Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Google +

Oh my! And those are just a few of the social media sites. Talk about social media overload!

Last year I had the opportunity to work with a client as her social media manager. One of the first things she complained about when she contacted me was all the time she was wasting with social media marketing. That’s a pretty common complaint but until recently I didn’t really understand just how much time you could waste when it comes to social media.  She was spending anywhere from 2-4 hours a day between Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. As I started doing things for her I often found myself wondering how she could spend so much time every day on these sites. Little did I know that I would soon understand.

Side note – I did not do 100% of social media stuff for said client. We followed a 80/20 rule where I could do 80% of the stuff but she had to commit to doing 20% of it. After all it was about her building relationships with her friends/followers and I couldn’t be her and connect with them on a personal level, she had to that herself.

Social Media Time Out

Remember above when I said, little did I know that I would soon understand (in regards to that client spending so much time on social media sites)? Well, unfortunately I get it now. Recently I wanted to know just how much time I was spending being productive wasting on Facebook. I spent a day timing myself and the results weren’t pretty. 30 minutes here, 10 minutes there, 20 minutes here, 5 minutes there…they add up to probably a lot more than you think. I know for me they sure did. I’m sad to admit that I wasted almost 4 hours! Yes, 4 hours! Mind you that was from 10am to midnight but still! That’s ridiculous. And sadly I can’t say that I was even doing anything business related!

So, today (September 1st) I embarked on my month long social media time out! Yep, sometimes even adults need a time out too 😉  During the next 30 days I plan on focusing on my business! I’m going to put a social media plan into place so that when I do come back on October 1st I have a goal when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc.

Do you know how much time you spend on social media sites each day/every week?

If you don’t, I challenge you to time yourself and see how long you’re spending. I don’t necessarily recommend you take a time out, especially if you do a lot of business related things on Twitter, Facebook, etc. But maybe it’s time to measure whether you’re getting an ROI (return on investment) on that time you’re spending with social media sites.