According to a recent post on SitePoint (which references the 2010 Social Media Marketing Report from SMExaminer), the amount of time spent on social media marketing is on the rise. Currently, about 76% of marketers are spending 4 hours or more per week on SMM. Furthermore, time spent correlates with experience in social media marketing. The big question is why?
When you look at social media as an industry and social media marketing as a measurable result, it makes sense:
- Social Media is still growing, so more users + more interaction = more time
- The learning curve never really ‘curves’ at all, so new technologies, new methods and new platforms make for continuous education
- The more you put in, the more you get out: There are no real ‘shortcuts’ yet in social media marketing
- Monitoring is more important than ever, and keeping track of your brand takes time
- Organic interaction is important. Users are becoming more aware of marketing and ‘sales’ pitches, so staying true to the ideals of social media are important.
And finally, one of the most important reasons we may be seeing an increase in social media marketing:
- Companies are beginning to budget specifically for social media marketing, and there are more dedicated social media positions
Add those up, and it makes perfect sense to see an increase in time marketers spent on social media. The question is, what is the cap? When are you spending ‘too much’ time on social media?
How high do you think the number of hours spent will get before it moves backwards?
