For new Instagram users, let me first congratulate you and welcome you aboard to the biggest photo sharing app there is. And if you’re here to do business, let me commend you even further. As a newcomer, you might wonder about the posting frequency on this social media platform. So, how often do you need to post? Or, personally, how often do I post? To give you a direct answer, I usually post once per day for the entire week (except when I’m exceptionally busy), and it brings me just the engagement I want. However, I think it would be unfair to assume or expect that this frequency will also work for you. Thus, let me provide you with a viable way to actually know how often should you post a photo or video on Instagram.
Know Your Niche First on Instagram and Check Similar Accounts
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For a start, you should seriously know what you have or want to share with the people on Instagram. And study other accounts that you think is similar to what you want. Why?
First of all, knowing your niche (or ideal niche) well gives you a blueprint of what you can and cannot post – don’t just be a random Joe. It is important that you stick with a specialty so that you will gain followers with the same interest. Not doing so will end up with very limited followers. That’s because people on Instagram follow specific accounts to get specific content, swaying from that ideology makes you lose followers in the long run.
Secondly, seeing other accounts with the same niche as you will let you know a few important things: that niche’s overall performance (followers and engagement rate), their content and content style (how they choose and edit photos), and their posting frequency. Don’t just look for one account, check as many as you can and stick to those with a lot of followers. That way, you can strategize better and compare why this account has more engagement than the other and how often each one posts.
Not only will you have a good start but you’ll also have ideas instantly. The best thing for beginners is to always have an account to follow (should be related to your niche) that serves as a guide.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment
Once you’ve seen how other similar accounts roll, it’s time for you to roll, too. Don’t be afraid of testing your post. And when I mean test, you have to test and not just be satisfied with the first few results.
Let’s say you do one post per day this week, even if it does perform really well, you have to change that next week to have a good comparison. You’ll never know that the next week’s engagement is even better and you were simply just contented with what you got in your first week. So, try posting twice the next or even thrice.
Remember, your account is starting up, and that is the best time to experiment. Consider the first year as a growing stage and make the most out of it. Doing it too late will have some backlash such as losing a lot of followers or making them unhappy or overwhelmed.