Get more reach by posting a-synchronously

This is such an easy hack to get more reach; I really don't get why people keep posting the same content on Instagram (IG) story and IG feed in the same minute. How often do you see the same content simultaneously on all socials?

Don’t fire all your guns at once. Divide your posts over a few days. Or, if ‘days’ are not feasible, over ‘the’ day. No need to bombard me with the same content on my IG story and IG feed. Add another social and or newsletter to the mix; guarantee I’ll be annoyed.

For clarity of the explanation, I’ll stick to IG planning only in this blog. This methodology can be applied to the planning for all the socials, including newsletters. 

Why it matters

Big chance that your audience scrolls through your IG story and IG feed in one session. If you spread your posting over time, the chance you’ll reach a broader audience, and you'll reach them twice. 

What you will read below:

• Reaching a broader audience
• Don't become boring; show that you care
• Planning for if you post twice a week
• How to plan if you post 4+ times a week
• Advance planning to spread it over weeks and become ‘always on’

Broader audience

Due to the algorithm, your IG feed post has a natural lifetime, for organic and paid. The peak will be in the first few hours, let’s say 4 hours. Your lifetime will be up to 24 with a maximum of 48 hours. I have no hard data on this; it’s just common sense and my own experience.

Your IG story is visible for 24 hours. There's also a dependency, the more recent your post, the more visible it is in the story navigation.

So, if you post on an IG story and simultaneously on your IG feed, your peak reach is around 4 hours.

You’ll miss out on people not scrolling through IG within that specific timeframe.

If you split your timing, you expand your total lifetime over both posts, and as a result, you’ll reach more people.

Don't be boring

Some people scroll through only the stories, others only the feed. Most will do both. Speaking for Gen X and (almost) Boomers, we do. I do, my friends do. Not speaking for Gen Z here, as I have no experience with them or any recent data on their scrolling behavior.

If I scroll through the stories and feed in one session, you’ll reach me twice. With the same content. Boring! 

N=1, this looks like you're dumping your content in the timeline without giving the content, and me, your audience, any love or attention by making an effort to spread it. Show that you care. 

If you post a-synchronously, first on the story, a few days later on the feed, you'll reach me twice. As there is a bit more time between both, and I have the attention span and memory of a goldfish, there's a bigger chance your message will stick with me by the power of repetition.

Gen Z, Gen X, and Boomers, if they scroll through only one or the other, you’ll reach them either way as you post on both channels.

How to plan

There are roughly three strategies you can follow; you pick what suits you

1. Two or three days in between, if you post like twice a week
2. A day in between, suitable if you post four or more times a week
3. Spread it over the weeks, advanced planning

1. Two or three days in between, if you post like twice a week

If you don't have so much content you can post multiple times a week, this can be for you. 

Just take a look at the visual below. 

If you choose to post with about 24h in between, you'll be out of content pretty fast. If you choose to go for at least a day in between and not posting on story and feed on the same day, you can spread out a bit more. 

2. A day in between, 4+ posts a week

Spread your posts over the days. Assume you post about 4 to 5 times a week. 

Day 1, the first post on the story. On day 3, you post this on the feed. On day 2, you post your next content on the story, and on day 4, on the feed. Etcetera.

Or… if your content is time bound, go for the story in the morning and the feed during the day. Even then you'll have a broader reach than firing all content guns in the same minute.

Rules of thumb

• You decide whether you do the story or feed first. Or vary this per post. Just don't post the same content on the feed and story on the same day. I always post on the story first, as that has a natural lifespan of 24 hours, and next on the feed, as that's here to stay. 
   
• Roughly at least a day between both postings. You can also choose to have two or maybe even a few or more days in between. 
   
• Don’t be too rigid. It’s not set in stone. Go with the flow and bring in some variation. Don’t become too predictable. Your audience will notice if it’s all automated and it lacks some TLC (tender love and care).

You do you and do what suits best to your brand and content.

3. Spread it over the weeks; advanced planning

If you have no life or do this professionally and really like to dig into the details, this can be your strategy. Now it gets complicated, and you do need an advanced planning tool for this; read more on how I do my planning.  Please remember that this strategy takes time to reach the ‘always on’ status. 

 You can do this if your content is timeless and not a campaign.  

For me, I want to reach as many people as possible, and there's no urgency to have a close time between the story and the feed. The more I spread it, the easier it gets to be ‘always on’. 

I post two to three blogs a week. On social, first on the story and later on the feed. For most people, it will feel like new content, as I have no ego people remember what I posted last week or the week before. 

Between posting on the story and the feed, I keep a minimum of two weeks, preferably up to three weeks. In the example below, I've shortened it to ten days for clarity in the explanation. 

A few things

• This is a longer-time strategy. To reach the ‘always on’ status, you have to do this for a few weeks and be consistent. 
   
• Don't always post the story and feed on the same weekday. Bring in some variation. Show that you care. 
   
• At least about ten days in between story and feed posts. Also, vary with this, don't keep a fixed number of days in between. Play with it and show there's a human behind the planning. 
   
• I rarely post on Saturdays; however, exceptions confirm the rule. If I really feel like it, I do post on the feed, as that's there to stay. 

Read more

Do you want to know more about content planning? In the first link, how to apply this strategy over multiple social channels. In the second link, what tool I use for advanced planning. 

• Content planning, divide and conquer;  No simultaneous posting on all socials; spread it out for more reach
• Content planning made easy; Failing to plan is planning to fail; keep track of your themes, posts and yourself

Final words

A little old-school wisdom goes a long way. Don't fire all your guns. 

Spread it out and reach more. In this blog, I used IG as an example. Of course, this planning strategy goes for all socials and the mix between socials. 

If you want to know more about how to implement this type of planning for your brand or company? Don't hesitate to drop me a DM, and we can have a quick chat.