How Much Time Should You Be Spending on Social Media?

As of 2020, the average daily social media usages worldwide amounted to 145 minutes per day which adds up to 16 hours over the span of a week. Business owners can’t afford to spend hours scrolling and promoting on social media, but creating a schedule that limits internet usage can be tricky. It’s important to prioritize quality over quantity in your marketing strategy.

Saving Time by Tracking What’s Working

Before the Internet, marketing teams had to track successful marketing campaigns by gathering reports from different sources, like commercial watch times and magazine subscriptions. Modern marketers don’t have to find all of this information themselves because all social media platforms have built-in analytic reports for all ad campaigns.

Still, it can be tricky to track general engagement on an ad-free Facebook post. Use Facebook analytics reporting software for a complete overview of how your posts are performing based on 100+ metrics in real-time.

How Much Time Should I Spend on Social Media?

Every business is unique and requires different posting needs, but you should compare the amount of time you’re spending on each platform based on how often you post. Many experts recommend a set number of posts on each platform, which are outlined below:

• Facebook: 1-3 times per day. Cycle between photos and articles.
• Twitter: 5-15 times per day. Use punchy, short sentences for quick engagement.
• Instagram: 1-2 times per day. Post flashy photos 12 hours apart from each other.
• Pinterest: 1-3 times per day. Add 5-30 posts to a board from other creators.
• Linkedin: 1-2 times per day. Share from your business profile or blog.
• TikTok: Go nuts! TikTok prioritized active users who produce multiple small videos.

Small business owners may start posting at the minimum amount required and work their way up. If you find you’re spending time scrolling when you could engage with customers or create more content, do that instead unless you don’t have anything else to say.

Quality Trumps Quantity Every Time

Posting more frequently will improve your engagement up to a point. Don’t make the mistake of posting too much, or you could create customer fatigue in your audience. However, if your 4 daily Instagram posts attract users and make your audience want to engage, then keep doing what you’re doing. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t have an endless source of good ideas.

If you’re torn between meeting post quota and developing unique content, choose to focus on unique content. Use a social media post scheduler to plan your posts accordingly so you can spread out your quality content over the week or month.

Create a Social Media Strategy that Maximizes Productivity

A social media strategy can help you spend less time on social media and prioritize other essential aspects of your business. There are three crucial steps to follow when creating the ultimate social media marketing plan. To start, define your online marketing goals.

• Understand Marketing Goals: Have a goal that’s easy to reach but is simple to expand on. For example, reach for 30 new followers in a week or 120 in a month. A realistic goal is measurable and attainable. Reach for a larger goal and higher targets each month.
• Define Your Audience: Your ideal customer should be the focus of your marketing strategy. Research your audience by scoping out the competition or using software that tracks analytics. Remove social media platforms your audience doesn’t use frequently.
• Consider Your Resources: Do you have a social media manager, a team of marketers, or are you doing this yourself? Adding a few extra employees can help you cut down on the time you spend on social media without sacrificing the quality of content.

A higher marketing budget can limit your social media usage to an hour per day, but you may need to scale your business before that’s possible. Prioritize all of your time and money towards getting your company off the ground to completely remove yourself from social media if that’s your goal. You’ll still need to manage your marketers and guide them to success.

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