Once a week is not enough

Yesterday someone proudly told me they have become more consistent and are now regularly posting on social media: once a week. 

Consistency is great! It really does make a difference - consistent posts build confidence and posting on consistent topics teaches the algorithm that you know what you're doing so more people are shown your posts. 

But posting once a week isn't enough! 

Here's why. 

Even your followers won’t see every post you make — people aren’t always online, and algorithms on platforms like Facebook and Instagram limit how widely posts are shown.

How does the algorithm decide?

It looks for what works and what other people clearly find interesting. So if your posts never get likes or comments or shares, after a while fewer and fewer people will see your posts. 

Three things will increase your chances of success on social media. 

1. Interesting posts that reflect your business and draw people in

2. Posts that people comment on and share (likes are great but comments and shares count for even more) - because non-followers see their friends have commented/shared and so you build engagement/followers. Comments and shares show the algorithm that your posts are good so they're shown to more people. 

3. Exposure - if your posts aren't seen, you can't be successful. Consistent, frequent posting works. It doesn't work if you write rubbish and over-do it, but if you stay true to your usual content it works. 

A while ago I decided to conduct a careful long-term experiment on facebook. I had an old neglected account (hadn't posted on it for 2 years) with 3000 followers. I set myself a target of increasing to 10,000 followers within a year, with the aim of seeing what works and what doesn't. 

I started to post every day. Yes, every day. No, I don't have more time in my day than you. I just decided to do it and stuck to the plan. Yes, I'm amazed I actually did it too!

Within less than a year I hit my 10,000 target. That account now has over 25,000 followers. 

But the follower count isn't what's important. 

Engagement is.

A successful account means that people react, that they tag others in and write things like 'I've been there - it's great' (social proof that encourages others) or they say they're planning a trip, or ask questions. Deliberate, meaningful interactions that indicate a propensity to travel/make a decision.

Not all my posts are successful (that was the point of this exercise - to experiment and find out so I can pass on lessons to others). The ones that are written from the heart, or based on real local knowledge work best - which you can easily do too. 

My engagement on that particular account is now much higher than several destination organisations put together, which means that despite them having more followers I actually reach more people. 

So don't be downhearted if you don't have thousands of followers.

Your engagement will build surprisingly quickly when you:

1. Write about what you know and love, are 'real' with human comments and interactions

2. Post more often than once a week.

I know that daily works. I also know that sometimes it's a pain and hard to do. But I've committed to a routine and now feel I have to try to stick to it so somehow I find the time. It's made easier by the fact that I know it works. You might not want to copy that frequency, but once a week isn't enough!