Content Frequency
- Sarah Bryant
- Jun 4
- 4 min read
Have you ever asked yourself this?
Don't worry, you're not alone!
When it comes to the frequency of your marketing content, the goal is to find the balance between too few and too many, so you accomplish the "goldilocks" of being informative and engaging without being overbearing and annoying.
The "right fit" will be different for every business.
Factors To Consider
What Does Your Target Audience Prefer?
Every business has a different target demographic they seek to attract.
So, what is your audience? Do they prefer...
emails or blogs?
pics or videos?
texts or calls?
to check socials on their lunch break or in the evenings?
content which is more casual and fun or professional and straightforward?
Once you begin to understand your customers' needs, you can better plan which forms and frequency of media to share.
What Stage Are You In?
Your priorities will differ depending on the stage of your business.
If you're a startup, you might care less about "overdoing it" with the content, and be more focused on making sure as many of your ideas are out there as possible.
Once you've been through the initial rush of getting things going, you might be ready to scale back a bit and reconsider frequency options.
On the flip side, it's possible you're experiencing decision fatigue, burnout, avoidance, or feeling frozen in your ability to care about digital marketing, so there's been a lull in content and you're unsure how to get it started again.
There's no right or wrong. It's okay to be where you are; we just have to acknowledge the stage you're in and the associated needs.
Once you begin to understand your needs, you can better plan content-sharing goals which are actually achievable.
How Much Content Do You Have Available?
After we form a strategy based on both our needs and those of our customers, we can more clearly address the reality of the situation, which is the content itself.
Do you have a stockpile of content ideas, but just haven't had any time to produce them, or is your brain exhausted and officially out of creativity and motivation?
Are there a lot of different resources you can curate and reshare, or is your business category more independent and in need of original content?
For example, when I was working for Telford Vet, there was a wide array of content always readily accessible: from partnered vendor promotions to hospital updates, and, of course, lots of cute patient pics. Through all these options, we had to determine our main priority for content was to share pet safety information through pet owner (customer) education. Therefore, the benefits of sharing educational content as much as possible outweigh any potential for annoyance from oversharing. We typically shared email newsletters biannually, blogs at least monthly, and social media posts at least daily through a mix of photos and videos. It was a lot, but it was appropriate for the type of business and the quantity of content available.
On the flip side, when I was working for Holistic Pet Healing, we had different priorities even though it was a similar pet care-related field. Dr. Collins ran a very small practice, and therefore did not have, nor need, as much content as a larger office. Her content consisted of a standard metric at approx. 12 posts/month.
So, while the principles of cohesive, informative, and engaging content were consistent for both clients, the frequency was drastically different.
Once you begin to understand your content priorities and available resources, you can better plan a comprehensive marketing strategy.
BMS General Frequency Suggestions
My personal suggestion based on experience is to aim for sharing 1 email/quarter, 1 blog/month, and 3 social posts/week, but this will obviously vary.
Some businesses prefer to send emails monthly, weekly, or even bi-weekly. In my opinion, emails are the area most appropriate to scale back. We are all so used to emails we never read, so it takes something occasional and to really stand out to be worth opening and reading. The goal is to successfully avoid the junk folder and the delete button. If you overdo it and send too frequently, you drastically increase the risk of recipients unsubscribing.
The frequency of blogs will really depend on the availability of and necessity for content more than anything else. If/when there is a topic worth discussing, then go for it. If you don't have ideas, don't force it. You don't need to feel like you have to share blogs on a set schedule just for the sake of sharing. Wait for a topic that will be informative and engaging (& worth it!).
The frequency of social media posts is truly the mix of all three considerations: customer needs, your needs, and availability of content. Some businesses post once per week, some post twice a day. I typically saw you should aim to max at once daily during busy periods (start-ups) and eventually scale back to every other day and/or 3x/week as a realistic schedule moving forward.
Specific Frequency Recommendations
Every business is unique, and therefore every marketing strategy should be, too.
Therefore, the exact frequency I would recommend will vary.
Contact me today to chat about the specific needs of your business, and I can prepare specific, personalized recommendations for your strategy.
How BMS Can Help
If you're not sure how to answer questions about your target demographic, content frequency, or how to even determine the best place to start, it's okay. You don't have to figure it all out on your own.
Bryant Marketing Solutions will help you better understand your needs, form a personalized plan, and assist you in achieving a successful strategy across all forms of digital marketing!
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