Post 2 to 5 times a week on the 1 or 2 platforms your customers actually use. Buffer’s data puts the Instagram sweet spot at 3 to 5 posts a week and LinkedIn at 2 to 5. But showing up beats volume: accounts that posted in 20 of 26 weeks got about 5x the engagement per post.
If you post 3 times one week, vanish for a month, and then feel guilty about it, this one’s for you. You’re busy running the thing you built, and that’s a good problem. The number on your calendar matters less than whether you can keep it going in your slowest month.
What do the benchmarks say for each platform?
2 sets of numbers get quoted, and they measure different things. Buffer’s frequency guide tells you what its data suggests works. Sprout Social’s 2025 benchmark report counts what brands actually post.
| Platform | Buffer’s guide | What the average brand posts (Sprout) | What we’d plan for a local shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 a day | 5 a day | 2 to 4 a week, plus replying to comments | |
| 3 to 5 a week | 1 to 2 a day | 3 a week | |
| 2 to 5 a week | 1 a day | 2 a week, from your own profile | |
| TikTok | 2 to 5 a week | About 2 videos a week (RivalIQ, via Sprout) | Only if you already cut vertical video for Instagram |
Read the Sprout column as habits, not advice. It’s not a target, it’s a description. It comes from nearly 3 billion messages on 1 million public profiles, many run by full-time social teams. A plumber in Greenwood doesn’t need 5 Facebook posts a day. Nobody on the block is waiting for them.
So here’s what we do. We plan 2 to 4 posts a week on a client’s main platform, then adjust once we see what their customers respond to.
Does posting more actually help?
A little, with shrinking returns. Buffer studied over 2 million Instagram feed posts from more than 100,000 accounts. Compared with posting once or twice a week, median reach per post was about 12% higher at 3 to 5 posts, 18% higher at 6 to 9, and 24% higher at 10 or more. The biggest jump came from the first step up.
LinkedIn looks similar. In Buffer’s study of 2 million posts from 94,000 accounts, posting 2 to 5 times a week earned 1,182 more impressions per post than posting once a week. The gains grew at 6 to 10 and again at 11 or more.
So more does help. Don’t get us wrong, though. Those accounts chose to post that much, and plenty are run by someone paid to do it. The data shows more reaches more people. It doesn’t show that 10 posts a week is worth 10 hours of an owner’s week.
How much does consistency matter?
More than volume, and the data is clearer here. Buffer tracked more than 100,000 users over 26 weeks and counted a week as active if the user posted at least once. People active in 20 or more weeks got about 5x the engagement per post (450% more) than people active in 4 weeks or fewer.
Look at the middle of that study, though. Those posting in 5 to 19 weeks got 340% more per post than the “inconsistent” group. Going from decent to perfect added only 26% on top. So any steady rhythm beats none, and chasing a perfect streak gains you very little.
To be fair, that’s 1 study of Buffer users, and steady posters may simply be steadier businesses. We still believe it. Pick the number you can hit in your worst month. If that’s once a week, post once a week, every week.
The one thing to do this week? Keep it this small: 1 photo of real work, and 1 short answer to a question customers ask you. 2 posts. Done by Tuesday.
Which platform should you pick first?
Pew Research’s 2025 survey found US adults say they use YouTube (84%), Facebook (71%), Instagram (50%), TikTok (32%), and LinkedIn (25%). Having an account isn’t the same as looking for a business there, so use it as a sanity check, not a verdict.
Where your customers look depends on what you sell. For most local service businesses, that’s Facebook and Nextdoor. For restaurants, salons, and shops, it’s Instagram. For founders selling to other businesses, it’s LinkedIn. Choose 1 or 2. In our book, 1 account run well beats 5 run badly.
And honestly? Social usually isn’t the first fix. When a furnace dies at 9 p.m. in Fishers, people search Google and call whoever answers. They don’t scroll. If your Google profile is thin, fix that first. It’s free.
How do you keep a schedule going when the work piles up?
Batch it. Take 1 sitting a month, before the busy season hits, and plan the whole month. Scroll your camera roll for photos of real jobs, write a line or 2 for each, and schedule them in the platform or a scheduling tool. For most owners that’s an hour, and it beats thinking about it every morning.
Tie the plan to your calendar. In central Indiana that means patio season, the back-to-school rush, furnace tune-ups before the first cold snap, and holiday gift cards. And 1 article or newsletter can be cut into a few short posts, so you aren’t starting from a blank screen.
Expect a modest response to most posts, and don’t read much into one slow week. What works is steady, recognizable posting over months, which is why we ask for 3 months before anyone judges it.
Who should skip the posting schedule?
Honestly, a posting schedule isn’t for everyone yet. If your Google profile still has 3 photos from years ago, skip it for now. If you need sales this month, skip it too. Social builds slowly, and paid search answers urgent demand faster. And if the real goal is a bigger follower count, we’ll be a frustrating hire. Followers aren’t customers, and bought ones make your real numbers impossible to read.
Check what customers see first
Our free self-audit, Can Indy Find You?, is an 18-point check of your Google Business Profile, reviews, and website basics. Live letter grade, plain fixes, no email, no login. We’d encourage you to run it before you post more.
Rather hand it off? Our social media work plans the month, makes the posts from your real work, schedules them, and answers the comments. It runs inside our published retainers: $1,200, $2,400, or $4,800 a month. For one location on one platform, $1,200 is usually enough to start. 3 months minimum, then month to month. If you only want a batch of short-form video, a pack of six vertical videos starts at $750. See the full rate card.
What else do owners ask about posting?
Is it better to post every day?
Not for most small businesses. Buffer’s Instagram study found the biggest gain from moving from 1 to 2 posts a week up to 3 to 5, with smaller gains after that. We’d rather you post 3 things worth stopping for than 7 that aren’t.
How long before I know if social media is working?
Give it 3 months. Social builds slowly, so judge it by calls, messages, and bookings, not likes. That’s part of why our retainers have a 3-month minimum.
What if I can only manage one post a week?
Then post once a week, every week. Honestly, that’s a solid plan. Buffer’s consistency study counted a week as active if you posted at least once, and accounts active in 5 to 19 of 26 weeks got 340% more engagement per post than those active in 4 weeks or fewer.
Do I have to be on camera?
No. Plenty of good accounts never show the owner’s face: hands at work, the finished job, the plate coming out of the kitchen. Don’t get us wrong, though. A short clip of you explaining something tends to beat a polished graphic, because people like buying from a person.
Should I reply to comments and messages?
Yes, and quickly. A message that sits unanswered for 2 days costs you more than a post that never went up. Reply in your own voice, and move anyone ready to book into a call or a form.
What does Carson Poore Consulting charge for social media?
It runs inside our published monthly retainers: $1,200, $2,400, or $4,800 a month. For one location on one platform, $1,200 is usually enough to start. 3 months minimum, then month to month. We take 8 clients at a time.