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- Image by jyoseph via Flickr
I often get asked about whether it makes sense to completely integrate Twitter Tweets with your LinkedIn Status Update, so that every tweet shows up on LinkedIn. Obviously there is no one correct answer for this as it depends on your objective and LinkedIn Brand. However, the question brings to mind a greater issue:
How often should you update your social media status on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Your Blog?
Each social media site has its own functionality, demographics, history, and culture. And you may have one or multiple objectives for using these sites. I won’t go into detail on how varying objectives may warrant different frequencies in which you update your status on each of the social media channels, but on average I would make the following recommendations:
Because there are so many tweets out there (there are more tweets than people now!) and the culture is one that accepts people who tweet a lot (this is explained by the fact that you could tweet a lot and go unnoticed), it is accepted to tweet several times a day. I tell people, when they start out, to aim for 4 to 5 tweets a day. I personally aim for 8 to 10, although I rarely achieve this goal. When I say tweets, I’m talking about sharing some type of relevant and valuable information, not just chit-chat. I do not preach automating in social media, but if there were one automation tip I recommend, it would be to schedule your tweets in advance with a tool like HootSuite so that they appear spread out throughout the day.
Before Twitter became as mainstream as it is today, LinkedIn had its own replication of the tweet with its “Status Update.” A lot of people used to wonder what to use their LinkedIn Status Update for. Now that LinkedIn is integrated with Twitter, and more LinkedIn members are on Facebook, people get the idea of what they could put on their Linkedin Status Update. That being said, because LinkedIn doesn’t have the same “Timeline of Tweets” like Twitter or “News Feed” like Facebook, it doesn’t make sense to post more than once a day on LinkedIn. I personally wouldn’t post anything if I didn’t have anything of value to say that wasn’t aligned with my objective. Furthermore, if you repeatedly show up multiple times in Network Updates on someone’s Home Page in the same day, it begins to look spammy, that you are trying too hard to “gain mindshare.” There are other and better ways of doing that on LinkedIn. And do remember that LinkedIn is also a Professional environment, so some personal tweets and Facebook posting content might not be appropriate here…
Facebook is a tough one. Similar to Twitter, there are so many people on Facebook competing for space on your News Feed that if you don’t post a lot you may not get noticed. However, I do see a lot of people who only post once a day, and when I have gone over that in the past, I have received word from Facebook friends that I posted too much! People definitely get most personal on Facebook. Certainly Twitter is not Facebook, so I personally don’t think that you should be posting every tweet here. On the other hand, if you have a lot going on, it may make sense to post multiple times in a single day. If I could compare the frequency of updating your status on Facebook compared with LinkedIn and Twitter, it would look something like this:
LinkedIn Status Updates < Facebook Posts < Twitter Tweets
Blogging
You really need someone to tell you how often to update your blog? As often as you can, of course! Seriously speaking, if you are going to blog, I do recommend that you do your best to blog at least one a week. Consistency is also important, but even if you are not consistent on the days of the week or how many times you post each week, I think you should try to publish one blog post on a weekly basis. Want to blog more? You can never blog too often. I dream of having the time to blog on a daily basis…and envy those who do!
On a final note, it is impossible to do all of the above using a tool like Ping.fm or even a client like HootSuite (although they are fantastic products) unless you are really disciplined. Just as it does not make sense to integrate all of your tweets into your LinkedIn profile, it also doesn’t make sense to overly automate your engagement with others by blasting the same message to all of the various social media platforms simultaneously. Yes, there may be an occasional post, like a new blog article that you wrote, that it may make sense to post on all platforms at once. That should be the exception, however, and not the rule.
What do you think? What are the social media status updates frequency guidelines that you use? Please comment and share your experiences with us!
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decibel_places
I have my Drupal blog http://netsperience.org integrated with Twitter and Feedburner.
I post a new blog 2-3 times a week, or more. But usually no more than once daily, unless I have a lot to say. Due to the excellent SEO performance of Drupal, my posts usually rank high in search results.
So after I post on my blog, it gets automatically reposted to Twitter. Since I am active in the Drupal CMS community, and my blog runs on Drupal, I add the #drupal hashtag to all my automatic blog reposts on Twitter.
Shortly after reposting from my site to Twitter, my Feedburner account also reposts it to Twitter (but not to hashtag #drupal)
If I think it is something worthy of LinkedIn, a while later I add the link to my blog post to my status update and post it again to Twitter (but not #drupal) from LinkedIn. I will often post something non-professional but funny on my LinkedIn status during the weekend, but during the week I try to keep my status more professional.
So one post goes on my blog, ranks high in search, is published on Feedburner and my LinkedIn status, and is reposted to Twitter 3 times.
I will often write a blog post in advance then publish it in the morning, to take advantage of the eyes scanning their Social Media in the morning.
I am also active on Twitter replying to tweets on the #drupal column providing help or just geek chat. I also respond to tweets in my friends Twitter feed.
For me, Facebook is a lesser medium, I generally will announce events I am attending and stuff like that. Occasionally I post a comment on a Facebook friend's account.
Steve Eaton
This is a vey interesting post, I have often wondered the same myself. I usually try to tweet at least 5 times a day, and you're right, don't post things like “i just went to the bathroom and we were out of paper towels” I don't care, but I like relevant things, current issues such as the BP Oil Spill, or what new bill the house has passed. Aside from that, keeping in touch with others around the world who are interested in the same things I am:Lead Gen, Marketing, Social Media, etc. It's great to hear others opinions, ideas and read about new found facts and statistics posted to someones blog.
But going over board with Status Updates can get a little annoying. If you're posting new updates every half hour, or even every hour, it's overwhelming and annoying. I don't particularly enjoy loggin on to Facebook to find only you in my Recent News feed. I don't want to have to scroll through your 25 status updates to see what everyone else is up to. So back off if you're this person.
Thanks for the post!! Definitely a RT!
Steve Eaton
Michele Mattia
Great topic Neal. This is often a struggle for many people who feel overwhelmed by not only dipping their toe into the waters of Social Media, but even those of us who have successfully used Social Media as vehicle to build our brand.
When I speak or write about Social Media, I tell people that your strategy will be as unique as your voice and message. Once you know “why” you you are using social media, you then look at the audience you are trying to reach, as well as what content you want to give back.
Personally, my favorite is Twitter. I use it not only to promote my message of living what you love, but to promote other individuals and companies I believe in that have aligned passions, interests and goals. I have feeds that go from my blog to Twitter and my Facebook Fan Page to Twitter. I don't use Twitter to Facebook because I don't think it transitions as nicely.
As a Life Design Coach, Creative Strategist, Author and Speaker, my content areas cover both personally and professional. On average, I tweet about 10 – 15 times a day (my own content). First, it's important to take into consideration who is following you. Because I have folks from all time zones, I'll tweet my blog three times. Now when I'm attending a conference or an event where I believe good content is being shared (and there's a hashtag), I will tweet anywhere from 25 – 50 times. I always send out tweets ahead of time letting people know that this will be an usual day of tweeting and thank them for their patience.
If you focus on your authentic voice and develop your platform message, you will create the perfect strategy.
Kevin Liebl
How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status?: Image by jyoseph via Flickr
I often g… http://bit.ly/ayrvZ1 From @Neal Schaffer
Ryon Harms
How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status?: Image by jyoseph via Flickr
I often get as… http://bit.ly/csUAMm via @NealSchaffer
McDermott & Bull
Member: How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status?: Image by jyoseph via Flickr
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McDermott & Bull
Member: How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status?: Image by jyoseph via Flickr
I ofte… http://bit.ly/cea8vx via @nealschaffer
Tim Tyrell-Smith
New @NealSchaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? http://ow.ly/17wlZB
RICHARD S POLLAK
HOW OFTEN DO U NEED TO BLOG TO IMPROVE YOUR GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE?
shelleyfishel
RT @JorgenSundberg: How Often Should U Update ur Social Media Status? – I often get asked about whether… http://ow.ly/17wqNy
elizabethhector
RT practical advice @TimsStrategy: New @NealSchaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? http://ow.ly/17wlZB
goodpr.
How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? http://ow.ly/1RaVg
Dan Nestle
Worthy question, good answers: ReTw @nealschaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? http://bit.ly/a2h4bN
Patty Farmer
How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? http://bit.ly/a2h4bN
Todd Appleman
RT @nealschaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? | Windmill Networking | Soc.. http://bit.ly/a2h4bN
Dreamosity
Thank goodness someone made a stance on this topic =) I get asked this question all the time and now I have a better 'script' of what to say, or where to send them. Thank you & yes… every platform has its own culture and if we understand and honor that, we'll connect with the appropriate people.
Lauren Huston
RT @nealschaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? | Windmill Networking | Soc.. http://bit.ly/a2h4bN
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nealschaffer
Thanks so much for sharing! It seems like you have quite a system in place. I thought it was also interesting that you post non-professional but funny things on LinkedIn, even during the weekend. I do agree that blog posts should be published in the morning, as this is when the social media eyes seem to be at their most active. Thanks again for sharing!
nealschaffer
Thank you so much for the comment Steve! Indeed, a lot of people ask me and are very curious about frequency, so that was the impetus about my blog post. I totally agree that updating of LinkedIn Status Updates of Facebook posts every 30 minutes is annoying…
nealschaffer
Michele, thanks so much for your comment, which I thought was bang on. There is no doubt that, as you say, if you focus on who you are are and what your objective or “why” is, you can create the perfect strategy which may vary from my guidelines. I think we are in total agreement that Twitter will have the highest frequency, and I also agree that at conferences I tweet a lot more than average as well! Looking forward to seeing you again in Twitterville!
nealschaffer
Richard, the more you blog, the more content you contribute to the Internet, the more chances Google will find you. It's as simple as that!
nealschaffer
Thanks for the confirmation
Thomas Blom
Hoe vaak moet je Twitter, LinkedIn en andere Social Media updaten? Helder artikel met antwoorden http://bit.ly/9lz8Wh
edward1965
“@ThomasBlom: Hoe vaak moet je Twitter, LinkedIn en andere Social Media updaten? Helder artikel met antwoorden http://bit.ly/9lz8Wh”
Danny Verhoeven
Hoe vaak moet je Twitter, LinkedIn en andere Social Media updaten? http://bit.ly/9lz8Wh (Via @ThomasBlom)
Martijn Philips
RT @DannyVerhoeven: Hoe vaak moet je Twitter, LinkedIn en andere Social Media updaten? http://bit.ly/9lz8Wh (Via @ThomasBlom)
LaTease Rikard
RT @nealschaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? | Windmill Networking | Soc.. http://bit.ly/a2h4bN
Melanie
Enjoyed the article.
Melanie Attard
RT @nealschaffer How Often Should You Update Your Social Media Status? | Windmill Networking | Soc.. http://bit.ly/a2h4bN
Bizogy
Great Advice! This is definitely an article worth sharing with those that are trying to get a feel for what is generally accepted as far as status updates go.
Thank you for the post!
Dean Soto
I agree with your view on Twitter updates, but I think chit-chat is fine, too. Well, I should say that it's fine if your goal is to network with other people. In order to build those relationships you need to Tweet at least a couple of times a day. Of course, it's great to RT good content also.
Great stuff on how to use FB and LI, I rarely ever post updates on them. Maybe it's time.
nealschaffer
Thanks Dean. Yes, there is a role for “chit-chat” on both Twitter as well as Facebook as these are “social” networks at the heart of their platforms. I was trying to create a guideline for sharing information outside of those types of tweets. Agreed that you need to tweet at people to develop/maintain relationships, and that ReTweeting is definitely a great sign of respect.
Hopefully we'll see you on Facebook and LinkedIn more often now!
Dean Soto
I agree with your view on Twitter updates, but I think chit-chat is fine, too. Well, I should say that it's fine if your goal is to network with other people. In order to build those relationships you need to Tweet at least a couple of times a day. Of course, it's great to RT good content also.
Great stuff on how to use FB and LI, I rarely ever post updates on them. Maybe it's time.
nealschaffer
Thanks Dean. Yes, there is a role for “chit-chat” on both Twitter as well as Facebook as these are “social” networks at the heart of their platforms. I was trying to create a guideline for sharing information outside of those types of tweets. Agreed that you need to tweet at people to develop/maintain relationships, and that ReTweeting is definitely a great sign of respect.
Hopefully we'll see you on Facebook and LinkedIn more often now!
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