When and Why to Purge Social Media Channels: Best Practices for Connecting Online

Social media has grown to become a juggernaut within the world of business. This is true for both the social media companies themselves and all those who wish to advertise on them. As such, connecting with customers on social media has become a vital part of doing business in the modern world.

But what happens when social media isn’t giving you the returns you’re looking for? If the time and effort in an account aren’t translating into very much engagement, how do you justify it? The short answer is: You don’t.

While it may sound strange, sometimes the best thing you can do is cut your losses. Sometimes, the only option you have is to purge a social media channel and refocus things where they matter most. Why should you do this? When do you know it’s the right move? How can you gain from it? We’ll answer these questions and more as we go over some best practices for connecting online as a business.

Why You Should Purge an Account

The first question you’ll want to answer is why you’ll want to purge a certain account. While reasons vary, it typically comes down to a lack of engagement combined with a lack of time. Ideally, the attention you get on social media should be far greater than the effort put into managing a channel. If this isn’t true, you need to take action. If the actions you’ve taken to improve engagement have failed, however, it may be better to simply cut your losses.

The sunk cost fallacy would tell you that continuing to toil on an unpopular account is worth it. While one of your posts going viral is still a possibility, banking on that is unrealistic. The time wasted on an unsuccessful social media venture could be better spent cultivating your profile on other sites.

There is also the possibility you may wish to purge an account for a rebranding. If your business is currently undergoing a shift, removing old, now-irrelevant content from social media is usually a smart move. Customers visiting your old accounts may be confused or put off by tons of unrelated information. Some may even think they’ve got the wrong people, which hurts your brand’s image.

When You Should Purge an Account

Deciding when to purge an account will depend on several factors. Much of the decision will come down to timing and how much you need to settle.

First and foremost, finish any business you have on the account before purging. This would be something like a contest or giveaway. Complete these before anything else, as disappearing without doing what you promised is untrustworthy and bad for your reputation.

It’s also helpful to look at your engagement when deciding when to purge. Even if your numbers aren’t what you want them to be, a surge is still a surge. If you’ve suddenly found a bit of extra attention, it’s probably best to wait until that dies down to purge the account.

What to Leave Behind

The question of what to leave behind can be a bit tricky. At a minimum, however, it’s generally a good idea to keep the account itself online. Not only does this leave the door open for a return, but it also prevents impersonation or losing your username. Privating an account tends to be better than fully deleting it.

If you’re choosing to delete the content you posted, you may wish to keep an archive of it somewhere. While it is no longer on this channel, you may be able to repurpose some of it for others. It’s also helpful simply as a record of what you’ve done in the past.

Finally, a final post thanking people for their support and directing them to your other platforms is quite helpful. As few as they may have been, you likely still had followers on this account. Showing them where they can find more of your content in the future helps you going forward. Not only that, it can offer a boost to website traffic and SEO as people search you out.

Which Platforms to Try

In some cases, failing on a site may not have been because the content you created was bad. Sometimes, your content may simply be a poor fit for the platform you’ve chosen.

In order to find success, it’s necessary to tailor your content to where you post it. However, it can be equally important to choose a platform that supports what you want to do.

For example, B2B businesses tend to find the most success on LinkedIn these days. As a platform purpose-built for professional connection, this makes sense. After all, you’ll have more luck of seeing potential clients on a website made for them.

Conversely, B2C organizations tend to do best on more general social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. If your customer base is the general public, connecting like this is the best option. These more personable sites also help to cultivate a friendlier profile, building trust in your brand by relating to customers.

Regardless of industry, however, YouTube still remains one of your best platforms. Beyond the chance for attracting new business, it serves as a helpful tool in conducting business. As one of the most reliable hosting sites on the web, YouTube can be used for presentations in the office. YouTube videos with high engagement can also help to boost your SEO ranking for related things, too. It might also be possible to earn some extra money via AdSense, as well.

Bottom Line

Purging social media channels is a big decision. Many times, however, it can be the right decision. Rather than a failure, look at starting over and refocusing on better and more productive goals.

Social media is only the tip of the iceberg for conducting business, though. Crafting a successful online business is a multi-faceted endeavour and can be hard for the inexperienced. NVISION provides comprehensive digital marketing solutions for businesses of all sizes. If you found this article helpful, contact us for a quote for full-service end-to-end digital marketing solutions.