Small Business | Forum « How Much Time Should Social Media Take? (TOTW: 1.28.2013)

How Much Time Should Social Media Take? (TOTW: 1.28.2013) (14 posts)

Topic tags: social media marketing, time management, totw

Rich Brooks said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
I woke up at 3:30am this morning. Tossed and turned until 5, thinking about work. I finally realized that I might as well DO work since it was on my mind, and maybe I could catch up on sleep later.
It got me thinking about how much time I dedicate to social media marketing and communications each day.
Do you track how much time you spend? Do you have any idea?
Do you have certain times of day you focus on social media, or is it something that permeates everything you do?
If you have any tips for managing and controlling the time you spend on social media, please share!
@rich-brooks | # | Top
Kristy C. Cartier said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
@rich-brooks My social media duties permeate my day I do spend a little more time in the mornings setting up the day’s content. The rest of the day is filtering new content and response to engagement. I probably should use a tool like Nutshell Mail or a dashboard (like Hootsuite) to better manage my time. Still it is a big part of my job. The hardest time is during the conference but I have a work laptop this year.
@kc_kreative | # | Top
E N Brown said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
Hi @rich-brooks @kc_kreative —
I jump in several places first thing each day. I try to keep the time limited to an hour. I then do some client work (whatever is on my list) and then jump back to SM. I spend about 3 hours per day; sometimes less; sometimes more.
Since I work from home I can spread those hours out over more than an eight hour day so it really doesn’t seem like much to me. It might be a LOT to someone who is limited to those eight hours.
Like all of us, sometimes I spend WAY too much time with SM. I like it so it’s easy to spend too much of my time doing this!
Eileen
@supereb | # | Top
Amy Hall, Virtual Assistant for WordPress and MailChimp Help said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
@supereb You are a social media goddess. I aspire to be like you! I spend too much, but I still don’t spend enough. When I’m regular and consistent I see big rewards. It’s just getting that consistacy that has me challenged.
@amyhallbiz | # | Top
Kim Kline said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
@rich-brooks I too used to feel a little overwhelmed with the whole social media thing. I know it is important to my business, but I also have “real” work I need to do.
Right now I jump in first thing in the morning and, like Eileen, spend an hour or so. I respond to comments that have cropped up during the night and find articles or inspiration to post on my Facebook page or use for my next blog topic.
Then, throughout the day, I check back in so that I am responding quickly to any posts or comments.
I recently wrote a blog article on my thoughts about Social Media. I have taken a different tack since the beginning of 2013 – my resolution of sorts. Here is a link if you are interested in checking it out:
http://www.accessprofilesblog.com/2013/01/what-i-have-learned-navigating-world-of_14.html
@kimkline | # | Top
Mitch Rezman said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
Caveat: Is the time you’re spending paying off? (social media agency work excluded) Are you making money for your efforts? We’re spending more time and money yet not seeing ROI. With Google Adwords, I know a particular campaign sent us “x” orders for “x” spend. Even with google analytics and the new (but confusing) Facebook conversion tracking social media ROI is murky. I’ve listened the the whole “branding” argument but I wrote “branding” on a bank deposit slip and the bank wouldn’t take it. My question is am I spending enough time on social media? This conversation dovetails with an article I read in Internet Retailer last night. Conventional wisdom tells us don’t post too often and don’t try to “sell” on social media. and then I read about Petflow http://goo.gl/0mJ2j – 30% of online sales ($20,000,000 annually) comes from Facebook and they post 10 – 15 time daily with a SALE item – That’s OUR new model starting today – so to get back to the question – we’re about to spend a lot more time on SM than we already do
@mitch-rezman | # | Top
Mitch Rezman said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
I took advantage of Twitters “promoted accounts” http://goo.gl/IcbZa last October, set the budget to a $1/day – the card never got charged. No one seemed to care
@mitch-rezman | # | Top
E N Brown said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
Hi @amyhallbiz
You made me blush. That’s a pretty hard thing to do at my age, little sister!
I’m am certainly not an SM expert but I learn something new everyday through online endeavors – we never stop learning.
Eileen
@supereb | # | Top
Amy Hall, Virtual Assistant for WordPress and MailChimp Help said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
@supereb I just need a fool proof system for social media. I see a shiny thing and go off on a tangent sic.Shiny object syndrome (SOS) 1 hour latter I hadn’t done what I started to do. ARGH I just need a system and stick to it!!!!
@amyhallbiz | # | Top
E N Brown said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
HI @amyhallbiz —
You are not alone and I think women in particular have a penchant for that “shiny thing” to happen no matter what. I do it too, Amy, so you have company on that one.
My trick is — I watch the clock. No kidding. If I begin to run over, I just STOP and go back to work. It’s hard sometimes. The clock I watch is the one at the bottom right of the windows tray area. I don’t think it’s turned on for a lot of folks but if yours resides there it might help you keep track of time better.
Eileen
@supereb | # | Top
Ann at greenoak said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
my business is a handful!! to put it mildly… so even tho social media is great for us i never put more than an hour a day on it…..but its a well spent hour usually…. much of the time is replying to specific questions about what im trying to sell… usually several pieces sell each week in reaction to my facebook posts…. i work my facebook and also to a lesser extent pinterest….my f acebook work is mostly taking pictures and a quick post with them and looking at the insights and replying to the questions…i post twice a day…also i connect wtih 3 industry places a few times a week..[2 groups and a forum]…
google + i tried for a couple of weeks…. and my customer base isnt there looking for my thing… so i cant justify the time …i might post once a month for seo reasons. …
@annfurnivall | # | Top
Judy Huddleston said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
I must be in the right place, because although I’m new at this, I can see y’all have the same concerns as I do.
Maybe a set schedule is what I need.
@judy-huddleston | # | Top
jas said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
anne at greenoak I clicked the thumbs down but mistake I thought it was a reply button. I wanted to say wow to the fact that you actually sell stuff bases on fb page. I’ll have to try posting more I have a store hooked right to the fb page and I havn’t sold one thing yet. Now I know that’s my falt for not having the right stuff but I would say you are getting a great rio.
https://www.facebook.com/petersenesacjewelryartstudio?ref=hl
I have a q about pinterest. Is it ok to have a board on your own page with your own stuff? I had one but took it down because I thought that was frowned upon, and a bit cheesy, to be hawking my own work on my pinterest page.
@peter-senesac | # | Top
Ann at greenoak said
3 months, 3 weeks ago:
@peter-senesac thanks for telling me about the thumbs down jas…. we do sell a whole lot from our page….meaning they see it and mention it when they are IN the store…. we dont ship stuff out, they have to come to us…and mostof our fans are actual customers so facebook works real well…
seems like the way to use pinterest is really all over the map…i wouldnt worry about it ..we have a board of just our stuff…and put our w ebsite on all OUR product pictures on pinterest….we even put prices on a few , but that dild feel cheesy to me…and i quit doing it…
@annfurnivall | # | Top