SHOULD YOU POST DAILY ON INSTAGRAM IN 2024?
For as long as I can remember, posting lots of content always satisfied the algorithm and appeared to lead to quicker follower growth and better engagement. However, with the introduction of Instagram Reels, this ‘more is more’ approach has taken its toll on food content creators and food photographers; the pressure to feed the seemingly insatiable Instagram content machine has led many to burnout, overwhelm, and creative exhaustion.
That made me wonder: Is daily posting actually still necessary to achieve success on Instagram? Or, are there other ways to grow your online foodie community whilst maintaining your creative spark and emotional well-being?
In this blog post, I'll explore whether daily posting is still necessary in 2024 and share tips and insights on an alternative social media strategy!
THE INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM
When Instagram started a decade ago, the feed was chronological and it was therefore super important to post daily in order to have your content seen by your community and discovered by potential new followers.
Now though, content is prioritised based on how engaging and relevant Instagram deems it to be. Consequently, posts can be shown to Instagram users days, weeks and even months after they were first posted, giving content a much longer life span and wider reach! In other words, even if you’re not posting daily, your content can still reach your audience as well as prospective new followers if it is enticing and high-quality.
CONTENT OVERWHELM AND SATURATION
With the Instagram platform flooded with endless content, audience fatigue and overwhelm can easily set in. This in turn can lead to decreased engagement and/or a higher number of unfollows, especially if the content posted is perceived to be repetitive, unexciting or of lower quality. I’d argue that finding a balance between posting regularly and avoiding the trap of overwhelming your audience with content they might perceive as spammy, is a far better strategy than posting daily just for the sake of it.
QUALITY OR QUANTITY - WHAT WORKS ON INSTAGRAM
There is undoubtedly an argument to be made that posting daily will allow you to hone your craft more quickly and enable you to improve your content creation skills exponentially. Therefore, at the very start of your food content creation journey it’s worth posting as often as you can to find your style and discover what resonates with your growing audience.
However, what years on Instagram have taught me, is that in the long term, the quality of your food content can suffer tremendously if you’re feeling exhausted and stressed. I’d therefore recommend finding a consistent posting schedule that’s sustainable and enjoyable even if this means fewer weekly posts. What exactly that sweet spot in your posting schedule is, depends on what works for you, but a good number to aim for is roughly 3 posts a week!
A final note…..
….on quality and quantity. Quality is relative and what you deem not ‘good enough’ might in fact be what your audience will end up loving most! Hence, I’d recommend being playful with your food content and giving yourself grace as you dial in on your voice and style. Then, when you’ve found your rhythm and have learned what your audience loves, only post the content you’re proudest of!
LET AUTHENTICITY AND CREATIVITY RULE!
Quality and quantity are deeply connected to creativity and authenticity; too often, when we feel pressure to post, our content can start feeling inauthentic and forced. The stress of posting can cause us to loose our creative edge. It’s for this very reason that I don’t advocate for a daily posting schedule, unless of course it invigorates you!
Rather than the relentless content creation hamster wheel of filming, editing and posting which is intensified with the introduction of Instagram Reels, intermittent content creation breaks provide you with the time and space to rest, recover, ideate, plan and get creative with your content. It means you can post not from a place of pressure, but instead from a place of joy!
so if you’re not posting daily in Instagram, what should you do instead?
Post consistently: Instead of posting daily until burn out strikes, find a cadence you can maintain and one that brings you joy! Furthermore, posting consistently will allow your audience to come to understand what to expect from you whilst building anticipation and excitement for your new content.
Plan, plan, plan: Use a content calendar (you can find one in my new book How to Make Your Food Famous) to plan out your content ideation time, as well as your content creation and posting schedule. Planning every step of your content creation process will make it more likely that you’ll stick to a schedule and give you the best possibility of making content you’re proud of and your audience loves!
Focus on metrics that matter: Rather than creating and posting more, allow the content you do share to truly count! You can do this by fine tuning your hook to ensure people actually engage with your content, improving your story-telling to increase your watch time and add extra value so that folks share and save your posts!
Delve into the data: When planning what content to post next, use your data! Examine posts that performed well, so you can replicate your success and make the content pieces you share go further. This will make daily posting unnecessary!
Before you go…
I truly hope this blog post reassured you that daily posting on Instagram is not necessary and that other strategies can be much more effective if you wish to grow your audience and impact! However, if you want to improve your Instagram Reels strategy further and take your recipe Reels to the next level, why not order my book, How to Make Your Food Famous. It includes a downloadable gear guide and the aforementioned content calendar!
Find out more about How to Make Your Food Famous HERE!