Social Media, when done right, is a business boosting activity.

Many business owners still do not understand the value of adding Social Media activities to their marketing strategies. Nor do they understand that modern marketing and 2013 SEO strategies demand that a business has some kind of Social Media presence on at least 2 of the major players.

Engaging with customers via social media allows businesses to reap benefits far beyond simple Facebook “likes”. Social media brings numerous opportunities to develop brand loyalty, grow market share, and build a positive reputation that leads to increased revenue. But… does it suck up too much time.

A well-developed social media strategy shouldn’t be taking hours of your time to maximize the income it would bring it to your business.

Spending just 30 minutes a day on managing your social media activities may sound too good to be true, and in truth as a professional Digital Marketing consultant, if you are trying to manages 5 or more accounts, I’m not convinced that you can actually make the best of your ROI from Social Media with 30 minutes activity a day.

From my own experience I can say that over time people become more efficient at finding and posting interesting content and therefore need less time to share and respond to comments and brand mentions.

In my opinion you need to choose and focus on the most appropriate social media channels for your business or industry – ones that the majority of your customers interact frequently.

Having said all that, the infographic below was too good to miss out on.

Although it somewhat over simplifies social media management, it does give a basic guide for you to follow and is a great starting point for any individual or business getting to grips with the social media landscape.