Bloggers – at least the successful ones – know the importance of consistent posting. It’s the only thing that keeps traffic coming in. After all, if there is nothing new to see, why visit? Well the same goes for your social media accounts. Staying active is the only way to grow your reach.

Here’s why. You need to keep your name in front of your target market – otherwise they’re likely to forget about you. Also keep in mind that if a potential customer finds your Facebook Business Page, for example, but sees that you haven’t been active in a few months they may very well believe you’ve gone out of business, and move on to your competitor’s page instead.

Remember the guy in mistake number two? Updating consistently and engaging you’re your audience takes time. Spread yourself too thin, and you simply won’t be able to keep up. Keep your time constraints in mind when deciding which networks to join. Don’t try to be everywhere all at once – especially if you’re brand new to the world of social media. Instead, be selective about which social media platform will give you the best results and focus on building up that one first.

It’s far better for your social media plan to use one or two networks consistently and well. After all, imagine how it would look if a potential customer happens to find – and try to contact you via – an abandoned account. “Oops, sorry, I never check that account,” is just going to make you look bad. Even worse, it may inadvertently send a message you definitely don’t want to be sending – that you don’t follow through or respect potential customers enough to respond in a timely manner. And just as bad as not responding is having an outdated photo (or none at all) and outdated contact information. This also inadvertently sends a message you don’t want to be sending – I don’t pay attention to detail, I don’t have time to update these things or I don’t think it’s important. You want your profiles to be professional and you definitely want people to be able to contact you!

Okay, so let’s get back to posting on a consistent basis. There is no right or wrong answer here. You have to decide what works best for you. Pay attention to the days and times your audience seems to be most active and if possible be available to interact with them during those times. Another thing to keep in mind with posting consistently – don’t make it all about you all the time. Engage your audience, get to know them and build a relationship with them.

Does all this mean you have to be online every hour of the day posting new quips and responding to every comment? Of course not. No one has that kind of time. But you should make it a point to work out a schedule that satisfies your audience without overwhelming you. That might mean checking in over your morning coffee and again after dinner, or it might mean 15 minutes at the end of the day. Each market and business is different, so find what works for you and, as we said, be consistent!