Ever noticed how some brands seem to be absolutely everywhere on social media, while others are about as visible as a needle in a haystack? Trust me, it’s not just down to luck or massive marketing budgets. There’s a method to the madness of social posting that can transform your brand’s online presence from “who’s that?” to “they’re smashing it!”
At Essex Marketing, we’ve helped dozens of local businesses crack the social media code, from tiny Southend startups to established Chelmsford retailers. So let’s dive into how regular social posting impacts your brand’s online presence, shall we?
Getting Seen in a Scrolling World
Let’s start with the blindingly obvious – if you’re not posting, you’re not showing up in feeds. And if you’re not in feeds, you might as well be invisible.
The average UK social media user spends 1 hour and 48 minutes scrolling each day. That’s a massive window of opportunity to catch their attention, but only if you’re regularly popping up with something worth pausing for.
One of our clients, in Brentwood, went from posting once a fortnight to three times a week. Within a month, their account reach had increased by 231%. Nothing else changed – not their products, not their branding, just the consistency of their posting. Mad, isn’t it?
The Algorithm Gods Demand Sacrifice (Of Your Time)
Social platforms love to keep their algorithms mysterious, but one thing’s crystal clear – they reward consistency. It’s like having a clingy friend who gets miffed if you don’t check in regularly.
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn explicitly prioritise content from accounts that post consistently. Why? Because they want to keep users engaged, and active accounts do exactly that.
We ran a little experiment with an Essex jeweller’s Instagram account. When they posted sporadically (once every week or two), their posts reached about 10% of their followers. When they committed to posting every other day for a month, that reach jumped to 27%. The algorithm gods were appeased!
Building the “Know, Like, Trust” Factor
Think about the brands you follow and love. I bet you feel like you know them, don’t you? That’s not an accident – it’s the direct result of consistent social posting creating familiarity.
Marketing wisdom talks about the “know, like, trust” factor:
- People need to know you exist
- Then they need to like what they see
- Finally, they need to trust you enough to buy
Each social post is a building block in this process. A single post won’t do much, but the cumulative effect of regular posting creates a sense of familiarity that’s gold dust for brand building.
One Colchester boutique we work with committed to sharing behind-the-scenes content three times weekly. Six months later, their customer surveys showed that 64% of new customers felt they “already knew the shop” before their first visit. If that’s not powerful, I don’t know what is!
Showing Your Human Side (Yes, Even B2B Brands!)
Here’s something we’ve noticed time and again – brands that show their human side on social media connect much more effectively with their audience.
Regular social posting gives you multiple opportunities to showcase:
- The faces behind your brand
- Your company culture
- Your values in action
- The personality of your business
One Essex accounting firm (yes, accountants!) doubled their engagement when they started featuring team members in their posts. Turns out people prefer connecting with Sarah the tax expert rather than “ABC Accounting Ltd” – who’d have thought it?
The Compound Effect of Consistent Content
If you’re familiar with compound interest in finance, social posting works in much the same way. Each post builds on the last, creating a snowball effect that grows your brand presence exponentially over time.
The first month might feel like shouting into the void. The second month, you might see some movement. By month six of consistent posting? That’s when the magic typically happens.
A Southend restaurant we work with committed to a year-long social strategy. Their first quarter saw modest 18% growth in engagement. By quarter four, they were seeing 278% higher engagement than their starting point. Patience pays off!
Social Signals Boost Your SEO Game
Here’s something many businesses miss – social media activity actually influences your search engine rankings. Google might claim it doesn’t directly use social signals, but there’s overwhelming evidence that active social profiles correlate with better SEO performance.
How does this work? A few ways:
- Active social profiles drive traffic to your website (which Google notices)
- Social content gets indexed and appears in search results
- Strong social presence generates more brand mentions across the web
- Social channels often rank well for brand-related searches
One Essex landscape gardener we work with saw their website climb from page three to page one for competitive local terms within six months of implementing a consistent social posting strategy. Coincidence? We think not!
Keeping Pace With Competitors (Or Leaving Them in the Dust)
Have a peek at what your competitors are doing on social media. If they’re posting regularly and you’re not, guess who’s winning the attention game?
We conducted a competitive analysis for a Chelmsford estate agent and found their top competitor was posting 4-5 times weekly while they managed perhaps one post a fortnight. No prizes for guessing who had the larger social following and engagement. The good news? When our client matched and then exceeded their competitor’s posting frequency, they started gaining ground rapidly.
Posting Frequency: Finding Your Sweet Spot
So how often should you post? It’s not one-size-fits-all, but here are some guidelines based on our experience with Essex businesses:
- Facebook: 3-5 times per week
- Instagram: 4-7 times per week (including Stories)
- LinkedIn: 2-5 times per week
- Twitter: 5-10 times per week
- TikTok: Daily for best results
The key is consistency rather than volume. Better to commit to three quality posts weekly than attempt daily posting and give up after two weeks when you run out of steam.
Content Mix: Keeping It Fresh
Nobody wants to see the same type of post over and over. It’s like going to a restaurant that only serves one dish – boring!
A healthy content mix includes:
- Educational content (tips, how-tos, insider knowledge)
- Promotional content (products, services, offers)
- Entertaining content (humour, interesting facts, trending topics)
- Community content (customer spotlights, local news, team activities)
- Interactive content (polls, questions, competitions)
One Basildon retailer we work with uses a simple 5-3-2 rule: for every 10 posts, 5 are educational, 3 are promotional, and 2 are personal/fun. This keeps their feed balanced and engaging without feeling too salesy.
Timing Matters (But Not As Much As Consistency)
There’s endless debate about the “best” times to post on social media. While timing can make some difference, we’ve found that consistency trumps perfect timing every time.
That said, a bit of common sense goes a long way:
- B2B content often performs better during working hours
- Consumer brands might see better engagement evenings and weekends
- Early morning (7-8am) can be great for catching people during their commute
- Lunchtime (12-2pm) often sees a spike in social activity
The truth? The best time to post is when YOU can commit to doing it regularly. A post at a “suboptimal” time beats no post at all!
Managing the Workload: Tools and Tricks
Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of regular posting? You’re not alone. Here are some approaches that work well for our Essex clients:
Batch Creation
Set aside a few hours monthly to create multiple posts at once. It’s far more efficient than trying to come up with ideas daily.
Content Calendars
Plan your posts in advance with a simple calendar. This prevents the dreaded “what should I post today?” panic.
Scheduling Tools
Use tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Meta Business Suite to schedule posts in advance.
Repurposing Content
One piece of content can become multiple posts. That blog post can be turned into quotes, stats, images, and more.
Delegating
Consider whether someone on your team could take ownership of social posting, or whether it’s worth outsourcing to professionals.
Measuring Impact: Beyond Likes and Comments
How do you know if all this posting effort is actually working? While likes and comments are nice ego boosts, dig deeper with metrics like:
- Reach and Impressions: Are more people seeing your content?
- Profile Visits: Are people checking out your business after seeing posts?
- Website Clicks: Is social driving traffic to your website?
- Saved Posts: Are people bookmarking your content for later?
- Enquiries/Sales: The ultimate metric – is social activity converting to business?
A Leigh-on-Sea boutique we work with tracks these metrics monthly and can directly attribute 23% of their sales to social media discovery. That knowledge helps them justify the time spent on creating content.
Starting From Zero: It’s Never Too Late
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” The same applies to social posting.
Yes, it would have been ideal to start building your social presence years ago, but the second best time is today. Social media platforms continue to grow, and new users are joining daily – all potential customers who haven’t seen your content yet.
One of our newest clients, an Epping-based interior designer, went from zero social presence to over 1,500 followers in six months of consistent posting. Their secret? No secret – just showing up regularly with quality content.
The Bottom Line
Social posting isn’t rocket science, but it does require commitment. The impact on your brand’s online presence can be transformative – greater visibility, stronger connections with customers, improved brand recognition, and ultimately, more business.
Is it worth the effort? Based on the results we’ve seen with hundreds of Essex businesses, absolutely. In today’s digital-first world, regular social posting isn’t just a marketing tactic – it’s an essential business practice.
The good news? You don’t need to be a social media guru or have a massive budget. You just need a plan, some creativity, and the discipline to show up consistently. Do that, and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes to your brand’s online presence.
