20/09/2023
We are often asked ‘how often should we be posting on social media each week?’ during our digital training for churches. The quick answer is: there’s no real formula to follow: what works for you will depend on the platform you’re using, the size of your audience and the type of content you’re posting.
Before we get on to how often to post, here are a few things for you to consider.
- Quality is more important than quantity. The more helpful or interesting your content is to your audience, the better, as they will come back to your posts again and again. If you post for the sake of it, or only post about your events, you risk losing your audience’s attention.
- What can you realistically manage? There are only so many hours in a day, and you are probably juggling a lot of other things as well as looking after your church’s social media platforms. Decide what’s possible for you or your team, to manage.
- Be consistent. Once you’ve decided what you can manage, stick to it. Studies show that the more consistent you are with social media, the more likely it is that your audience will see your post, and the more likely it is that your audience will grow.
How often should you be posting on social media?
Our recommendations here show the ideal frequency of posting per week for accounts that would like to grow their audience. If this is possible for you, that’s great, but if not, aim to post the minimum and be consistent.
Top tip #1: not sure what you can realistically manage and keep at a consistent level? It’s ok to experiment! Have a go at posting a couple of times a week and see how that goes, and then you can up the frequency if you feel able to.
Top tip #2: Using scheduling tools is a great way to help you manage your social media channels and maintain consistency, without taking up too much of your time. Check out our blog about how to use Meta Business Suite here.
Top tip #3: Repurpose content! You can share the same post on your Facebook and Instagram newsfeeds, and the same images/videos on your Facebook and Instagram stories or reels!
Our recommendations based on the type of post and platform
Facebook Newsfeed
Ideal: Five to seven posts per week
Lowest: Three times a week
Tip: More than once a day can be too much unless you’ve got a very big following when you might get away with more! Need some ideas on what to post? Take a read of our blog here.
Facebook Stories
Ideal: As often as you can! These are a great way to engage with your Facebook audience more casually.
Lowest: Try to post a couple of stories per week
Tip: Lower quality videos and images work well in stories, as we expect them to be light and candid, so have fun!
Instagram Posts
Ideal: Five to seven posts per week.
Lowest: Three times a week.
Tip: Consistency is important to growing your following on Instagram, don’t post 10 times one week, and then only twice the next. Keep to a consistent rhythm.
Instagram Stories
Ideal: As often as you can, remembering not to spam your followers
Lowest: Try to post a couple of stories per week, if you can!
Tip: If you’ve not used them before, try posting stories out on your own Instagram profile, before creating them for your church account.
Have a go and see what works for you – this isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but will vary for your community. It’s better to post good quality content twice a week than less engaging content every day!
- Digital Labs Team
