When a campaign shows me its social media and ask what it could be doing better, they’re usually prepared for the advice of “post more” or “follow trends,” but that’s not always the case. The thing holding most campaigns back online isn’t how often they post, but what they’re posting.
We’ve previously shared guidance about when and how often to post, but posting less and posting better is the right approach. The engagement data is clear on this front: the formats that are easiest produce are, unsurprisingly, the ones that get posted the most. Novel formats get more attention.
When campaigns rely heavily on links and photos, more volume is never going to fix the problem.
Carousels Over Reels
On Instagram, carousels slightly outperform Reels in terms of engagement, but the volume of Reels is is nearly twice as much. One of the reasons carousels get more engagement is because they can earn saves and a save is one of the strongest signals the Instagram algorithm can receive.
Short-form video like Reels are still important because they drive the modern discovery engine. But mix up your Reels, stories, and single photos by including carousels. For example, a five slide carousel of your campaign’s policy proposal or a fact check should be included in the mix alongside standard campaign fare.
Facebook Buries Links
Facebook is trending almost entirely video first. Link posts get about half the engagement of most other formats. We’ve shared previously about the decline of posting links and what to do about it.
The more interesting lesson comes from elsewhere in the same data. Brands have cut their Facebook posting by 22% (about 39 posts per month) and there’s been no change in engagement. Post less, post better.
LinkedIn Loves Documents
LinkedIn, despite prohibiting political advertising, is still a channel where campaigns can reach donors and community leaders. Native document posts on the platform (essentially swipe-able PDF carousels) have the highest engagement rate.
This is a format that comes naturally to campaigns and the LinkedIn algorithm loves it. Try posting announcements, policy proposals, and interview highlights.
Cross-Posting Is Lazy
Some formats, like vertical video, work across platforms, but every platform rewards something different, so blasting the same post everywhere just to check a posting box misses the mark.
Your objective then should be to repurpose and remix what you create into the right format for the platform. AI tools and platforms like Canva can be especially helpful here.
Conclusion
The campaigns that win on social media aren’t necessarily the ones that fill every slot on their content calendar, but they are working to figure out what each platform’s algorithm prefers and creating more of that. While quantity can have a quality all its own, for resource limited campaigns, posting less but posting better is the key to effectiveness.