How Much Time Should I Commit to Social Media?
18th May 2012
In a world of tweeting and liking, it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed. Social media sites were once for friends and family, but they quickly become a top business marketing platform. With the right content, you can generate interest in your product or service. When you post things that are worth sharing, they’ll be passed on and will reach a wider audience than you could access on your own.
An April 2012 report sponsored by the Social Media Examiner found the following:
- 83% of marketers felt that social media was important for their business.
- 85% said social media would help increase their business exposure and most people preferred Facebook for their social media marketing.
- A third of businesses said they set aside 130 minutes of more for social media each week, and almost 60% spent at least six hours on sites including Google+, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
- 30% said they chose to outsource their social media marketing.
Quality or Quantity?
If you’re using social media to market your business, quality is more important than quantity. You’ll need to provide content that people are interested in, and want to share. The same report found that people preferred Facebook and Twitter if they were just starting out, and moved on to other sites when they had more time to commit.
Only an Hour to Spare?
The most important thing is to remember to use social media regularly. You want to be on-hand to offer fast support and quick responses to potential or current customers. After all, if they were phoning with a query you wouldn’t ignore the call for days. If you have only an hour to commit to social media each week, it’s far better to spend ten minutes a day on Facebook, Twitter or other social media websites than to spend an hour on them once a week.
