Their is a misconception among a lot of businesses and business owners that Social Media is free. When I come across people that believe this, I try to explain to them that even though many of the tools and platforms are free, using the free tools correctly is not. The old adage always comes to mind: “Time is Money.” Here’s some data to back up that up.
Social Media is Not Free
Social Media Examiner recently published their annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. Some of the most interesting data to come out of the report is the amount of time that marketers spend on Social Media:
A significant 58% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more each week and 34% for 11 or more hours weekly. It’s interesting to note that 15% of marketers spend more than 20 hours each week on social media.
Those with more years of social media experience spend more time each week conducting social media activities. For example, 63% of people with 3 or more years of experience spend more than 10 hours a week doing social media activities. Only 41% of those with 1 to 3 years experience spend that much time.
How Much Time do You Spend on Social Media?
I typically estimate that companies need to invest at least 5 hours a week in Social Media in order to see a real benefit. In my opinion this is an absolute minimum! This includes, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, forums, video, social bookmarking as well as others.
How much time do you spend on your Social Media activities?
Some other useful reading:
How much do you need to budget for Social Media in 2011?
How To: Five Things You Can do With Social Media Marketing
