationship.
The only problem? Most businesses have no idea how to go about using Facebook. They don’t know how often to post, and worse still… they don’t know what to post!
So then, if you are a small (or large!) business and you’re looking to make more of a splash on Facebook, just how often should you be posting? Here’s what you need to know…
Posting Often is Useful
The first thing to recognize is that posting to Facebook often is a very good idea. The reason for this is that Facebook pages thrive when they experience an exponential kind of growth.
This in turn happens when you post something and then other people comment on that post or share it, thereby bringing more views and more interactions (and more likes for your page). In order for this to happen though, you need that initial momentum that comes from the first post being seen.
And here’s the thing: only 5-10% of your audience will see each post. That means that if you post to Facebook 10 times, most viewers will only see one message that day. You don’t need to worry about scaring them off then – just get posting!
Quality > Quantity
At the same time though, you mustn’t get carried away with this idea of flooding your feed with posts. Why? Because much more important than quantity is quality.
If your posts are going to enjoy that kind of exponential success, then you need people to want to read them, share them, and like them. If the content you’re posting is dull – if it is aimed at doing nothing but bragging about your products – then why would anyone take the time to look at them?
Why wouldn’t anyone simply stop following your page?
Look at the most successful Facebook pages – things like IFL Science and Uni Lad – and you’ll see they share a very specific type of sharable, clickable content. But it is all either interesting, funny, or unique.
If you want to succeed, you need to find a way to do that often within your niche. And that means finding a way to tie your Facebook operations to a broader content marketing strategy.
