The Ideal Content-Length and Posting Frequency Per Social Network

Social Media is somebody else’s turf, but we depend on that to create and nurture out community and market our small businesses’ websites. So I wanted to share a few data points I learned from Neil Patel on his latest blog post to help you with your future decisions on Social Media, and because you know I like data, and you should too.

There are over 1.1 billion pieces of content being published a day on social media. So social networks don’t lack content, however, Neil Patel’s team found that 59.41% of all posts had no engagement. Haven’t you experienced that before too? The silence and lack of engagement after you worked hard to share one of your products, or excitement over your new services?

In order to make this study manageable Neil Patel’s team analyzed 5,204,391 social media posts over a 30-day period.

As a webdesigner who works with small business daily, I though it was important for me to share a few of the results based on the social media platforms that my clients use the most to promote their website and content.

The Ideal Content-Length Per Social Network according to Neil Patel’s study

Let’s start with;

Instagram Ideal Content-Length

Guess what Neil Patel’s team found out? When it comes to publishing reels, if you’re aiming to entertain, your sweet spot is videos that are between 11 to 17 seconds long.

And if you’re in the mood to educate? Your audience loves videos that run for about 38 to 51 seconds.

When it comes to carousels, aim for 7 to 10 slides. Here’s a little secret: make sure you have a hook on both the first and second slide. Trust me, just having a hook on the first slide won’t cut it for high engagement.

TikTok Ideal Content-Length

Hey there, fearless video creator! You’re probably a big fan of TikTok, aren’t you? When you’re crafting those fun, entertaining videos, aim for a sweet spot between 18 and 31 seconds to get the most engagement.

And for the times when you’re in the mood to share some knowledge? Your educational content is a hit when it’s between 42 to 54 seconds long. Keep up the great work!

YouTube Ideal Content-Length

I must admit, YouTube is an adventure I’m still exploring. I’ve dipped my toes in the water with a few video posts. Now, let’s see what advice Neil Patel’s team has for us. When it comes to Shorts, aim for a snappy 28 to 33 seconds if you’re going for laughs. But if you’re sharing some wisdom, a duration of 41 to 57 seconds is your sweet spot.

As for long-form videos, they shine when they’re around 7 minutes and 9 seconds long. So go ahead, take your time and let your creativity flow!

Facebook Ideal Content-Length

I might be showing my age a bit here, but I have a soft spot for Facebook – it’s my social media platform of choice! I guess I just love staying connected with everyone on there.

Facebook was instrumental in helping me establish a successful online business in the past, although I’m well aware that it’s a whole new ballgame now.

Even the clever folks over at Neil Patel’s team found themselves scratching their heads when it came to Facebook. They attempted to identify patterns on Facebook, but didn’t really get anywhere.

They suggested that maybe, just maybe, there might be some patterns lurking if they were to scrutinize a much larger set of content… say, 10 or 20 million posts. But as it stands, no discernible patterns were found on Facebook.

Whether the content was brief or lengthy, it didn’t seem to have any impact on engagement levels.

In fact, it’s worth noting that Facebook generally had the lowest engagement levels. It turned out to be one of the least successful platforms in terms of organic reach.

Posting frequency Per Social Network according to Neil Patel’s study

Just a quick heads-up on optimal posting frequency for different social media platforms, based on Neil Patel’s team study of 332,490 accounts:

• Instagram: Post or share reels 1-2 times a day, share stories 2-4 times a day, and go live once, ideally 2-3 times a week. Posting more than 2 times a day might affect the reach of your previous content.
• TikTok: Aim for 1-3 posts a day, the more the merrier. If you don’t post often, it might hurt your account.
• YouTube: Try to post 1 short-form video (YouTube shorts) and 1 long-form video each day, but not back-to-back. Space them out by at least 5 hours.
• Facebook: No clear pattern of posting frequency was found. The quality of your content is what really matters!

A case-study supporting email marketing, oops plot twist

Wrapping up, Neil Patel encourages us to keep creating awesome content to delight our community. While I believe having an online presence through social media is important for all small businesses, you cannot solely rely on borrowed land to build your business in. Keep doing your social media stuff, but given the data we just shared make sure to create campaigns throughout the year to encourage people to subscribe to your email newsletter. Emails should be your secret weapon for our small business.

Neil Patel himself gives a thumbs up to emails as one of the best ways to chat with your customers. Here’s a fun tidbit: A whopping 4 out of 5 marketers would choose to give up social media before they’d say goodbye to email marketing. So, I guess you have his approval as well.

I’ve learned throughout the years that social media is just unreliable and you should put more efforts into email. It’s is harder to get that fun dopamine rush with emails, as we don’t have immediate responses, so I get it. But I still encourage you to focus on building your community on emails or at the bare minimum collect them.

So, which one do you devote most of your time to? Social Media or Emails? Will this data make any difference in your future efforts?