We often write articles based on what we hear on the street. Today’s article is based entirely on the fact that twice in the last three days, two clients asked the same question: “How often do I need to (insert content function here)?”

This is a popular question as more and more people try to manage their organization’s outbound content. Sometimes it sounds like:

• How often should I send an e-newsletter?
• How often should I post on Facebook and other social media?
• How often should I blog?

While every organization and customer base is going to have different needs and desires, at Faith in Marketing, we encourage you to start with these general guidelines, and then modify as needed.

• DAILY: Everything starts on your website. Your website is where the baby gets born, and it’s from there your baby goes out into the world. So start with your blog / news / articles. We recommend that you create two article entries at least once a week. One can be an article, while another can be a relevant chart, graphic, video, photo, etc. If you write one article per week, do the math, that will be 4+ articles per month and 50+ articles per year. If you’re big into video, you could create quite the video collection in a relatively short period of time! Every website built by Faith in Marketing allows for you to quickly and easily add articles and content… even from your phone!
• WEEKLY: The next step is social media. It’s time to take that baby out of the gate. Because you’ve taken the time this week to write a great article and post one interesting photo, video, or chart, you now have one or two great pieces of content that you can post on your favorite social media. Of course, the goal is to get folks talking and sharing, and perhaps lead them back to your website. Again, we’re looking for you to make one or two social posts per week. Be sure to engage with your followers. Respond to their comments, compliments, and criticisms. Don’t delete someone’s comment unless it’s obscene or illegal. Accept complaints, respond nicely to the customer and offer a solution. Everybody will see how wonderful you are to people. Websites built by Faith in Marketing may include the ability to AUTOMATICALLY post your new website articles to social media like Facebook, Twitter, and some others. So your “weekly” task of posting is eliminated.
• MONTHLY: Third, it’s time for your monthly e-newsletter. Time and time again we find that our clients are not sending their e-newsletters as often as they initially planned. What was supposed to be a monthly newsletter has become a quarterly update, or worse, an annual report! But the obstacle is always, “How do I come up with the content for the newsletter? I just don’t have the time!” Well, the answer is the fact that you’ve already taken the time to write one great article per week. So every month you already have FOUR great articles, and maybe a few photos and charts to include. Again, since the goal is to get folks back to your website, do not publish the entire article. Instead, publish the introductory sentence(s), and link back to the original website article to “read more.” Your newsletter can include 2 or 3 or 4 of your favorite recent articles. With services like Constant Contact, you can track to see which articles are most interesting to your users, by seeing which ones they click on.
• QUARTERLY: Hey, Mr. Postman! Realize that not everybody visits your website. Most social fans are not going to see your face tweets. 60-80% of your subscribers will not open your e-newsletters. But you still need to keep in touch, so open your mind and your arms to sending a quarterly piece of snail mail: a large format post card, or a printed newsletter, or magazine, or a letter of thanks. These items can include the “best of the best” from your past three months’ communications, as well as an invitation to join you at your website, on social, on e-news, etc. Google Analytics can help you track which of your articles are performing best for any given time period. Since you are sending four of these tangible newsletters per year, maybe one of them can be your bigger better annual communication.