Going into 2013, small businesses are finding themselves spending more and more time on social media trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow. However the balancing act between social media interaction and the added workload that comes with it creates a massive catch 22.

Vertical Response released an infographic delving into the world of small businesses and social media. The results show an incredible shift in small business social media interaction with 43% spending 6 or more hours A WEEK on social media. Granted this may not even come close to your personal best of 45 hours a week, but that is more than an hour a day. 66% of small businesses are spending more time on social media compared to a year ago.

The infographic also dissects where all these small businesses are spending their time. An astounding 90% of small businesses are on Facebook, and around 70% are on Twitter. 55% of small businesses have a blog and 16% spend more than 3 hours to create a blog post.

The most shocking statistic shows that 4x the number of small businesses have increased their social media budget, versus those that have decreased their budget, and only 2x the number of small businesses have increased overall marketing budgets.

For small businesses, 2013 will be the year of time management. Transitioning into a work world where content is king and social media its needy queen, small business owners will need to find that balance whether it be hiring new specialized staff, utilizing outside marketing agencies, or reworking existing budgets elsewhere to accommodate this growing social media trend.