#instavention

By Andrew Katz 

After a close friend joined Instagram, and proceeded to post numerous photos every day for several days straight, it was decided that she needed an “Instavention,” or in layman’s terms, an Instagram intervention. When my friends and I finally told her she needed to stop posting so much, she attributed it to her not knowing how to use Instagram. 

Individuals are not the only ones who struggle with the balance between quantity and quality. There are many brands that suffer from this as well, and could greatly benefit from an Instavention, or its equivalent on other social media networks. Shareablee has analyzed a myriad of different posting strategies that can help encourage audience engagement, and post frequency is often a large factor. 

In 2014, the average U.S. brand posted 1,183 times on Facebook, 2,287 times on Twitter, 389 times on Instagram and 382 times on Google+, but the post frequency differed greatly by industry. The average brand in the Health, Beverage and Food & Grocery industries posted less than 550 times, while the Publishing industry posted a whopping 9,730 times across the four networks. We’ve included a snapshot of the various industries’ cross-platform post frequency below:

There were also brands that posted well below or beyond those norms. The average automotive brand posted 1,627 times in 2014, but Ferrari drove the category average up with 10,875 posts, almost double the second place poster, Mercedes-Benz, and almost four times the third place poster, Kia. Ferrari fans do love Ferrari cars, but they also may not want to see the brand’s content every time they log onto Facebook. It’s important for brands to understand that Facebook is, first and foremost, a place for people to connect with friends and loved ones, and any surrounding content must add value to, and never detract from, this core function. 

While the Media Publishing industry performs well on social media despite its massive post volume, four brands found a way to post more than 57,000 times in 2014: The Huffington Post, The Guardian, TheStreet, and The Boston Globe. This level of posting may not be a bad thing. For example, The Huffington Post has placed in Shareablee’s Top 25 U.S. Social Brands of 2014 ranking and makes consistent appearances in Shareablee’s Publisher Social Scorecard each month. 

One of the key measures of success on social media is average engagement, which Shareablee defines as “actions divided by posts divided by audience,” calculating the number of fans that engage with each post. Even if your brand has nailed down its social content strategy and post-timing, too much posting may bring down your average engagement rate. And, that doesn’t even factor in the fatigue factor among your social audience, or the reality that Facebook’s Newsfeed will hide posts from your fans if you post too much. Even if you believe that total actions are the end-all and be-all of social KPIs, too much output (even if it is quality output) may result in an engagement drop from your brand’s fans and followers. 

What is the perfect post frequency? 

There is no perfect post frequency but, as a rule of thumb we recommend comparing your average post engagement with post frequency. If you're posting more frequently than your category and receiving at least average or greater-than-average results, keep doing what you're doing. If, however, you're seeing lower-than-average returns, it might be time to consider stepping down on the volume, just until you adjust your messaging to ensure high returns. Conversely, if you're seeing higher-than-average returns and posting less than average, this signals an opportunity to potentially drive additional content, as your audience by all accounts can't get enough of what you're already publishing. 

So, how do you find the sweet spot for your brand and avoid an Instavention? Find out which brands are most similar to yours by contacting Shareablee (I’m [email protected]), and we’ll help you figure out the right post frequency to reach your audience while maximizing your engagement rate.