Finding the Sweet Spots: How to Strike the Right Balance with Your Social Media Posts

Posting on social media - some might say it’s a part-time job keeping up with the trends, algorithms and just knowing WHAT to post and WHEN! Social media is a fabulous way to connect with your audience and keep them engaged with your brand. However, it's important to strike a balance between being present and being a nuisance! How often you plan to post might depend on your overall goals, your target audience, and/or what platform you're using. Let’s take a closer look at our four favorite types of social media posts and when it’s a great idea to use them.

Brain Fuel - Education Posts

Educational content on social media can be a way to help your audience learn new things, stay up-to-date with current events or engage with other like-minded accounts, but because we are educating, we must always be sure to source credibility and be certain the information is reputable. Informative posts are also a great way to share your knowledge and inspire others to learn. Be unique, curate your content to your audience and think outside the box a little – educational pieces don’t have to be dry.

Some checkpoints:

1. Accuracy: is the information accurate and up-to-date?
2. Relevance: are my posts relevant to my audience and their interests?
3. Engagement: ALWAYS (and we mean ALWAYS) consider engagement and feedback from your followers. Ask open-ended questions, have a call to action and respond to everyone’s comments.

Frequency? Generally speaking, we’d suggest posting an educational piece once or twice a week, but it also depends on the platform. Twitter is a great source of educational content and some people “tweet’ all day but for Facebook you may want longer, more in-depth posts. Lastly, Instagram… this is one of the main social media platforms we use and once or twice a week for an educational post is pretty average.

How Do We Inspire You - Let Us Count the Ways

You’ve all seen the Inspirational posts on social media; the ones that make you reach for a box of kleenex and hit the “save” button so you can use the audio at a later date. [We have a few hundred saved ;)] Inspirational posts can have a powerful impact on people, they can motivate, encourage and uplift individuals, especially during times of difficulty or uncertainty. They can tug at the heart-strings or they can empower your audience! The trick with inspirational posts is keeping them real and genuine, because an oversaturation of generic quotes (we know you know what we’re referring to) may have the opposite effect. Anyone can save an image of a quote from Rumi and re-share it, but when you take a little time to write an authentic and meaningful message, it’s felt on a different vibration.

We’re going to say, once a week on the inspirational posts - just enough to sprinkle positivity and make a difference in the lives of your community.

Bringing the Laughs to Your Followers

The epitome of some nights spent on Instagram, scrolling though reel after reel and sharing the ones that make you pee your pants with all of your friends! What an escape and what a great way to unwind and belly laugh!

Entertaining posts on social media are a great way to engage with your audience and increase your reach. Focus on creating high-quality, shareable content that your community will enjoy and WANT to engage with. This could be funny memes (in moderation), interesting videos or engaging polls. Another great idea is sharing some of the trials YOU yourself go through on a daily basis! If we can’t laugh at ourselves then who can we laugh at!  ALWAYS know your audience when using funny or witty posts - there are certain times we might offend people and that’s not cool, so tailor your content to their interests and preferences.

Ideally, you should aim to post entertaining content at least once a week, but don't overdo it. You don't want your audience to feel overwhelmed or lose interest in your brand because they can’t take you seriously! 

Persuasion at its Finest

A conversion post on your social media is a type of post that is designed to encourage your followers to take a specific action. This could be a variety of things, but some examples could be purchasing something from your store, or signing up for an email-newsletter. The ultimate goal of a conversion post is to ‘convert’ the viewer into a client! It’s a persuasion post, but as we all know the pushier you are, the less likely they will convert. No one likes to feel like they’re just another number or forced into anything… they want to be woo-ed! Building a solid foundation of your online relationship (and in all facets of life) is important. The secret to success with conversion posts is to use them strategically and in moderation, while maintaining a strong and engaging presence on social media. One to two posts a week are a great starting point but in all of your conversion posts, build a relationship too! 

Socially Acceptable

Quality is always more important than quantity. Sometimes it’s better to post less often with high-quality content than to post frequently with low-quality content. As well, consider using analytics tools to track your engagement and if you can, adjust your posting frequency accordingly.

Finding the right balance between frequency and quality will be the determining factor in your success on social media. 

As a social media marketing company, we use these four types of social media posts, among others, and we follow similar guidelines for most of our clients! If you’re interested in hearing more about our services, please reach out!