How Much Time Does It Take To Do Social Media?

Time Chart - See Flickr Discussion on Version 1
Wanna Remix it?  Download it here

I'm getting ready to a workshop later this week,   I did a simple pre-workshop assessment, asking folks about their level of experience/comfort and their burning questions.   I usually do this in a room with a quick poll, but I wanted to push myself to create the content based on their questions.

Here's a question I get all the time:

How much time and resources does it take to implement social media?

In my presentations, I use a slide from Nina Simon's blog post called "How Much Time Does It Take To Do Web2.0 In A Museum?"   I've been thinking about remixing that slide so it matches the framework I set up for WeAreMedia tactical modules.

So, how can you quantify - as close as possible - the amount of time it takes to put social media in practice with good results?  It's so hard and you could cop out with "It depends ..."   It does take more time in the beginning if you're just acquiring the skill with a particular tool.  As soon as you have the workflow in memory and have routine, it will take less time than when you first started.  But, there's the whole issue of being efficient - and if you have super human getting things dones with social media skills, then it will take you less time.   

Also, it isn't matter of less or more time - it is also how you manage your online time.  Are you staying on task and getting the workflow done for each specific strategy?  It has nothing to do with the tools, have you avoided getting distracted from your to do list or work flow or too much multi-tasking-- social media can be ADD producing.

Also, the categories have  overlap in terms of tools.   For example, you can use Twitter as both a listening tool and for participation.  (And for spreading buzz for that matter).  Also, I wanted to lay this out in a sequential manner -- obviously you're not going to stop listening once you begin sharing your story.

So, here's a stab with lots of caveats.

Let me define the categories for you.

Listening:
Knowing what is being said online about your organization and the field you work in. You can listen with google alerts, technorati, twitter, and RSS readers. Key skill is pattern analysis. Link listening and analysis to decisions or actions. About 5 hours a week once you learn how to use the tools and make listening a daily habit.  (5 hours per week)

Participate:
Is joining the conversation with your audience. By making a human connection with people online, you can influence their perception of your brand and help them find meaningful, relevant ways to support your mission. Tools to help you participate are Twitter and Co-Comment.  You can also participate vicariously through bloggers by encouraging them to write about your organization.  (10 hours per week - also includes listening tasks as they go hand-in-hand)

Generate Buzz:
Your raising your organizations profile and spreading awareness of your organization's programs or campaigns. What happens is that you share your message with enthusiastic supporters and they in turn may choose to pass it to others with a similar a interest in your organization or campaign. But first, you have to build trust, credibility and -- most importantly -- a relationship with those who might interact with your posted content.  Buzz tools include FriendFeed, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Digg - and of course you add many others to this category that are found in other categories.  I'd also include your individual social networking profile which can be a great way to spread buzz (or spread yourself too thin.)  (10-15 hours per week - also includes some listening tasks)

Share Your Story:
You share the impact of your organization's programs through blogging, podcasting, sharing photos on Flickr, or YouTube or other video sharing site.  Once you have content created through these methods, it can be easily shared using the buzz tools above through social networks.   But even better is getting your constituents to share their stories about your organization with others (which takes more time because it is more in the community building area) (15-20 per week depending on the type of content, number of different ways you're creating it, and skill)

Community Building and Social Networking:
You build relationships online, nurture a community, engage people and inspire them to take an action, or raise money using social networks and apps. If you want to build an online community for knowledge or skill sharing, using social network tools like Ning or LinkedIN will help you get there. If you're looking to engage and inspire new supporters, setting up an organizational presence on one of the larger social networks like Facebook or MySpace is the best step. Finally, consider how you can mix in fundraising.  Note, this step goes beyond just setting up your individual profile or creating a fan page or profile -- to get results in this category - it requires heavy lifting.  I wouldn't advise an organization to start here ...  (20 plus hours a week)

And of course, Einstein's theory of social media relativity.  It takes a few months before you see results.  People don't understand that -- you have to give it time. We're not talking about the immediate gratification of email blasts.

What's your best time estimate for investing in social media?  How much time do you spend on these tools and tactics?   Does equal with results?   

Comments

[bob ashley]

"How much time will social media take?" is a critical question from dubious cross-examiners. In a SM presentation I did recently to a group of municipal administrators, I felt like I was a defendant before a group of magistrates, awaiting sentence.

Thanks for a thoughtful, well-organized article on this subject. I suppose the time question might be counterbalanced by the priority question, especially for govt, as in, "How important is it for your public organization to connect with its constituents?" Add this dimension to your 'X' axis of time and we have a complement by way of a 'Y' axis labeled "Importance". The origin of this XY matrix would be zero time, zero importance. The far right, uppermost point in the quadrant would be high importance, lots of time.

Your article provoked thought and prompted this reply so that's a barometric reading which says you're doing a great job!

bob

[Anne]

Beth -
Thank you for this! I was just in a conversation with a local community foundation who are ready to dip their toe in the water -- and they asked exactly that question..."But how much time does it take?" THANK YOU! Great framework to share with them.

And to me, your time estimates look pretty close to reality - without knowing results, in some ways, each organization should engage in a process (beautifully supported by the WeAreMedia curriculum)to determine the unique role that social media will play to further their organization's mission or program strategy.

Anne

[Jeffrey Levy]

Thanks for an interesting framework. I have to spend more time thinking about how it meshes with my understanding, but it's a great piece to spur such analysis.

[Chris Brogan...]

It makes perfect sense, and this seems to be something to bring in front of people considering next steps. Might need to be put onto two nice ppt slides.

[Pete Steege]

Beth, this is really useful. My team at Seagate is travelling down this path with our business together. Nice framework to help us navigate. Thanks!

[Mark Varner (DairyScienceMark)]

As always, an interesting conceptual construct for discussing social media. In an article on the BBC News website, Padma Warrier (yes, her real name), the Chief Technology Officer for Cisco had two interesting quotes that may be of value to you.

"One of the things we are looking at as a precursor is what happens when you combine some aspects of social networking with video. It leads to a more collaborative way of doing things and we are just beginning to see that."

and later in the article

"I have a 15-year-old son and if you ask him what is central to his internet experience he will say it is communities. The future is really about communities we create on the internet and that requires the network to play a strong role and obviously mobile devices."

I think it's about whether organizations want to be relevant in the future.

[Beth Kanter]

K1v1n post
http://tinyurl.com/3rbrlw

[bloggingmom67]

Beth,

Great blog. I think your idea apply to everyone using social media, not just nonprofits. I work at a newspaper, and I'm trying to get them to use social media and facing some resistance, from people who say "Oh, I don't have the time."

The way I see it, you don't have the time not to.

[Colleen]

Beth,

Thank you so much for this wonderful post! I found it very helpful and insightful. Thank you for your excellent analysis.

[Brad P. from NJ]

A very useful breakdown. I like the steps that you use to cascade an understanding of the time it takes. This is extremely useful, because it not only talks to how much time it takes to build community, but how much time it takes just to pay attention.

Nice.

[Adam Cohen]

Hi Beth - Thanks for this, it's the first post I've come across that actually makes the commitment to social media tangible. While each company and social media effort may be different, this is a really great way to set some expectations on why it's difficult to move the ball on a very limited basis.
Best,
Adam

[Mark Logan]

Great post! Thank you very much for sharing. I think the time-to-return question is just as critical as the time invested question. That's often a tough selling point with folks contemplating an entry into this space.

[Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius]

Beth,
Fantastic article!
The question you address is one of the most common ones I hear from founders of start-ups. In many cases, entrepreneurs know that "pounding the streets" is crucial to their success. Many don't make it out of the seed stage, because they fail to go out there and participate, create, and evangelize. Working day of of the entrepreneur is not 8 hours, but more like 16+, therefore all of us must figure out and have no excuses to not go out there an invest in ourselves via social media.

Apolinaras "Apollo" Sinkevicius
Revolve, Inc.
Flexpertise(TM) - Business Law - Capital
www.revolvethis.com

[Beth Kanter]

@Mark Logan - that's so right on - that's the next thing I'm working on ... B

[Kim/hormone-colored days]

Thanks for the informative post! It's great to have some benchmarks for those moments when I wonder if I am spending too much time online.

[Daryl Tay]

Loved this post. I guess to some in the social media world all the steps are sometimes done simultaneously, but demonstrating them in increasing commitment levels and in a "linear" format will definitely help people just coming into it to understand it better!

[Virginia]

Thanks again for the great blog. Though its hard for me to compartmentalize the three aspects and quantify them, I see the beauty in organizing a strategy vs. the "jump in and hang on" approach of interacting in the online community. It makes perfect sense to me.There are so many tools at our disposal, it helps to get this kind of direction as to the best ways to employ them to get our charity's message out there.
Even though I have only been involved for a few short months, I have been seeing the results just within the past couple of weeks with more hits on our profiles and unsolicited followers on Twitter. Donations have actually started to come in with the website blog as the ad source!It's very exciting. I am avidly reading you and Chris Brogan along with other "experts", and am looking forward to the next installment,tweet,etc.Cheers! V.Curtis

[Shailesh Ghimire]

Beth,

Great information. I work with for-profit organizations and sometimes I get the feeling that many are turning to social media as a quick fix. It's relatively cheaper than traditional media and they need to make the cash register ring - so you get the picture.

[GeekMommy]

This is absolutely brilliant! Thanks! I know we all rather wonder how much time is too much, and how much is "enough" - great post!

[Maggie McGary]

This is a great post--I'm sure people all over the country are bookmarking it to show their bosses as justification to create full-time social media positions!

I typed a whole response to this then realized no way is it going to fit into this comment field; I'll have to blog about it and will share the link. As far as I'm concerned, the bottom line is that, as much time as you think it will take to integrate social media into your ogranization’s overall communications efforts, prepare for it to end up taking a lot more time.

[frank]

Very interesting and informative information Beth. It's definitely a 'burning question' for a lot of folks and one that i have never been able to answer well. :)

How did you go about 'estimating' the time needed at each level of engagement?

--
http://twitter.com/franswaa

[Amy Kincaid]

Thanks for this, Beth. I have to admit that I want results for even fewer hours...but this kind of chart and info will help me with my struggle to manage work time. Thanks, also, for your work to address the burning questions at the Minnesota conference. Amy

[Beth Kanter]

Frank,

That's a such a good question. I actually tracked my own time on the various tasks. and then as part of the research for this article - I interviewed a lot of nonprofits who were using social networks to get an estimate of the time involvement
http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page8075.cfm

[Elaine Talbert]

Just found the great post. Missed it on Twitter, have been away. The time issue or "better value for time" issue is a very critical one for educators. Also, the level of engagement notion is worthy of much consideration. Get as much as you give-consume and produce. We make our choices to fit our need at the time and this can change over time and with the times.
Elaine

[Scott Meis]

As always, great insight Beth. It's always been a big concern for my nonprofit clients and in my experience, you've identified some very accurate timeline and commitment levels pertaining to different elements of the social media process. This is a nice lead in for nonprofits that reach out with the general "how do I get started in social media?" question. Just recognizing the value and cracking into the "listening" phase is a big lift in and of itself but a crucial one for NPs to start getting their feet wet and seeing the process in action.