This blog is a follow up from a previous blog I wrote "Being consistent on Instagram for small business" if you're not familiar with it it's maybe best that you read that one first, you can find it here.
In that previous blog I spoke about not confusing consistently with constantly when it comes to posting on Instagram as a small business owner i.e. posting on Instagram doesn't have to be an all day, every day thing if you are finding it difficult to manage that schedule. Whilst it is important to be consistent, both for the Instagram algorithm and for your audience to know they can rely on you to show up, you can choose a schedule that suits you and your life. Perhaps that's 2-3 times per week, perhaps it's every other day, whatever suits you is fine.
At the end of that blog though, I ended with this side note, and that's what I want to expand on more today:
"Side note:Â When considering your posting schedule you should of course take your small business goals into account. If you are using Instagram as your main marketing platform and you want to achieve x amount of product sales in the week ahead, do bear in mind that the frequency of your posts will affect your reach and in turn, the impact on your goal. Posting good quality content that speaks directly to your ideal clients twice per week is of course fab, but just be realistic in your expectations that posting twice per week vs posting on Instagram every day, will have a lower reach because, of course, there is less content and less opportunity to show your posts to your followers and non followers.Â
I feel like this may be another blog post altogether, stay tuned!"
So here's the thing. If you were to compare having an Instagram profile for your small business to having a brick and mortar store for your small business. If you only open your store twice per week then there's only 2 times per week window of opportunity for your customer to go in and buy, right? Similarly, if you only post on Instagram for your small business twice per week then there is only 2 possibilities per week for your ideal clients to see those posts.
So whilst I stand by the fact that you should have a consistent content schedule for Instagram that you can keep up with, it is also the case that you should be realistic in your expectations for growth based on your posting schedule.
A small business who posts every day, twice per day is giving the Instagram algorithm more chances to get to know them and their content and more chances to show that content to more people. Presuming the content is of good value, this will undoubtably increase their chances of growing their Instagram audience faster.
Remember also that you can schedule posts ahead of time within the Instagram app itself (other apps are available) meaning that you could schedule a few posts for the week ahead perhaps on a Sunday (my Sunday Club Social Media Planner is perfect for this) taking the pressure off of your mid week self.
I hope this has been helpful and gives you a bit more to think about when planning your Instagram marketing for your small business. Any questions, you know where to find me - @amandahughes.uk
Until next time,
Amanda
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