It can feel like an impossible task to please the algorithm in these constantly changing social media platforms but to thrive and stay ahead of the digital marketing curve, it is important to keep up to date with what each platform wants. In past years, frequency was what the algorithm wanted, more posts equalling more likes, followers, and engagement but that’s not the case today. With over 1.1 billion pieces of content published daily, lack of content is not an issue.
What is an issue is the lack of quality content with the sole purpose of entertaining, educating, or motivating its audience. An eye-opening piece of research by Neil Patel, which can be found here, analysed 5,204,391 social media posts over 30 days and found that 59.41% had no engagement. That is equivalent to 653 million of the 1.1 billion pieces of daily content shared receiving no likes, comments, or shares.
Why Getting the Ideal Post Length and Frequency is Important
To be seen we need to comply with the algorithm rules which are different for each platform. Some platforms prioritise video content, some pictures, and other text but most importantly, consider what type of content works best for you and your chosen platform.
Creating quality content increases your view count and reach to a wider audience, expanding your potential revenue. The 2 big points that decide who sees your content on social media are:
- – Content-Length
- – Posting Frequency
If your content is too long you will lose the interest of your audience, and if it’s too short, you will lose the chance to engage them. Posting frequency should hit the sweet spot of just enough to create quality content and keep your visibility up to your audience.
Ideal Posting Frequency and Length per Platform
The research we are about to look at, for Content Length, was based on a sample size of 2,384,083, and for Posting Frequency was based on 332,490 social media accounts in the last 30 days. Each piece of content has different criteria based on what it’s aim is, i.e. to educate, to motivate, to entertain, etc.
Instagram.
- Content-Length – for entertainment Reels, an 11- to 17-second-long video performs best, and for education reels 38 to 51 seconds. For Carousel posts 7 to 10 slides perform the best but the 1st and 2ndphotos should be the drawing factor to boost engagement.
- Posting Frequency – for Posts and Reels 1 to 2 times a day, for Stories 2 to 4 times a day, and for Lives between 1 and 3 times a week. If you post more than 2 times in a day, then the reach of your previous content is affected.
X.
- Content-Length – for motivational content, text should be kept around 14 to 21 words, for entertainment content around 9 to 35 words, and for educational content text kept to 173 words on average performs best.
- Posting Frequency – this is the only platform where posting more often doesn’t hurt your overall reach. Posting at least 3 times a day is ideal, this content can then be tested to see what hits and falls short, the hits can then be repurposed and posted on your remaining social media platforms.
TikTok.
- Content-Length – for entertainment videos, the most engagement can be seen from videos that are 18 to 31 seconds long but with educational content, a 42 to 54-second video generates more engagement.
- Posting Frequency – between 1 and 3 times a day is ideal but edging more toward the 3 mark. Posting quick, low-quality content can impact your reach, so aiming for quality content a few times a day will help build up authority and generate more views of your account.
Facebook.
- Content-Length – only by analysing content in the millions would it have been possible to find a pattern of engagement on Facebook, it is one of the worst performing networks for organic reach and the majority of the content analysed wasn’t getting engagement.
- Posting Frequency – there were no real patterns to report on posting frequency, accounts that posted a little or a lot didn’t see much of a difference in engagement.
LinkedIn.
- Content-Length – for short-form videos a 40- to 60-second-long video with a short sentence or 2 of text that contains a hook performs best. With long-form videos, 3 to 4 minutes perform best. With motivational text, between 20 to 38 words long, and for educational content, around 291 words.
- Posting Frequency – once a day is ideal, posting any more could affect your previously posted content.
YouTube.
- Content-Length – Shorts that are focused on entertainment should be 28 to 33 seconds long and for education, 41 to 57 seconds performs best. With long-form videos, a 7-minute and 9-second-long video performed the best.
- Posting Frequency – 1 Short and 1 long-form video a day is ideal but not posted back-to-back. Posts should be at least 5 hours apart but if this can’t be achieved then long-form videos should be posted once a week.
Take Your Social Media to the Next Level with a Digital Marketing Agency
Social media is a full-time job, especially if you aim to utilise all the channels and take your business to its full potential. At Run2, we understand the overwhelm social media can create that’s why we take the stress out of content creation and posting and do it for you.
Run2 are a Digital Marketing Agency in Manchester, with expertise in paid social media marketing, aiming to open up a dialogue between your business and your audience whilst growing and developing your online identity. Contact us today to see how we can take your social media to the next level.