Raise your hand if you've got a Facebook Page that's been dormant for the past 6 months. You have a Twitter account because someone told you, "you have to have one."

How long did it take for you to give up on them after starting? A year, few months, a week? Guess what? It's okay. We're about to wake those hibernating accounts.

Open a new tab, log back into those dusty pages (use forgot password as needed...) and sit tight.

We're going to fix your social media presence

Let's get a few things straight before we come up with the right solution. If you don't have a single social account, skip this 'quiz' and read more below.

1. Are you actively using ALL of your social media profiles?

   1. Yes. Awesome. Keep it up. Continue communicating with your followers on a regular basis.
   2. No. More to learn. Go to Step 2.

2. Are you regularly using at least one account?

   1. Yes. Go to Step 3.
   2. No. Are you willing to put time into maintaining any of your accounts?
      1. Yes. Follow Steps 3.1 and 3.2 below.
      2. No. You know those accounts I asked you to log into a second ago? On every single account, share something along the lines of "Hey fans. We're going on a social media hiatus. It's more fun over at yourwebsite.com!"

3. Are you willing to put time into maintaining your inactive accounts?

   1. Yes. Then do it. Tweet, Share, Post whatever it is you have to do right now that will bring your accounts back from the dead. Then, keep sharing with your followers. Consistently.
   2. No. Post a message to each of your inactive accounts that directs viewers to your primary social profile. e.g. On your dead Facebook Page, make you last post read: "We've broken up with Facebook. Twitter stole our heart. Come tweet us @yourtwittername."

Why Not Just Delete the Accounts You're Not Using?

Because with that, you're deleting a valid link back to your website and throwing away all of the past work you spent building the page and sharing info (more links).

MINI LESSON: External links back to your own website are good indicators of a useful domain and help search ranking.

That, and when people do land on, say your inactive Facebook Page, they'll still be able check-in and spread your business name across the network. They'll also be greeted with your last message that points them in the right direction: e.g. your active social account/website.

You don't have any social media accounts. Should you start one?

You should only start a new social account if you're completely devoted to regularly maintaining it and responding to all of your followers in short time (during business hours at the very least).

If you're considering opening new accounts just for the sake of having them or because someone told you to 'get a Twitter,' don't do it.
Only open new accounts that are relevant to your business and of interest to you personally.

Dead social pages gives first-time visitors the impression that your business died along with them.

Don't lose out on potential customers because you didn't have the time to maintain a social profile. If you're not in it for the long haul, don't put yourself in a bad position.

*If you're running a business that doesn't warrant social sharing (divorce lawyers, discreet personal services, etc), read up on what to do when your customers aren't putting you on blast.

Which Social Media Account(s) Should You Start?

You should join whatever social network that both you AND your customers enjoy. If you love sharing photos and you're running a boutique flower shop, get yourself on Instagram. Snap photos of every bouquet and artistic floral arrangement your followers are going to heart the $h!t out of.

If you're a doctor, jump on Twitter as yourself (not the practice) and start posting regularly to your Google Plus business page. Use your Twitter account as an avenue for sharing some of your personality and the Google page for posting content that relevantly drives traffic back to your website.

Think about the social solution that's going to work best for your company and run with it.

Automate the Social Accounts You're Not Committed to Routinely Updating

If you're up front with your followers, it's okay to completely automate your social campaigns on some profiles. Personally, I use Zapier and Buffer to automatically push new website content to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ Pages.

Every time I publish a new post to the site, these handy services compose and share said post to my social profiles. No logging in and out, copying and pasting the same content to 4 different sites, or wasting time that could be better spent elsewhere (like writing for the blog). When a post gets published on my website, it's instantly published everywhere else.

Going the automated route (supplemented by actual interaction), ensures that your pages will always have fresh content. It's a simple, effective way to build external links back to your site.

Every Social Media Portfolio is Going to Look a Little Different

Going back to "Which Social Media Accounts Should I Start," every business is going to have a different array of social accounts in their marketing mix. The right combination of accounts you maintain should be largely dependent upon:

• how much free time you have (are you doing this all alone or can you task someone else to help?),
• the social networks you are most interested in personally,
• the platforms your customer base use most often and
• the industry in which you work

It's no part-time job, but done correctly and with a full-time commitment to your social accounts, you'll have yourself a #winning social portfolio.