One of the questions I get asked a lot is, “how often should my business be posting to social media?” And that’s really a great question as there really is no manual for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc. But here’s the thing, there’s a pretty simple trick you can use to determine when and with what regularity to post on social media.

During my 20 years hosting morning radio shows, I learned and then followed an easy and important rule – that I have since applied to everything I do on social media: Before saying something, pause and ask, “Do people listening really care about this?” If the answer is yes, then post the heck out of it! But if not, don’t.

In the non-digital world, you learn to ignore and avoid the people in your neighborhood and office who bore you or waste your time.  But you seek out those who offer you cool things and knowledge and laughs.  Social media is the same way.

If your fans see that you are consistently giving them good information or entertaining them, they will appreciate it.  If not, they’ll be gone – and that’s whether they know it or not.

The simple reality is, everyone on social media is competing for attention. Take for example Facebook. When a user logs in, the algorithm is determining what’s best to show them – with everything from the friends getting engaged to their uncle sharing the same news stories to local events happening in town to brands offering deals to, well, it goes on and on and on.

If your store’s post is deemed worthy by the Facebook gods to display in front of your fans, it’s best that it’s something that interests, amuses, or informs them – because if not, Facebook is going to remember that and be less likely to show your fans your posts in the future.  But, if it is something they interact with, it will be more likely to show going forward – and, really, that makes sense.

So forget about any of those rules that someone told you about posting everyday or once a week or even once a month.  Just post when you have something interesting to say.

Your fans will appreciate it and your social media presence will grow.