How Often Should You Post on Instagram®?

Sometimes we can get too caught up on how often we should post on Instagram®.

Some people will tell you that you must post at least once every day, others tell you twice a day, some think once a week is okay.

The truth is, there is no correct amount to post on the Gram. What's most important is the quality of the content you're posting instead of the quantity. 

While your posts' regularity will affect your discoverability and engagement, it's not the only important thing to consider when devising your social media strategy.

Here are some things to think about when deciding how often to post. 

There's No Magic Number

Sometimes we can be scrolling through Instagram®, and we will see posts that are a couple of days old right at the top of our feed.

We may also notice that some of our older posts are receiving engagement days after we've posted them, while our most recent posts might be struggling.

This is all to do with the Instagram® algorithm and how it works.

Unfortunately, there is no magic number that will solve all of our Gram anxieties, and we may have to undertake a bit of trial and error to work out the best frequency for our business. 

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Choose Consistency Over Frequency

This is where things get personal! It would help if you worked out your ideal posting schedule, depending on your business goals and objectives.

If you decide that ten posts per week are the optimum amount for your business, then that's okay. But make sure you spread them out over a consistent basis. 

For example, if you post five on Monday morning, four on Tuesday afternoon, and then one on Friday night, you may start to lose followers and generate less engagement per post over time.

If you've decided to post ten times a day, for example, perhaps schedule one every day, and then an additional one on your three busiest days of the week.

This way, your posts will be consistent and will encourage engagement from your followers. To help you schedule your posts, you can use a platform like Hootsuite.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

Whatever you do when you're devising your social media strategy, don't schedule a post just for the sake of it.

The last thing you want to do is saturate your news feed with sub-standard content, just so you get a post out there on the Gram.

Remember, your Instagram® account is often the first impression that people have of your business.

If your feed is full of hundreds or thousands of low-quality posts that haven't been engaged with, it's going to reflect poorly on your business.  

As was mentioned in the second point, use a content planner like Hootsuite to help you plan high-quality, relevant content in advance.

If you put pressure on yourself to create inspiring content every day, it will be difficult for you, and you may fall into the trap of just posting anything to keep up with your posting schedule.

That's a slippery slope, so plan ahead to avoid falling into bad habits!