The 2014 Social Media Marketing Industry Report is out this month, an annual study by Social Media Examiner of what’s working based on data gathered from 2,800 social media marketers nationwide representing all areas of business.

Most attorneys we work with want to know how much time they should be devoting to social media marketing.  After all, time is a precious commodity when it’s what you’re selling.  Here’s what the report found:

Those just starting out on social media spend 1-5 hours per week.

Those with two years of social media marketing under their belts spend more time – 6+ hours per week.

66% of those that spend six hours a week on average on social media have seen their leads increase as a result of those efforts.

Nearly half of those spending at least six hours a week on social media have seen a reduction in their marketing expenses.

60% of those who spend at least six hours a week on social media saw improvements in their search engine rankings.

84% of those who spend at least six hours a week on social media saw traffic gains.

So, according to the report, you stand to gain more in terms of lead generation, reducing marketing expense, increasing SEO and website traffic if you spend at least six hours per week on social media marketing.

The #1 increase in activity for social media marketing is blogging.  The report found that B2B marketers (74%) are more likely to increase their blogging activity in comparison with B2C marketers (63%).

In the #2 spot for increased activity is YouTube, with 67% of marketers planning to focus more attention on this outlet in the future.

Overall, marketers said that their most important content is original written content, which aligns with blogging as the #1 activity for marketers to reach their prospects and customers..