When you publish content, it’s essential to know how often and when is best. Here are our recommendations to get you started.

Building a rock-solid content strategy involves a series of steps, from goal setting and audience research to content production and monitoring. Most content creators and marketers focus on the quality, relevance, and usefulness of their content. However, if you want your content strategy to deliver the desired results, it’s essential to consistently publish content on a consistent basis.

Having said that, it’s also worth mentioning that there is a plethora of diverse content already floating around on the internet. If you publish content too often, it’ll likely drown in the ocean of mediocre content. It may even drive regular readers away. Likewise, sending several newsletters every week can prompt your readers to unsubscribe from your mailing list.

It is, therefore, crucial to determine the optimal content frequency. Moreover, it’s essential to publish content at the right time to garner maximum traction. These are the initial steps to creating a powerful content calendar.

Blogging: How Often & When to Publish Content?

Here’s the thing – when it comes to blogging, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all ideal content frequency. For instance, Brian Dean of Backlinko only publishes a couple of well-research and insightful blog posts per month. On the other hand, Mashable churns out multiple topical and trending blog posts throughout the day.

It is, therefore, crucial to consider the following factors before deciding the right content frequency:

• End goals
• Team size
• Marketing budget
• Niche
• Audience preferences

For instance, if you want to boost organic website traffic, publishing multiple blog posts every week is recommended. If you optimize the blog posts using the right keywords, they’ll likely get increased visibility on relevant search engine results. This, in turn, will drive more website visitors.

Additionally, it’s essential to include the right mix of long-form and short-form blog posts in your content strategy. While a detailed 3000-word article will strengthen your authority and credibility, it demands more effort, time, and resources. In such a scenario, a crisp but insightful 1000-word article might help maintain consistency and traction.

Here’s what HubSpot recommends:

However, if you’re a one-person army, creating too many comprehensive articles will quickly result in burnout. This, in turn, will degrade the quality of your blog posts and drive your existing readers away. It is, therefore, extremely crucial to strike a fine balance between quantity and quality.

It’s recommended that you select a suitable content frequency based on your time and resources. As you start publishing the blog posts, monitor their performance to determine whether you’ve achieved your goals. This, in turn, will help you decide whether you should retain the existing schedule or tweak it for an optimal frequency.

Ask Your Audience

Even the most insightful blog posts won’t deliver any results unless it attracts your audience. It is, therefore, essential to determine how often your readers like to check out fresh content. If you’ve already built a mailing list, you can conduct an online survey to get an insight into your readers’ minds. Additionally, you can conduct social media polls to learn more about your audience’s habits and preferences.

Get Your Timing Right When You Publish Content

The right time to publish content, whether it’s a blog post or a web page, depends on when your readers are most likely to be active. Peak hours such as lunch break and evening garner more traffic and engagement. It’s the time when your readers want to take a break from work and are, therefore, looking for meaningful and valuable content.

However, you’re also more likely to face stiff competition during peak hours. Instead, it might be better to publish content late at night to let your readers discover it first thing in the morning. It’s crucial to monitor your audience’s online activity and tweak your content calendar accordingly.

Experimentation is Key

Your content frequency and publishing schedule aren’t set in stone. You should regularly adjust your timing and frequency and monitor the results. This, in turn, will give you a deeper insight into your audience’s online behavior and help you fine-tune your content calendar.

Social Media: How Often & When to Publish Content

Distributing your content across the right social media platforms is a crucial step in content marketing. However, publishing too many social media posts can disengage your audience.

It’s also crucial to find the peak hours on each platform. Additionally, you can use various social media analytics to find when your audience is most likely to be active on these platforms. This, in turn, will help you outline an effective distribution schedule for your content calendar.

How Often to Post on Social Media

Twitter

Studies on the optimal number of tweets per day vary wildly but the general consensus is at least 3 to 30 Tweets spread throughout the day since they have a considerably shorter shelf life than most types of social medial content.

LinkedIn

A general best practice for this platform is at least twice a week and a maximum of just once, ideally in the mornings, for each business day.

Facebook

According to Hubspot, pages with under 10,000 followers experienced a 50% drop in engagement if they posted more than once per day. Posting once a day is optimal or at least a minimum of three times a week, at least a minimum of three times.

Instagram

Once or twice (in quick succession) a day is the best practice on Instagram. Avoid disappearing or not posting any new content for weeks at a time.

Pinterest

Pinterest itself recommends 3 to 25 fresh Pins per day as new pins are always prioritized for exposure over repinned or repeated pins.

Final Thoughts on How Often and When to Publish Content

Frequency and timing form the foundation of your content plan and calendar. Understanding when and how often your audience will likely be active is key in determining the optimal frequency for posting content. Maintaining the production and posting of new content can easily become a challenge.

If f you need help with strategizing and planning your content calendar, check out WriteForMe and get a FREE content marketing playbook while you’re at it!