Social Media: How Often Should You Post For Your Health Biz?

It’s the world of technology these days. And as much as many of us want to fight it, it’s also a key component of marketing a biz. Social media is pretty much the top marketing option for many businesses, and with good reason.

Let’s look at how social media affects your biz, and how often you should be posting.

Why does posting on social media matter?

A lot of practitioners question if social media is necessary. Generally, this happens because someone has tried it and failed. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not necessary! When it comes to social media, you need to work smart, not hard.

Over a billion people use Facebook daily. The percentage of users varies from age group – but even 56% of people aged 65+ who have internet access use Facebook. So no matter what your target market, a good chunk are using social media.

Different forms of social media have different demands

The social media you prefer may impact on your ideal posting frequency. For example, LinkedIn is best used on weekdays when users are more active, so daily posts might not be the best use of your time. Instagram responds best to multiple posts per day.

It can also depend on your target market. If you’re marketing to younger people, you might need to post more often, as they generally follow more people and businesses. Otherwise, you can get lost in the feed.

The answer: it depends

At the end of the day, social media is important. But it shouldn’t be consuming your every waking moment. After all, you still need time to work in your biz, to rest, to spend with loved ones.

Personally, I have a pre-determined schedule of about 5-6 posts per week. However, I have worked my way up to this. It wasn’t overnight! Those posts are also about 80% pre-scheduled to support my blog posts and calls to action. So it’s also about quality.

I would advise more than 1 post per week, as that just gets lost. But I also don’t advocate for 3 posts every day – because health pracs have better things to do! If you’ve outsourced your posting, go for it. But otherwise, spend your time on the things that are bringing in the moolah, not wasting the time!

Update: with the new Facebook algorithm changes, they are officially focusing on quality over quantity! So make sure that you aren't just sharing cat videos - share content that makes people want to comment and start a discussion.

Tips for posting regularly to social media

Want to get more consistent with your social media? Here are a few starting points to get you into the habit, without the stress:

• Pre-plan your content, so you know what you'll be posting about

• Schedule a couple of posts per week, in advance, so there's always content even if you don't have time to post anything that week

• Save funny images related to your biz - everyone loves a good health meme!

• Come up with different options - images, videos, recipes, outside shares, testimonials, blog post links, questions, there's so much you could share!

• Figure out where most of your target audience are hanging out, and focus your energy there. For most, that's Facebook. If you target corporates, go LinkedIn. For younger audiences, try Instagram and SnapChat.

 Want to learn more about planning your social media and other content? Read more here. 

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