The document discusses strategies for maximizing the return on investment (ROI) of time spent on social media, emphasizing the significant importance of social media for small business owners. Key recommendations include prioritizing blogging, building a multi-platform presence, sharing engaging visual content, and regularly measuring social media performance. Ultimately, the goal is to align social media efforts with broader business objectives while fostering customer loyalty and engagement.

1. Tempus Pecunia Est (Time is Money): How to Maximize
the ROI of Time Spent on Social Media – Experts Weigh
In
blog.dlvrit.com/2015/03/roi-of-social-media/
Debra Garber
Tempus Pecunia Est (Time is Money)
While casually flipping through my husband’s International
Artist Magazine, I discovered Richard Harpum’s surrealist
painting; Tempus Pecunia Est 1. It depicts an hourglass
containing a melting clock, morphing into coins in the
lower half of the hourglass. At the bottom of the painting,
are the words in caps TEMPUS PECUNIA EST: Time Is
Money.
In researching the saying, I discovered the Pixar
University Crest with a very similar motto. The top of the
crest bears the Latin inscription, Alienus Non Dieutius:
Alone No Longer. However, it is the second Latin
inscription at the bottom of the crest that is worth noting,

2. Tempus Pecunia Somnum: Time, Money, Sleep — three precious commodities.
The motto of this very successful business is a good example of the recognition of
how important the limited resource of “business time” is to your success. As a
small business owner or marketer, given your limitations on staff and resources,
the return on your time investment in social media is something you need to
constantly monitor.
How to maximize the ROI of Time Spent on Social Media.
(AKA: How to get the biggest bang for your marketing
buck.)
With the primary goal of gaining and retaining customers, the first question we
often hear from our customers is “how important is social media?”. Short answer:
Very important! Small business owners want to get the biggest bang from time
spent on marketing expenditures. Here is some great, expert advice describing
four ways to make your social media efforts pay off in the short term:
1. Prioritize Blogging

3. You’ve probably heard the phrase “content is king” a gazillion times. But what type
of content has the greatest impact? In its massive annual marketing study,
Hubspot found the answer. “Blog, blog, blog, blog,” author of the report Joe
Chernov told VentureBeat. “In fact, companies that are prioritizing blogging are
13 times more likely to be increasing ROI year-over-year.”
Consultant John Beveridge suggests how to make those blogs sing:
Don’t blog about your products
Do blog about the problems that your customers face, but without explicitly
presenting the solutions…
Say you’re an interior designer, architect, or contractor: Create a blog that offers
great content for people who are looking to redesign an interior space or construct
a new building. You could create a blog with the headline, ‘3 Things to Consider
When Redesigning Your Office,’ as opposed to saying ‘We Redesign Offices.’”
– Spark Business IQ contributor Joe Mullich, 4 Ways to Get the Highest ROI
2. Build a Multi-Platform Presence

4. According to the 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, YouTube, blogging, Google+ and Pinterest were the top seven platforms
used by marketers, with Facebook leading the pack.
While Facebook remains the most popular social networking site, remember: each
social media site has its strengths. It is imperative to personalize your
strategy for best results.
While building this multi-platform presence, be cognizant of the resources and time
you need to devote to each social media channel. You can’t afford to be on every

5. social site, but you can’t afford to ignore them either. To maximize your ROI, it’s
more important to choose sites that work for you, your business goals, and your
customer wants – and then to engage on them well.
– Wishpond, Social Media Marketing: Which Platform is Right for your Business
3. Share Interesting and Visual Content
People only remember: 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, 80%
of what they see & do.
If you read our blog, you may recall the expression “visual content and social
media go together, like peanut butter and jelly”. The highest ROI comes from the
use of images: visuals, graphics and video speak louder than words.
Social media posts with images get an 80% increase in clicks, likes,
comments, shares and purchases coming from the positive impact from
visuals
40% of people respond better to visual information than to text
90% of online video consumption will be from 18-34 year olds by 2015
Bonus fact: It takes no longer than 13 milliseconds for our minds to
recognize and process an image.
Don’t overlook the power of
infographics
Many small businesses overlook the power
of one inexpensive visual marketing
device – infographics. Infographics do
more than provide information. They tell a
visual story.
Infographics drive traffic
Infographics are more likely to be
shared
Infographics promote your brand
Infographics are social media’s best friend
Infographics make websites stickier

6. – Piktochart, Are Infographics Still Relevant in Your Marketing Strategy?
The best part is you don’t need to spend a penny or hire a design expert. There
are plenty of great user-friendly FREE tools you can use to easily build a visually
appealing infographic. Make sure to read our post; Tools to Create Quality
Infographics that Boost Social Shares.
Don’t forget the video
In a study by Demand Metric, more than 70% of respondents said
that video performs better than other content for producing
conversions, and almost half stated that the ROI of video is
getting better.
It has never been easier to create videos. You don’t need the use of a studio or
fancy equipment to produce high quality videos. Most likely, you will have all you
need right in your pocket – a smart phone, GoPro or equivalent device.
Additional reads:

7. How to Create a YouTube RSS Feed and Instantly Give your Tweets a
Boost with Video
3 Easy Tips to Share GoPro Videos Across Social Media in One Take
4. Measure Yourself
The brand awareness created by social media—seen in vanity metrics including
“likes” and “+1s” and “Retweets”—is valuable, but it is not enough. According to
Altimeter, only 34% of businesses feel that their social strategy is connected to
business outcomes. To demonstrate social media’s value, you need to measure
social media ROI as it relates to your broader business goals.
Key examples of social media metrics to track include:
Reach
Site traffic
Leads generated
Sign-ups and conversions
Revenue generated
An important part of developing social media strategies that work, is to measure
what’s working. Use the analytics as a guide to determine where you should be
spending more time in social media. What content is resonating with your
audience? What social network gets you the most traffic?

8. However, don’t get too hung up on the numbers. Remember that social media is
about branding, building loyalty and good will, and opening a channel of
communication with your customers. What’s is the ROI on all that? Priceless.
Good reads:
How to Avoid an SEO Penalty with Google Analytics Alerts
The Path from Post to Profit; Metrics Behind Measuring and Proving your
Blog Strategy
Recap: How to maximize the ROI of Time Spent on Social
Media
1. Blog, but don’t toot your own horn too much. A smart approach to
increasing your ROI year-over-year.
2. Build a presence across social media. Maximize your ROI by choosing
sites that work for you – you can’t be all things to everyone.
3. Get visual with your posts. This is a quick way to receive instant ROI on
your time investment.
4. Stay measured – collect and analyze data to determine the ROI on your
marketing efforts and time spent on these activities.