Social Media For Brands: Is It A Good Time Investment? [Infographic]

Anyone who stays on top of their social media accounts and engages with their friends, followers and fans knows how time consuming it is. I spent 3 hours yesterday managing my Twitter following, and that didn’t include the time I spent engaging on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. I feel like I could have been more thorough by getting on Pinterest too, but at some point you have to call it a day when it comes to social media. Social media for brands is even more time consuming.

The reason social media for brands has an added twist is because in addition to the usual stuff, brands have to deal with customer service issues and marketing promotions. The question is, is all that time and effort worth it for brands? Time is our most valuable asset, so it’s definitely a valid question.

The infographic below called Social Platforms Deep Dive: What’s In It For Brands? (by L2 Think Tank) takes a look at what the time spent on social media for brands is really yielding. L2 studied 247 brands across 15 social platforms and compiled their findings in their Social Platforms 2013 study.

As far as SEO goes, their study came to the same conclusion as other studies we’ve presented here on Bit Rebels. And that is, 7 out of the top 10 current SEO ranking factors are social media based. From that perspective, the time spent is very worth it (and measurable). In addition to that, there is the invaluable time spent on customer service, increased brand awareness / reputation, and other customer related things.

However, if you are only looking to increase sales with your social media efforts, it could be argued that the time spent is not worth it. I can’t imagine a brand would only be in social media for sales, but I’m sure there are some people out there who have thought along these lines. The bottom line is, social media for brands is time consuming, that’s true. But social media provides a platform for reaching your customers and clients that is unlike anything else.

It’s an invaluable tool, kind of like a secret weapon. It will not only help you to connect with your brand’s loyal fans, but it will also help you get ahead of your competition. So, yes it’s worth the time and effort. Invest in your social networks for the long run. You’ll be glad you did!