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Neglected Social Media Profiles – Should You Cut the Dead Wood?

Posted in: Blog, Facebook by SpiderWriters on January 31, 2010

As one might expect with a fad, the novelty eventually wears off and disenchantment replaces interest. When you think of everything that has filled store shelves only to end up gathering dust in attics – pet rocks, Beanie Babies, even that gadget that was supposed to firm your thighs – one wonders how much “junk” can be left on the Internet. “Site rot” is one term that has been used to describe websites or portals that have become neglected – outbound links are invalid, as is the content. To look at some social media profiles, where the owners clearly haven’t logged in for months, it begs the question of whether or not the information should remain or the account should be cleared away altogether.

When it comes to social networks like MySpace and Facebook, a user may favor one over the other and simply focus attention wholly on the preferred site. Recently an acquaintance posted on his Facebook account that he may never log into MySpace again because he found the feed layouts and real-time updates on Facebook more user-friendly. As he uses social media primarily to keep up with friends and family, he isn’t bothered by a neglected profile page. Should a business, however, that began its social marketing campaign gung-ho with a presence in every port worry about “site rot”?

Consider some reasons why work on some social profiles fades:

• Not enough analytics – it’s difficult to determine how many referrals to the main site are coming from that page
• Poor response to centric contests and discounts – you might offer a sales code on one network and it’s rarely used
• Problems with spam – the only friend/follower requests you receive are from junk accounts that clog your inbox/comment walls

Eventually there comes a time when a business realizes that marketing in an area where nobody can hear you is a waste of time, energy, and money. Though most social networks cost nothing to join, the content and time invested is better spent elsewhere. But should you delete the ineffective account altogether? Is it better to have a virtual ghost town set up and risk opinions on your company? While a private citizen may endure little backlash in deleting an account, a business profile may serve your company well even in a state of long-term hiatus.

• The brand remains visible – if the profile in question is labeled with a vanity URL, you keep your brand’s name intact. Nobody else can take it.
• Your brand may still be found in search – depending on how much content is available on the profile, search results may still appear. Better to lead potential customers to a stagnant page with a link to your site than a 404 error.
• Social media is adaptable – even if you don’t log in to one account, you can adjust the profile as such to feed in updates with available gadgets. If you continue to blog, for example, find a tool that displays RSS of recent posts; this way, if somebody does stumble on the page there is some fresh content.

For businesses, social networks can be an effective method of promoting brand identity. It’s common, when one tactic fails or doesn’t mesh with the overall vision of the company, to move on to something else. In the case of stagnant social pages, however, one may wish to consider a lengthy hiatus over deletion. Should the need arise to revisit the account, it’s better to revive a dormant profile than redo all the work.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media writing and travel social media services. Clients include Gainesville hotels and Virginia web design companies.