For most small businesses the honest answer is: less often than the advice online tells you, and more consistently than you are managing now. Three to five posts a week on your main platform, kept up every week, beats ten posts one week and nothing the next.

The short answer by platform

These are healthy targets, not minimums to feel bad about. Two good posts a week you can sustain is better than five you cannot.

Why consistency beats frequency

Both the platforms and your audience reward a steady presence. Posting regularly tells the algorithm your account is active and worth showing. It keeps you in your followers' feeds often enough to be remembered. And it builds a habit on your side, which is the hard part.

An account that posts daily for two weeks then goes quiet for a month performs worse than one that posts twice a week, every week, for a year.

The burnout trap

Owners start with a burst of enthusiasm, commit to daily posting, keep it up for three weeks, then stop entirely because it is not sustainable alongside running the business. The gap that follows undoes the momentum. Set a pace you can hold on your busiest week, not your quietest.

Quality over quantity

One post that is genuinely useful, entertaining or worth saving does more for you than four that are just there to hit a number. If choosing between posting something weak and posting nothing, post nothing and make the next one good.

Stories and short video are different

Instagram Stories are low stakes and disappear in a day, so you can post several without it feeling like too much. Short video, Reels and TikTok, is where reach is right now, so it is worth weighting your effort there even if your total post count stays modest.

How to set a cadence you can keep

• Batch it. Set aside one session to shoot photos and video, another to write captions, then schedule a fortnight ahead

• Use a simple calendar so you are never staring at a blank slate, see our guide to a content calendar that gets used

• Repurpose. One customer story becomes a post, a Reel, a Story and a testimonial graphic

• Start low. Commit to three a week, hold it for two months, then add more only if it is comfortable

The takeaway

Aim for three to five posts a week on your main platform, more on TikTok, kept up consistently. Weight your effort toward short video. Above all, pick a pace you can hold through a busy month, because the businesses that win on social media are the ones still posting in a year.

Koprio runs social media for small businesses across East Sussex at a sustainable, consistent pace, with the content planned and created for you. See the social media management service or get in touch.