Don’t create channels of communication for the sake of it – it’s a drain on time and energy. It amazes me that some businesses and organisations still take the ‘we must be everywhere’ approach when this can actually lead them to be less efficient whilst building a confusing digital footprint. Think about how your audience uses different social networks and then decide whether, and in what way, you can really add value by being in those spaces.

Some things to think about:

Facebook as a newsfeed..?

• If your intention is not to engage due to lack of resource and you have a website which already contains up to date news about your business, then why create an additional channel to mange? By all means use a Page as a signpost to content on your site (own the URL) but be clear that this is its main purpose.

If you can’t converse, is Twitter right for you?

• If you are expecting your audience to want to talk to you directly should you really be opening a customer service channel if you don’t have resource to manage it? Auto-tweeting posts can be an easy, less time consuming way to raise awareness of new updates and direct traffic back to your site, but you need to have a strategy in place for when people do get in touch. Again be clear in your description on what the purpose of your feed is – news, views, feedback channel?

Syncing accounts?

• Syncing all your accounts (eg: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Foursquare) and then blasting out messages may seem like an easy option but it can make you look lazy and highlight a lack of understanding in the nuances of each network. Are you really adding value or is this simply a waste of time? Think about how you should be communicating in each network as the audiences may not always be the same.

Website vs. social media presence?

• If you have an all singing/all dancing website which can tick the boxes of say, community engagement (forums) or ecommerce then your objective should be to use social media as a signpost rather than an additional tool. Decide on where your online hub lies and how you can use additional channels to filter into it. In an ideal world, integration and consistency of message across all communications platforms leads to a more effective strategy.