Social Media: Do You Have The Time?

I've been paying a lot of attention to "Social Media" for quite some time now, and I can finally articulate the question that has been troubling me for some time!


The collaborative site Wikipedia says "Social media technologies take on many different forms including blogs, business networks, enterprise social networks, forums, microblogs, photo sharing, products/services review, social bookmarking, social gaming, social networks, video sharing, and virtual worlds."

Wikipedia also says "A common thread running through all definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction (emphasis mine) for the co-creation of value."

I've attended many in-person and virtual seminars/webinars, and I've had many casual conversations about marketing with "Social Media."
(Click here to see a larger image for SOCIAL MEDgoIA Explained graphic. They have prepared a similar graphic with cats.)

Content is King, but...

The speakers that I've heard all agree that "content is king." They tout the value of profiles, video, and posting (free!) new informative content.

But there's been a troubling cloud in the back of my mind about the time involved.  This coalesced when I heard a  crowdfunding speaker say that a successful program starts fours months out, with 2-4 hours online every day before the opening date.

Manage/Monitor Social Media

Several sites have popped up to help monitor and manage the social media sites. Hootsuite was one that was recently recommended. These sites promise "post here and replicate to all" and "visit here for a consolidated stream."  Ugh.

If everyone is pushing social media content, who is listening?

More specifically, social media is designed to be interactive.  If you are spending a significant amount of time creating blogs and slideshows and videos - when do you have time to see blogs and slideshows and videos created by other people?

 Another summary:

 I found this article in June, 2016, and its title is "9 Questions to Ask Before Creating Another Social Media Account." Three of the points discuss the time you will have to invest in social media:
» (3) "Do I have the time required to build an account?"
» (4) "Do I have the time required to monitor the account?"
» (9) "Why is time spent on this social account more valuable than time spent doing other marketing activities?"
Although I am using the article to reinforce my own questions about time, it's actually a pretty good read about using social media.

Later, in June, I found another article that asks whether someone really needs LinkedIn.

What, then, is a reasonable amount of time to surf the content that other people have created and shared?  What's fair to them?

1-2 hours a day? Is it counter-productive to take weekends off? It's easy to spend 10-20 hours a week just watching social media - that's over a quarter of the historically defined 40-hour work-week.

Should you take the time to post comments, too?
You're welcome, nay: invited! to post your comments below....