Hey all,

I'm new to social networking. I tried to ignore it for a while, but now it seems that it has become inevitable. So recently I updated my LinkedIn profile and created a Facebook account. Joining this forum is another attempt to network.

I also subscribed to NutShellMail - a great tool to manage multiple social media sites. (http://email-marketing-software-solu...al-media-apps/)

Now I'm just wondering how much I should spend doing social networking on a daily basis. I spent almost half a day on LinkedIn the other day--really bad for my productivity.

I'm just wondering - how much time do you spend doing social networking daily or should spend that can be considered justifiable?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

I limit the amount of time spend each week on social media. Like you, I spend a lot of time to set up the accounts, invite friends, join groups and learn how to use the site. I found that deciding what my goal was for each site helped me to decide where to best spend my time. Hope this helps!!

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Janet Falkenberg
ExecuStrive, Details Get Done

I tell my clients who are new to it, to spend 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening, until they are comfortable enough to decide for themselves how much time they need or want to be on it. But you have to decide for you what is enough and what is too much! I can spend all day on them (some days I do for my clients stuff) and some days all I can get in is 10 minutes here and there. But you have to do what is best for you. If you think that 30 minutes on LinkedIn is too much. You need to look at what you are doing and the purpose for which you are doing it. Are you doing things that are going to help you get "found", like answering questions that others are posing? Are you connecting to groups and other people? Are you optimizing your profile? All these reasons (and there are others too) are valid reasons for being on for 30 minutes or more. They will eventually bring you what you are wanting.

HTH

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Rebecca Thompson
CLR Virtual Connection * fanTABulous fan pages

It's very easy to get your whole day sucked by social media sites. It really depends what your goals are. I would say first have a plan, who do you want to reach, what message are your trying to send and your ultimate goal. You just can't simply open an account without a plan or else you'll get very frustrated. Social media takes a lot of time to produce any results and it's all about creating relationships. You also have to calculate your return on investment, in this case mainly time. Could you spend your time doing more productive work which would benefit your business? I am now a very strong believer in Social Media and believe me I was questioning it not long ago. Stick to one or two sites, I love Twitter because it moves so fast. They all have their benefits and different purposes. My last piece of advice which you probably know already, don't push people into buying your services on social media sites. People get very annoyed when led to a sales page and you might end up being blocked. Good luck!

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Genevieve Lachance
VA Simple Services

I still need to figure out Twitter. Although I signed up a couple of years ago, I didn't really do anything with my profile.
I appreciate your replies. They are all very helpful. Thanks.

As I have a FT job I am only on a small amount each day (usually in my breaks and in the evening). At the moment I find it more of a chore than anything.

Fiona

I agree that you should set a goal for each site. I recommend dealing with 5 social sites. Building them until you feel comfortable to get more. I think that 30min a day is not unreasonalble. I would focus on 1 at a time. don't get overwhelmed. Become an expert in one social media and then build the next.

I think it also depends on your company type. For example, companies that rely on word-of-mouth like a hair salon or equipment renting, social media is a-must.

Personally, I spend about 10 minutes a day on social media. Sometimes I go for days and even weeks without posting anything on my LinkedIn or Twitter accounts. However, I spend hours on social networks for my clients. Fortunately, all the clients I work with are in the niches that are either my hobbies or closely related to my professional interests. So whatever social media work I do on their behalf is not just financially, but also mentally rewarding.

I rarely do anything with LinkedIn other than connecting with people. My fan page, which is fairly active and my blog post directly to twitter for me.

As Rebecca said, I try to spend 15 in the morning and 15 in the late afternoon on twitter answering dm's, but it doesn't always work for me. I use twilert.com and have alerts come to my inbox each morning that basically collect leads, which I answer, but I don't try to carry conversations. As for facebook, I try to update my fan page every day at least once.

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April Sullivan
The REVA Academy