This past December I completely forgot about checking Twitter & Facebook. No intent to do so...it just happened. A couple weeks later, when I realized the time that had passed, I also realized I hadn't missed it. So I set out on an experiment to see what would happen if I stopped the constant social media participation for a bit. How long would I last? Would people start to ask me why? My last SM check in was on Dec 18. Number of people that have asked me why I stopped posting - only 2.

No one seemed to care that I left my blog outdated. My Twitter followers weren’t asking where I was. No one on FB noticed. I was a little humbled. Guess my status updates weren’t as funny/intelligent/interesting as I thought they were. This reminded me of a common question we hear from folks engaged with us in Branding initiatives…"Should we be on Facebook?"; "Should we Tweet?".

Should Social networking be an automatic for brands?

Content is no longer a premium. Gone are the days when subscribing to a magazine provided me with an inside track to content I couldn’t find elsewhere. And if this is true of magazines and newspapers, just think what it means for SM. There are millions of people pushing millions of pieces of content everyday on FB & Twitter. What’s valuable? What matters? Who cares? Is it worth the time? The risk? The potential posing? It can be fun, educational, sometimes relational, and can actually provide good connections. We’ve even seen it result in new business. But its a new world that everyone is fast to jump onboard without totally understanding what, why, & who.

People have lost their jobs over SM. People have not gotten jobs because of SM. Companies have been hired and fired.

I believe the answer to the question of whether a brand – new or old – should quickly jump onboard the SM bandwagon is, No. My opinion is that it should be a considered decision. Here are a few questions that come to mind when I think about the decision of if & when:

- What will you say?
- How often will you say it?
- Is it something that someone else is already saying?
- Will anyone miss it if it went away?
- Is it meaningful, purposeful, helpful, insightful, funny, or entertaining?
- Should it be meaningful, purposeful, helpful, insightful, funny, or entertaining?
- Is your audience actively participating on FB & Twitter? Do they read blogs?
- Would you care to read what you’re posting?

Realize you’re entering into a large conversation that may not yet have rules, but does have influence. Make the choice with intent and purpose. Its not automatic.

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