You know what they say – all publicity is good publicity! If you’re still hesitant to enter the social media marketing realm, it’s very likely that you’re missing out on a variety of marketing and lead generation opportunities. I know what you’re thinking; you’ve had to hit the unfollow button on assorted Facebook pages many times in the past, due to the frequency of their social media publishing and the repetitive nature of their content. Yes, I saw this month’s promotion sixty times, and no, I’m still not interested!

The key to social media usage for businesses to avoid situations such as that one is managing the frequency of your posts, and knowing how much content each social media platform requires in order to reach your target market. You want enough posts to appear consistent with your brand, but not enough to bore, or potentially irritate your audience, shoving content down their throats in a way that will only harm your marketing efforts.

In this guide, we’ll take a detailed look at the popular social media channels and how many posts are recommended for each, giving you a good idea of the posts per day your dental practice will need to assist your marketing efforts!

Let’s start with one of the more unexpected channels, Snapchat. Though it may be surprising, Snapchat has become more than just a brief millennial phase, and many companies have been reaping the benefits of it! Snapchat gives you the option to send picture and video content with a time limit directly to your patients, or to post ‘stories’ that have a lifetime of 24 hours. This gives you the option to showcase a more fun, energetic side of your dental office with a variety of filters, borders, and endless options for creative captions. Posting 1-2 times per day on all days of the week is an ideal use of the platform – you don’t want to overload your followers (or your staff), but you do want to be just active enough!

Here are some ideas for fun, creative stories that will make your dental office stand out, and keep you active on the platform:

  • Showcase your happy patients – either during treatment if they’re comfortable, post clean, or chatting with the assistants pre-checkup
  • Share cleaning and maintenance tips
  • Start a segment of your choosing – have a “tip of the week” or “patient of the week” that you consistently post on a certain day
  • Special staff days, or parties

Now, on to one of the social media giants, Facebook. We all know of the infamous 2 posts per day rule – however, this is circumstantial. If you have over 10,000 followers and are making 2 Facebook posts per day, this can help increase engagement rates by 50%! If you have a smaller following, however, studies suggest that abiding by this rule can actually decrease user engagement by as much as 50% – if you are currently dealing with a smaller audience, less is more. Creating 1-2 relevant posts per week should be enough to increase user engagement for your posts on social media, and maybe even get you a client or two! Also; if you’re looking to increase total responses to your posts, try using content that calls for your followers to share, comment, or like it. This is a useful, organic way to increase user engagement.

This brings us to Twitter. A tweet has a much shorter life expectancy than a Facebook post, giving you a little more wiggle room to post content. If you have a large following, you can feel free to tweet to your hearts’ content, providing an endless number of tweets! A tweet has a life expectancy of about one minute before it gradually loses its’ relevance, so the more content, the better! Much like Facebook, if you have a smaller following, you’ll want to be wary of posting too much. 1-5 tweets per day is an appropriate target to strive for on this platform – you won’t be a serial tweeter, and you’ll be visibly active!

Now, let’s talk about Instagram! This application breaks all the rules. Social media frequency almost doesn’t apply to this particular platform – when it comes to posting on Instagram, it’s all about consistency. You could yell into the Instagram void all day, with no limit to the times per week you can post, and it would have virtually no negative impact on your account or amount of followers. However, if you’re making five posts per day on a consistent basis, then abruptly decrease to one post or spotty activity in general, you may see a decrease in your followers and engagement. So, your dental office needs to choose a number of posts that will work for them, and commit to getting that content out there on a regular basis. Set a goal that you know you will be able to easily achieve to avoid any potential shortcomings, and stick to it for the most effective results.

Remember – despite these guidelines, it all comes down to your business goals and pre-determined targets. Are you focusing more on having regular content to share on just one or two of these channels? Are Facebook and Twitter your primary focus, as opposed to the more visual channels? Whatever you find works to promote the standard of dental care you’re proud of, these tools will assist you greatly for whatever method of social media publishing you choose!