It's Spring Cleaning time, the time of year when you finally tackle a job you've been putting off. Time to strap on the extra thick gloves, get up on the roof, and scoop out all that nasty sludge in the eavestroughs. Or you could go down into the basement and sort through all those dusty old boxes from when you moved in nine years ago and toss out what you don't need (hint: you can probably live without your old VHS player). Or (and I'm sorry for even suggesting it) maybe it's time to finally crawl under the deck and find out what that smell is once and for all?

How bout we make time for another project this year? Instead of scraping out the gutters, lets do a little Spring Cleaning for your social media accounts. I promise, no gloves required.

Just like our basements and gutters, are social media accounts can become disused, dusty, and full of sludge if we're not paying attention. Even if you don't use your Facebook or Twitter account very often, it's important to remember that they may be the only way customers and clients have to get to know you or reach to you, so it pays to occasionally renovate them. 

Take a minute to go through all your accounts and make sure everything is up to date and putting your best foot forward. Changed your logo a few months ago? Make sure you have the new one up front and center on every account. Changed locations, phone numbers, or brought on new staff? Make sure you've updated all of your important contact information. Nothing is more frustrating for a customer than finding a dead phone number or email address online.

This is a good opportunity to make sure that every part of your social media profile is on point and presenting you and your business in the best light possible. Update those old staff photos! Get a new background image! Update any galleries or project portfolios you keep on your accounts. You don't want people thinking you haven't worked on anything since 2012!

While you're at it, this might be a good time to think about the purpose of your social media presence. What you're trying to do with it, who you're trying to reach, that sort of thing, and adjust your accounts to match.

Think about who you want to attract to your page and build out your profile to appeal to that demographic. Include information that is relevant to that sort of customer and trim away the excess. Make sure your social media accounts are all on the same page, moving towards the same goals. While different types of social media slant towards different demographics and presentations so some difference in tone is fine, it gives off creepy Jekyll and Hyde vibes if your businesses Facebook account and LinkedIn page look like they were written by two entirely different people.

Part of the reason Spring Cleaning sucks is that it feels like over-compensating. You spend the year doing everything you can to ignore the dangerous pile of tipping debris and possible animal habitats in the garage, only to suddenly become Bob Villa for a single weekend and clean the entire thing out. While it does feel cathartic, it's also exhausting. Instead of spending an entire weekend up to your knees in old hockey equipment and random spare parts from a lawn mower you threw away in 2004, wouldn't it be better to pick away at a little bit of it every month to prevent it from getting into such a state in the first place?

It's the same with your social media presence. Well getting down and dirty and updating everything, writing a killer new profile, and making a few fun updates is a good first step, if you don't keep up with it you'll be in exactly the same situation next year.

Instead, try to make a point of checking in on your accounts once a week or so. You don't have to be like some teenager glued to his phone and making updates about the awesome spaghetti he ate for lunch, but the occasional check-in and update can do wonders for building a rapport with your customers and peers. Remember, there are real people at the other end of those avatars, so make sure you're there to provide answers and comments when they ask questions!