How often to post on social media

Right now, at your desk: raise your hand if you’ve ever wondered how often to post on social media?

It’s a question that has plagued marketers since the dawn of social media, and it’s an important one to ask. Having the “most posts” doesn’t always win. In fact, posting frequency can mean the difference between inspiring and annoying your audience. According to The Sprout Social Index™, 74% of consumers think just 1-2 posts a day is ideal for brands.

Figuring out the right number of posts to publish every day is a key part of your social media scheduling strategy, and it impacts your channel and workload alike. Our data science team analyzed posting frequencies across more than 30,000 Sprout Social customers to find the industry average for some of the biggest platforms you—and your audience—care about most.

How often to post on social media overall

Industry average: 11 posts per day

Don’t worry, social media managers—that average is across all platforms, not per channel.

Still, 11 posts per day is nothing to shake a stick at. It’s no wonder social media teams say bandwidth is one of their number one challenges this year.

Understanding how often to post on each platform can alleviate your workload by helping you prioritize which channels need more content and create a social media plan to achieve your goals. Find the average posting frequency for each channel, backed by data:

Table of Contents

• How often should you post on TikTok?
• How often should you post on Instagram?
• How often should you post on Facebook?
• How often should you post on LinkedIn?
• How often should you post on Twitter?
• How often should you post on Pinterest?
• What’s your ideal posting frequency?
• How we gathered data

Keep in mind—these are industry averages. Your posting sweet spot may depend on your audience and industry. Start with these averages—plus the best times to post on social media—and experiment to see what works best.

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How often should you post on TikTok?

TikTok recommends: 1-4 times per day

While we don’t yet have our own data for how many times to post on TikTok (stay tuned), we would never leave you high and dry. Luckily, TikTok has provided their own recommendation of 1-4 posts daily.

The #ForYou feed is a non-stop fresh content machine. Posting several times a day can help you stay top of mind and “top of feed” for your audience. It’s also a great way to consistently test which sounds, themes, topics and hashtags work best.

Publishing several posts a day can get messy if they’re not spaced out. Create a TikTok schedule and schedule your posts ahead of time to stay organized. Using Sprout Social, you can even use optimal send times to schedule posts at peak engagement times.

Beyond posting frequency, here are a few other TikTok marketing tips to keep in mind:

• Find your niche: From #LearnOnTikTok to #BookTok, there are tons of topics on TikTok. Browse, brainstorm and test TikTok video ideas to see where your brand thrives.
• Less polish, more authenticity: Some 56% of users feel closer to brands that publish unfiltered, human content on TikTok.
• Use TikTok’s native features: Using the TikTok editor can help you look more natural on the platform.

How often should you post on Instagram?

Industry average: 1-2 posts a day

Instagram is the second-most downloaded app worldwide, only behind TikTok. With more than two billion monthly active users, Instagram remains incredibly popular. In fact, nearly 50% of consumers say that Instagram is one of the platforms they expect to use the most this year. And Pew Research found that 59% of people check the ‘gram daily, with 38% of those users checking the app multiple times a day.

As far as how many times to post on Instagram, 1-2 times a day is the average. But this can vary by industry. Entertainment media company Nerdist regularly posts three to five times a day.

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your daily posts and create content that resonates:

• Create content that makes people linger: The Instagram algorithm wants users to spend a few seconds on a post. Use a hook, like the one above, to grab attention. And take advantage of popular content types. Using Instagram Reels is the best way to grow. And carousel posts have the highest engagement rate per session.
• Get the timing right: Stay ahead in the feed by publishing during the best times to post on Instagram.
• Know what your audience wants: With Instagram prioritizing post popularity, engagements matter. Tap into your insights to understand what posts your audience engages with the most. If you’re a Sprout user, your Post Performance Report will pull your top Instagram posts, as well as top posts for all of your other channels.

• Tap into Instagram influencer marketing: About 58% of marketers plan to use Instagram for creator collaborations in the coming months.
• Use Stories: Half of Instagram users visit a website after seeing a brand promoted in Stories. Post on your Story and use interactive elements like stickers or direct people to your link in bio throughout the day to create engagement opportunities.

How often should you post on Facebook?

Industry average: 4-5 posts per day

With just under 3 billion monthly active users, Facebook dominates the digital space. Around 71% of consumers and 65% of marketers expect it to be one of the platforms they use the most this year.

Facebook remains a key place to invest energy. Its advertising capabilities can help you find and reach more of your audience. And it’s the go-to platform for 60% of consumers when they need customer service. The industry average of 4-5 daily posts is a lot. Stay organized by keeping a social media calendar and schedule Facebook posts.

Here are a few tips on staying ahead in the Feed:

• Tap into advertising: Facebook accounts for over a quarter of all digital ad spending. With organic reach dropping, use ads and boost posts to expand your reach.
• Experiment with video: In-Feed video content is the most popular type of video on Facebook. The Facebook Feed prioritizes the types of content people interact with most, so tap into video’s popularity.
• Understand what your audience wants to see: The algorithm weighs how often people interact with your posts, and post popularity. Look at your analytics to see what kinds of posts your audience likes the most to boost these factors.

Bonus tip: Encourage more engagement on your posts by knowing what your audience wants to see. Sprout’s Post Performance Report offers an easy way to quickly see your top posts by engagement, impressions and more.

How often should you post on LinkedIn?

Industry average: No more than one update a day

The world’s largest professional networking platform is a powerful place for your employer branding strategy and to share thought leadership. Although, it’s not “all business all the time”—“broetry,” anyone?

The average posting frequency on LinkedIn is once per day—and weekdays are the best days to post on LinkedIn. A recent LinkedIn algorithm change made the platform more sensitive to posts that can be considered spam and put a spotlight on posts that garner solid engagement. So make that one post count. If you’re wondering what to post on LinkedIn, we’ve put together a list of ideas for you.

Here are some tips to maximize your daily post:

• Encourage employees to post: There’s a reason 68% of organizations say they have an employee advocacy program. Employee-shared content can see around 8x more engagement compared to content shared on brand channels.
• Post questions: But don’t ask people to respond by using reactions. A recent LinkedIn algorithm change will penalize you.
• Respond to comments: Responses reward those who comment. They also bump your content back up in the news stream.

How often should you post on Twitter?

Industry average: 3-4 Tweets per day

The birthplace of the hashtag remains a go-to platform for trends and emerging news stories—57% of Twitter users who get their news on the platform say it’s boosted their understanding of current events.

Things move fast on Twitter. Reportedly, the average lifespan of a Tweet is just 18 minutes. Following the industry average of 3-4 Tweets a day can help you avoid a single daily Tweet getting lost in the feed. And its conversational, “stream of consciousness” nature makes it an easy place to create lighthearted posts without sacrificing your voice or brand persona.

Try using a tool to help you Tweet more with less work. Sprout’s ViralPost, for example, takes the guesswork out of when to post. It tells you times to publish Tweets when more of your audience is online, helping you stay ahead in the feed.

With a lot of daily opportunities to post on Twitter, here are a few tips to get the most out of your Tweets and time:

• Repurpose Tweets on other channels: Sharing funny, relatable or meme-based Tweets on Instagram is a popular trend. It’s also a natural way to repurpose and cross-promote your content.

• Use trending hashtags: Hashtag holidays help you reach new people on the platform by joining a larger, potentially trending conversation. You don’t need to use them all—get creative, but be choosy.
• Take advantage of Retweets and quote Tweets: Not every Tweet you share needs to be original. Quote Tweet fans who love your brand, and Retweet industry experts.

• Pay attention to customer care: Whether you create a handle just for customer support or use your main account, Twitter is a go-to place when customers have questions. Using social listening can help you find Tweets mentioning your brand and uncover how customers really feel—even when they don’t tag you.

How often should you post on Pinterest?

Industry average: Not more than once per day

Good news—Gen Z has discovered Pinterest, and this demographic is on the rise on the platform 40% year over year.

The majority of Pinners go to the platform to start a new craft. Connect with your audience with how-tos and inspirational posts—especially if your brand is in the fashion, crafts, DIY, cooking or decorating sectors, which do well on Pinterest.

But with an industry average of one pin per day, here are a few tips to make that Pin count and to stand out:

• Use the right keywords: Some 97% of top Pinterest searches are unbranded. Meaning the platform is a go-to place for discovering new things first. Use keywords in your Pins to make it easier for searchers to find them.
• Create stunning visuals: Attract the eye with stunning visuals and photos. Free tools like Canva help you create infographics, images that pop and more.
• Pin regularly: The Pinterest algorithm prioritizes “fresh” pins—that is, new content over repins—as well as audience interactions. Keep up with Pinning on the platform to show the algorithm that you’re active and fresh.
• Explore trends: Use Pinterest trends for inspiration and to create content that resonates with trending topics.

What’s your ideal posting frequency?

At the end of the day, knowing how often to post on social media is just one part of your strategy. Your content still needs to be high-quality and relevant to your audience. But nailing the posting frequency that works for you can help you stand out without being spammy. This is where marketers can leverage social media scheduling tools to optimize posting frequency and save time.

You know the answer to “how often should you post on social media?” Your next step is to experiment with these averages to find out what your frequency sweet spot is.

How we gathered the data

We understand that these reports can raise questions about just where the data is coming from. That’s why we want to be clear about the data we pulled and how we got here.

First off, we were lucky enough to work with Sprout Social’s very own data science team to gather this information from our customers. Joel Booth, a Senior Data Scientist at Sprout, explained how it all works. “Sprout integrates with the different social media platforms via their API, which allows the application to receive messages on behalf of our customers,” Booth said. “Essentially, this is how we power features such as Sprout’s Smart Inbox and Reports.”

Now’s the time to test your content calendar. Are you posting at the right frequency for your audience? Start your free trial of Sprout Social and discover your best posting frequency on social media today.