how I would use my time if I only carved out two-hours per week for social media

Suggested by Corey Perlman

5 minutes (x3) - update my Facebook fan page with something valuable for my fans. This could be a link to an article, a cool web resource, startling stat, provocative question, or something else. Total - 15 minutes.

20 minutes - Find one person or company on LinkedIn that I'd like to connect with. Use the "get introduced" link to have a mutual connection introduce the two of us so it's a warm lead instead of a cold call.

20 minutes - Update my blog with a story, article, video or something else that people in my field would find valuable. (extra 2 minutes to share this post on Twitter, Fanpage, and LinkedIn via Ping.fm)

15 minutes - Find local Twitter people to follow. I'd use nearbytweets.com or just the Twitter.com search feature and find people in my area to connect with. They will generally follow you back.
5 minutes (x3) Check my Twitter account to post or respond to people. I'll also use that time to print valuable information others have posted.

30 minutes - Take this time to either write one article or one press release or shoot a quick video to upload to YouTube. With all of these, I'll add my website address as well as a call-to-action to entice people to visit my site.

3 minutes to spare to Check espn.com, foxnews, cnn, or whatever you fancy. You earned it!


Try this for a few months and make sure to measure the effectiveness using metrics such as web traffic, new leads, your presence on Google keyword searches, and other creative ways.

I have been doing something similar.  Corey's way offers a more even approach.  I challange you to try it!  Let me know your results.  I'll keep you posted to mine!