It’s nearly April, which can mean only one thing: spring cleaning is on the horizon. In today’s world of KonMari madness (thanks, Netflix), it’s never been more en vogue to tidy up. Once your house is spic and span, be sure to turn your attention to old social accounts that are gathering dust – they can have serious impact on your digital marketing.
Why Digital Matters
It goes without saying that digital presence is everything in 2019. 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine, and 81% of people perform some sort of online research before making a large purchase. We’ve covered everything from the importance of mobile first website crawling to the weight of compelling blog content on the blog before, if you’d like a refresher.
These days, a Google search could be the difference between new clientele and fading business. Great companies suffer each year because of poor rankings, and even more receive customer complaints about barren social profiles. For example, 93% of people view menus online prior to dining out. When polled, many said they wouldn’t go to a restaurant that didn’t list their menu online. The same applies to people shopping for goods and services – just about everyone wants to see ratings and descriptions online. That’s digital in a nutshell.
In the spirit of tidying up, here are our top tips for cleaning your digital presence this spring.
Inventory
First, make sure you’re addressing all your accounts. In the KonMari method, you pile all similar items (clothes, books, you name it) together to go through them. The same principle applies here. Make a list of every Facebook, Twitter, or Xanga account you can remember, then delete unused or unnecessary social media profiles. (If you read our recent post on Google+, you know that it’s probably best to go ahead and delete that one before Google does.) This keeps potential customers from stumbling across information you no longer curate or endorse.
Privacy and Security
Now’s a great time to get into the nitty-gritty of your socials. Yes, we’re talking about security… cybersecurity. While often overlooked, weak passwords and vulnerable accounts can snowball into something much more serious than off-brand Facebook statuses. If your password is the same across different platforms, including your online banking system or business email, you’re making the company’s assets vulnerable to multiple account breaches. This information may be scraped by someone online, but it’s also possible that former employees may retain access to your social media.
To combat any rogue login attempts, get into the habit of regularly creating strong passwords. Avoid using any personal information relevant to you, such as birthdays, names, or addresses. As a best practice, you should change out passwords on a regular basis.
Updating Information
One of the most common issues customers complain about is conflicting information online. Is your old office still listed as your primary location on Google My Business? Ancient phone numbers still in your website’s footer? It’s more important than ever to make sure your data is up to date; no one’s checking the Yellow Pages these days. NAP Consistency – short for Name, Address, Phone – has become a key factor in local search. Google has outlined that if those items aren’t identical internet-wide, you could become invisible to the search engine and its users.
Be sure to go through your contact and location information with a fine-toothed comb to avoid customer headaches. Many companies forget to update their About section with current news; as a result, outdated promises of new locations and product releases can detract from your social media presence.
This is also a great time to keep your socials active by updating your profile pictures and cover photos. Have you had any company photoshoots recently? Gotten new branding and logos done? Are you sick of the winter-themed posts cluttering your profile? Even something as simple as refreshing your imagery can create a little buzz around your business and keep you relevant.
Digital Networking and Groups
Whether you’re looking at your company’s LinkedIn or Facebook account, your feed is probably full of old connections and personal friends. While it’s important to network, everyone could benefit from intentionality in their online presence. Remove yourself from groups that don’t relate to your business connections, and seek out new ones you’re more interested in.
Consider pruning your “following” list in pursuit of the ideal ratio – avoid following more people than follow you. Make sure to remove spam accounts, those who never post, and those who post content that doesn’t align with your philosophy. Once you’ve freed up that space, update your profile with any conferences or industry events you’ve attended, any honors or awards received, or any indicators of growth from the past year. Your social accounts should be as good at networking as you are.
Go Google Yourself
Or Bing it. Run your company’s name through every search engine in the book: Google, Bing, YouTube (did you know YouTube is one of the top-ranked search engines? Fun facts). If you’re not ranking where you’d like to, we recommend troubleshooting with our checklist of 2019’s top SEO strategies. Better yet, give us a call at 949.701.4714.
Need Help Scrubbing Those Accounts? Let’s Talk.
You only get one chance at a (digital) first impression, so let’s get it right. Our team of experts will run through your social media profiles and website content to craft your cohesive, refreshed brand presence. You can reach one of our managing partners by calling 949.701.4714 or filling out this form. We look forward to chatting with you.
