No platform publishes a number of posts you need. What they recommend is posts people watch. How often you post matters because each post is another chance to be recommended, and because the one that travels is rarely the first.
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How often a business should post: the short answer
A business should post as often as it can keep up every week without the posts getting worse. For a local business, several times a week is a good start. No platform publishes a number you need to hit. What they describe is judging each post on what people do with it, which is why the number matters less than two things: that every post is worth watching, and that a new one is always coming.
Why the number matters
Every post is one more chance to be shown to people who don’t follow you, and nobody can tell in advance which post will travel. Instagram describes showing every eligible post “to a small audience that we think will enjoy it, regardless of whether they follow the account that posted it or not”, then the best performers to a wider group, and so on (Instagram for Creators). TikTok says “neither follower count nor whether the account has had previous high-performing videos are direct factors” in its recommendations (TikTok Newsroom). A post’s chance doesn’t rest on your follower count.
For Icon Auto Centre, the first films to go viral were posted the day after our first. For Da.Si.Mar Shawarma, it was our third, six days in. An account that had posted once a month would still be waiting.
Why the rhythm matters more
A steady week beats a burst followed by silence. Before we started, Icon Auto Centre’s feed had been quiet for twenty months. A rhythm also makes the work easier: when everyone knows a post is due on Tuesday, it gets made. And it gives someone who found you through one video a reason to come back: there’s always a newer one.
But never at the cost of quality
A post nobody watches doesn’t help. If posting more means posting worse, post less, and plan better. The platforms are explicit about what they don’t recommend: Instagram lists “Unoriginal content that is largely repurposed from another source with only minor, immaterial edits, without adding material value” (Instagram Recommendations Guidelines), and tells creators to “Avoid reuploading reels that are already on Instagram” (Instagram for Creators). Reposting last month’s best video to fill a gap counts against you. A calendar made before the month starts is what lets you post often and well: “How to plan a month of posts”.
Count the hours before you choose
A rhythm is only as good as the hours behind it. Count them before you commit.
Hours over four weeks = posts a week × hours per post × 4
| Example, round numbers | Per post |
|---|---|
| Planning and writing | 15 minutes |
| Filming (shared across a day’s shot list) | 30 minutes |
| Editing | 45 minutes |
| Captions, uploading to four platforms, replies | 30 minutes |
| Total | 2 hours |
At three posts a week, that’s 3 × 2 × 4 = 24 hours every four weeks. At five a week, 5 × 2 × 4 = 40 hours, a full working week every four weeks. Pick the number your team can actually give, and plan the filming so one visit covers several posts.
Post once, upload four times
One good video can go on TikTok, Instagram Reels, Facebook and YouTube Shorts. Upload your own original file to each, so none carries another app’s watermark: Instagram’s eligible content “has no visible watermarks” (Instagram for Creators). That turns one week’s three films into twelve posts. “One video on every platform?” covers how.
Spacing posts
Spread posts through the week rather than putting several up in the same hour, on the same days each week, with the strongest on the days your business is busiest. “The best time to post” covers where to find your followers’ hours.
The rhythm on our plans
| Plan | Posts a month | Rhythm | Guaranteed views a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 20 | 5 posts a week | 250,000 |
| Growth | 30 | 7 or 8 posts a week | 500,000 |
| Premium | 60 | 14 to 16 posts a week | 1 million |
Videos go on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, and carousels on Instagram and TikTok. See an example month on each plan.
Common mistakes
- A burst in the first week, then nothing for a month.
- Posting daily with nothing to show, so each post is weaker than the last.
- Reposting old videos to keep the number up.
- Several posts in one hour, then silence for days.
- Giving up after a few posts: for both shops above, the viral film wasn’t the first.
Questions owners ask
How many times a week should a business post on TikTok?
There’s no official number. Several times a week is a good start for a local business, if every post is one you’d watch yourself and you can keep it up every week.
Is posting every day too much?
Not if each post is good. If daily posting makes the posts worse, post less often and plan the month ahead.
Does posting more often get more views?
Each post is another chance to be recommended, so more good posts mean more chances. More weak posts don’t: the platforms recommend what people watch, and Instagram asks you not to reupload reels already on it.
Should I post the same video on Instagram and TikTok?
Yes. Upload your own original file to each, without another app’s watermark.
How do I start?
Apply to work with us: a few quick questions about your business. We read every application, and if we can help, we write back to set up a free thirty-minute video call. Apply to work with us
Keep reading
- PlanningHow to plan a month of posts: a content calendar
- PlanningThe best time to post on TikTok and Instagram
- Making videosPost the same video on TikTok, Reels and Shorts?
- ViewsWhy your TikToks and Reels get no views
Sources
- Instagram for Creators, Recommendations and originality, 30 April 2024, read
- TikTok Newsroom, How TikTok recommends videos #ForYou, 18 June 2020, read
- Instagram for Creators, What creators need to know about Instagram recommendations, 30 August 2022, updated 25 April 2023, read
- Instagram Help Center, Recommendations Guidelines, read
Updates
- : Lengthened: what the platforms say about each post’s chance (Instagram’s originality post re-read; TikTok’s recommendation post and Instagram’s creators’ page read), a worked count of the hours behind a rhythm, spacing posts, never filling a week with reposts, and common mistakes.