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The Consequences of Inactive Social Media Accounts

Posted by Catherine Hatch on Tue, Jul 31, 2018 @ 10:15 AM

inactive social mediaIt’s no secret that social media is an important part of a business’s online presence. However, for many businesses, it can be difficult to make social media a priority, especially if they’re unfamiliar with it. In these cases, businesses will set up social media accounts, create a few posts, then fall behind on posting and, eventually, neglect the accounts completely. When businesses get behind on social media, the question arises: is it better to have accounts that aren’t being used than to not have accounts? We’ve broken down the consequences of inactive social media accounts and what you can do if you fall behind.

Losing Followers

The biggest risk of an inactive social media account is the loss of followers. On platforms like Twitter and Instagram, users are concerned with their account’s ratio of followers to accounts that they’re following. For this reason, users are constantly unfollowing accounts that aren’t interesting or don’t provide any value. If your accounts become inactive, you will lose your followers. A strong following isn’t just important for your online reputation, but it’s the only way to get your message across. If you lose your followers, you lose the opportunity to communicate about your business.

No New Followers

On Facebook, inactive accounts with occasional posts will never have organic visibility, even for their followers. Additionally, if your accounts don’t post often, no one will be sharing or interacting with your posts, meaning no new people will see it. If people do happen to find your accounts, they will see that you don’t post and won’t consider you worth following. If you choose to run social ads but don’t create additional content, people will view your page and deem it unworthy of following. In general, inactive accounts will not gain new followers because potential followers will not see any value in the accounts.

Loss of Credibility

One of the best advantages to social media is its ability to build the credibility of your business. It humanizes your brand and allows users to see your business as trustworthy, while allowing followers to get to know your business. When you don’t actively engage in social media, you miss out on this opportunity. When you stop posting, your followers will assume you’ve lost interest in them and in promoting your brand. If you are simply never active on your social media accounts, people will not find your brand interesting and you will lose the opportunity to build online credibility. The loss of online credibility is a significant consequence to the failure ot keep business social media accounts active.

The Facebook Exception

Through these consequences, it’s clear that active social media accounts are important to a positive online presence and to the success of a business. However, a business Facebook page that is not frequently updated can still pose benefits for a business. Many users utilize Facebook to search for businesses and find out information such as their hours, address, contact information, menu for restaurants, and other information they might need. If you build a Facebook page for your business but never post, users can still use your page as a resource for this information. For this reason, a Facebook page is worth having, regardless of your activity level. However, if you do not post on Facebook frequently, you are missing out on most of the opportunities that Facebook can offer a business.

What You Can Do

Understanding the down side to neglecting your business’s social media is important, but you’ll need to come up with a plan to avoid these consequences. We have a few suggestions.

Make it a Priority

The easiest solution to this problem is to fully understand the importance of social media and make it a priority. Schedule your social media posts in bulk to avoid needing to spend time on your accounts every day. Schedule time throughout your week specifically dedicated to managing your social media. When you make your social media accounts a priority and make them a part of your weekly routine, you will post more frequently, leading to a better online presence and reputation.

Delete Your Accounts

If you don’t feel like you can find the time to devote to your social media accounts, you might consider deleting the extraneous ones. While an inactive Facebook account can still be valuable, other inactive accounts are not. So, if you can’t keep up with posting on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms, you might consider deleting them altogether. If you’re not taking advantage of the opportunities social media can offer, it might be worth getting rid of the accounts to avoid the negative consequences and poor image that inactive social media accounts can cause.

Hire a Social Media Manager

If you don’t have the time to manage your social media but you want to take advantage of the opportunities it can offer, you can hire a social media manager. If you have the resources, you can consider hiring someone internally. However, for many businesses that have trouble managing their social media, a digital marketing agency is the best option. An agency will not only have the time and resources to devote to keeping your social media accounts active, but they will also be up to date on all of the latest trends to make sure that your social media remains on the cutting edge. If you can’t seem to keep up with your social media accounts but you want to take advantage of the marketing opportunities social media provides, a digital marketing agency is your best option.

 

ImageWorks, LLC | Social Media Marketing

Implementing a social media strategy is not always a simple task, and can take more time than you have on your hands. When properly executed, a social media campaign can generate website traffic to your website, while bringing in new leads for your business, allowing you to connect with prospective buyers. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or would like to begin a social media campaign of your own!

Whether you are just getting started or have an engine in place that needs fine tuning, ImageWorks can help you join the Social Media wave to get yourself recognized and generate more business. Market yourself and your brand to the 100’s of millions of online interactive users.

We understand that social media can be overwhelming, and it's not always easy to change with each update or refresh. If you are looking to boost your social media marketing then you may want to take a step back and reevaluate the online presence you already have.

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Topics: Social Media Marketing, Bad Social Media, Inactive Social Media

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