Social Media: added value or wasted time?

In the evolving landscape of business marketing, social media stands as both a beacon of opportunity and a potential sinkhole for time and resources. For business owners, the question often arises: is social media truly adding value, or is it merely a waste of precious time?

The promise vs. reality of social media

Consider Louise, the owner of a small artisanal bakery in Auckland. When Louise first opened her doors in 2010, her primary marketing tools were word of mouth and a modest website. Business was steady but not booming. Then, she decided to take the plunge into newly out ‘social media’. She created an Instagram and a facebook account, posting mouth-watering photos of her baked goods on her special pages.

Back then, Instagram was not part of Meta, it was all about static posts and a couple of hashtags, and Louise’s beautifully curated feed gained traction almost overnight. Her follower count soared, and she noticed a significant uptick in foot traffic and online orders. ‘Social media’, which was truly only Instagram for her, transformed her business, providing a platform to reach a broader audience and connect with customers on a personal level.

For Louise, ‘social media’ at that time, wasn’t just valuable; it was a game-changer.

Fast forward to 2024, and the landscape has dramatically shifted. The organic reach that once catapulted Louise’s bakery to success is now significantly harder to achieve. Algorithms have become more sophisticated, favouring paid content over organic posts, and videos and stories over static posts. The time and financial investment required to maintain a successful social media presence have skyrocketed, making the Louises of today face a starkly different reality.

The challenge of commitment

The success story of Louise in 2010 is the narrative that social media platforms still sell, but for modern business owners, the reality is much more demanding. Maintaining a social media presence now requires not only creative content but also substantial financial investment in ads to break through the algorithmic barriers. Posting once or twice a week is said to be no longer sufficient. The minimum average sits more around once or twice a day! This obviously demands hours of engagement and multiple creative efforts to maintain constant interaction with followers through stories and reels.

For many small business owners, this level of commitment is absolutely unsustainable. The demands of running a business, coupled with the relentless need to feed the social media machine, can quickly become overwhelming.

The reality of social media algorithms

The frustration doesn’t end with the time and money invested. The ever-changing algorithms of social media platforms pose another significant challenge. A post that performs well today might barely reach any of your followers tomorrow. This constant change means that what worked yesterday might not work tomorrow, requiring business owners to stay on their toes and continuously adapt their strategies.

Moreover, the sheer volume of content being published every second can make it difficult for your brand to stand out. In a sea of information, capturing and holding the attention of your audience requires creativity and consistency, which can is clearly challenging to maintain.

The lure of new platforms

When a new social media platform emerges, many business owners rush to it, hoping to replicate the early success they saw with Instagram or Facebook. TikTok, the Chinese video-sharing app, is a prime example. Its meteoric rise has made it a tempting platform for businesses aiming to capture the attention of a younger audience.

However, just like its predecessors, TikTok is equally, if not more, demanding. Creating engaging video content that stands out in an endless feed requires substantial time, creativity, and, of course, the financial resources that this implies.

Measuring success

Another significant hurdle is measuring the return on investment (ROI) from social media efforts. While metrics like impressions, likes, shares, and comments provide some insight, they don’t always translate to tangible business outcomes like increased sales or customer loyalty.

For many business owners, this ambiguity can be frustrating, leading them to question whether their time could be better spent elsewhere.

Strategies for success

So, how can business owners navigate the rough waters of social media and turn it into a valuable asset rather than a time-waster?

• Set Clear Goals: Before diving into social media, define what you hope to achieve.

Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or boost sales?

Having clear objectives will guide your strategy and help you measure success more effectively.

• Know Your Audience: Understanding who your audience is and what they want is crucial.

Take the time to research your target demographics and tailor your content to meet their needs and interests.Today, this requires quite a lot of ‘test and learn,’ which takes time and energy upfront, but can be extremely valuable long-term to ensure each post/story/ad efficiency.

• Focus on Quality Over Quantity: It’s essential to note that on most platforms, the more you post, the more likely you are to be picked up by algorithms.

But, while it’s important to post regularly, it is almost impossible to do unless business owners commit to a full-time resource or hire an agency.

Knowing this, the strategy should be to capture the audience you previously identified and leverage it as much as possible with quality content that resonates strongly with them and their expectations. This can also mean to focus on the only platforms that are relevant to your business, as opposed to believing you have to be present everywhere.

You are better off posting three times a week on only two platforms with interesting content to a captive audience, than ten times a day to whoever-could-be-interested, exhausting yourself tailoring your content to fifteen different media specs.

• Leverage Analytics: Use the analytics tools provided by social media platforms to track your performance.

They are often hard to navigate and understand upfront, but a lot of training and tutorials are available online for free these days and can help you make the most of them quickly.

The insights you gain from these data can help you understand what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly, swiftly and smoothly!

• Consider Professional Help: If managing your social media becomes too overwhelming or seems really too hard, consider outsourcing to a professional agency.

Experts will not only handle content, but they will also help craft a cohesive strategy, which every business critically needs to create compelling content.

They will also analyse your performance and optimise in real-time what should be improved to keep your presence and campaigns efficient and worthwhile—freeing up your time to focus on other aspects of your business.

Conclusion

Social media holds immense potential for business growth when used strategically.

It offers a platform to reach a wider or remote audience, engage with customers, and build a strong brand presence. However, the days of instant business gains are over, and it now requires a significant investment of time and effort to make it worthwhile. Moreover, its ever-changing nature can be challenging to navigate and discourage most business owners from making the most of their potential.

It is true that the ways to achieve results on these platforms have dramatically changed, yet the promise is still valid if approached properly. By setting clear goals through a strategic approach, anyone can still harness the power of social media and turn it into a valuable asset for their business.

Ultimately, whether social media adds value or wastes time depends on how you use it. Embrace its possibilities, but approach it with a strategic mindset, and you’ll find that the rewards can far outweigh the challenges. And if you need a hand to do this, be in touch with our team—we’re here to guide you through the strategy setup process.

About the Author: Sarah Bonnefoy.

With over a decade of experience in brand building and marketing for major international brands, Sarah is passionate about uncovering a brand’s core needs and analysing market insights