Your abandoned blogs and websites could be doing harm

If you are looking for a social media resolution to make for 2011, how about this one: stop littering the internet with abandoned projects. We have all done this. As one social media site or another has gained popularity we have rushed in to claim our space. This often leads to a two to three week halo of activity. I am talking about that company blog you started but have not had time to update in the past year. This is that Twitter account you created when you saw the company featured on CNN, but have never really used. This is the handful of Facebook groups and fan pages you slapped your company name on, but do not have time to fiddle with. This is the old Blogspot account that you left for Wordpress, only to leave that for Tumblr. Experimenting with different tools is of course healthy and laudable, but whether you still give them any attention or not, these half-started attempts to gain traction online are still there with your name on them. More importantly, they are still in your Google search results. What does it say to a client who arrives on your outdated blog or your vacated Facebook page? What indeed.

By leaving these web profiles to wither on the vine you are allowing anyone who views them to draw whatever conclusion they want. This is a loss of control over your message, plain and simple. A blog on which the newest post is tagged "August, 2009" forces the reader to make assumptions. They have to wonder why there have been no further updates. They speculate if perhaps there is another, more up-to-date blog. Finally they have to decide if it is worth their time and mental energy to go find your "real" website. That asks too much of your potential customers. At best they will go back to their search results and dig further for relevant information, as worst they will make a judgement call. If this business can not manage to keep their online house in order, could that be a sign of problems in the brick-and-mortar world? You never want a potential lead to be left worrying if you are still in business at all, but one abandoned website can have just that effect. If you only have time to update your blog on the first Monday of the month then make sure the site says that in big bold letters. That way your reader knows what to expect and when.

The solution is not that you necessarily need to start actively using all of these online tools. Sometimes a false start is simply a false start. However if you are going to abandon that Twitter account or Facebook fan page, you have the power to close it. At the very least, the last message posted should indicate what the best way to contact you is. You can keep that old MySpace page so long as the top post says something like "We won't be updating this profile anymore, but please come visit us on Facebook or our website." Tie those lose ends up! Give that person who stumbles across your profile a clear and obvious destination where they can find you. What about that Twitter account that you are sitting on to preserve your brand name, but have not had time to start using? Be careful. We are no longer in the wild west days of the 90s where names are the be-all and end-all of online identity. The reputation of the account matters much more these days and mechanisms are in place to stamp out fakes. That you have your name locked away means nothing to anyone but yourself. The rest of the world just sees another abandoned profile.

Furthermore people are more inclined to communicate with someone that appears to be active. I know I won't leave a comment on a blog posting from 2006, because I have no idea if the author is even checking it anymore. Why bother wasting my time starting a one-sided conversation? Likewise, I am far more likely to reach out to the author of a blog that is updated regularly. Their continued activity is good evidence that they will at the very least see my attempt to engage with them.

If Google never forgets these sites then why do you? Resolve in 2011 to stop abandoning things with your name on it.

...from a series of Social Media articles I've been contributing to the Business Link newspaper, with editions in Niagara, Hamilton-Halton and Brantford.

Photo Credit: "Abandoned Boat" by wwarby. Licensed through Creative Commons 2.0