Social Media Strategy - A Complete Guide for Business Users

Social Media Strategy: How Much Time Should You Spend on Each Post and Where?

A Guide for Businesses on Strategic Time Investment & Platform Purpose

By now, most businesses know that being active on social media is essential. But what often gets overlooked is how to prioritise your time across different platforms. Not every platform requires the same effort, and not every post should be treated equally.

This guide breaks down:

• ✅ How much time to spend on each platform per post

• ✅ What each platform is really best for

• ✅ Where you should focus for different business objectives (awareness, recruitment, sales, engagement)

  
  

Let’s cut through the noise and help you work smarter — not just harder.

🔄 Quick Summary: Time per Post (on average)

Platform	Time per Post (avg)	Best Use Case	Posting Frequency
LinkedIn	45–60 mins	B2B leads, thought leadership, hiring	3–5x per week
Instagram	60–90 mins	Brand building, culture, products	3–4x per week (Feed), daily Stories/Reels
Facebook	30–45 mins	Community, ads, local engagement	3–5x per week
X (Twitter)	15–30 mins	News, live trends, industry conversation	1–3x per day
TikTok	90–120 mins	Virality, behind-the-scenes, Gen Z reach	3–7x per week
YouTube	3–5 hrs	Evergreen content, search, education	1–2x per week

Platform Deep Dive: Time, Purpose & ROI

LinkedIn

Time investment: 45–60 mins per post

Best for:

• B2B marketing & lead generation

• Executive thought leadership

• Professional branding & hiringTips:

• Invest time in crafting meaningful carousels, industry insights, and polls

• Optimise posts for share ability and discussion (not just broadcasting)

• Use employee advocacy to multiply reach

  
  

Time ROI: High. One great LinkedIn post can drive weeks of inbound leads or CVs.

Instagram

Time investment: 60–90 mins per post (more for Reels)

Best for:

• Brand storytelling

• Culture and visual identity

• Product highlightsTips:

• Use Stories daily for behind-the-scenes and lighter updates

• Carousels, Reels, and branded graphics take longer — but drive real reach

• Don’t forget to engage in comments and DMs (where real conversion happens)

  
  

Time ROI: Medium-high, especially for brand awareness and recruitment.

Facebook

Time investment: 30–45 mins per post

Best for:

• Community building

• Paid ads targeting (especially local)

• Long-form posts, events, and live streamsTips:

• Great for promoting webinars, product launches, or CSR work

• Often underused organically, but excellent for Facebook Groups or ad retargeting

  
  

Time ROI: Medium if organic; very high when used with paid ads.

X (Twitter)

Time investment: 15–30 mins per post

Best for:

• News commentary

• Live event coverage

• Networking & influencer outreachTips:

• Fast turnaround is key — relevance beats polish

• Quote tweet with insights, join trending conversations, reply to influencers

• Use Twitter Lists to monitor your industry

  
  

Time ROI: High for visibility, but low shelf life — demands consistent use.

TikTok

Time investment: 90–120 mins per post (concept, film, edit)

Best for:

• Mass visibility & virality

• Gen Z engagement

• Behind-the-scenes, trends, humorTips:

• Trends matter: timing and sound choice are everything

• Authenticity over polish — lo-fi often wins

• Repurpose long-form content into short-form snippets

  
  

Time ROI: High when content hits. Best for audience growth and cultural relevance.

YouTube

⏱ Time investment: 3–5 hours per video (script, shoot, edit, upload)

Best for:

• Long-form education

• Product demos

• Evergreen discoverabilityTips:

• Focus on “problem-solving” content (how to's, case studies, tutorials)

• Use strong thumbnails, keywords, and calls to action

• Repurpose content into Shorts for wider reach

  
  

Time ROI: Very high over time. Great for SEO, brand trust, and thought leadership.

Platform Priorities Based on Business Goals

Goal	Focus Platforms
Lead Generation (B2B)	LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter
Recruitment / Culture	LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube
Brand Awareness	TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook
Community Building	Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter)
SEO & Evergreen Visibility	YouTube, LinkedIn
Trend Participation	TikTok, Twitter, Instagram

Final Thoughts: Work With the Platform, Not Against It

Each social platform plays a different role in your marketing mix — and that means your time investment should match its purpose. Don’t overcommit to every platform at once. Start where your audience is, where you can offer value, and where your content performs best.

Smart content beats busy content.And consistent content beats perfect content.