Not surprisingly, social media is viewed as the latest and coolest tool for marketing businesses and creating brand consciousness. It seems easy—just create an account and start posting—until boredom sets in and the effort seems pointless. Soon after, your flow of social media activity dries up.

Create a Social Presence

Most social media blogs advise regular posting on social sites and sincere interaction with other users. The general idea is to use the social sites as a meeting place to find people: friends, associates, customers, future clients and business partners. And to engage with people effectively, you need to be actively posting and participating in the conversation.

However, for many accounts, regular activity is difficult to maintain. Some profiles lack complete information, and even a profile picture. (Incomplete profiles, especially those without a photo, often indicate a fake account.)

Just how many dead accounts are out there? Business Insider reported that 56 million of the 175 million users Twitter claimed as of March 2011 followed zero other accounts, while 90 million Twitter accounts had no followers. That means 32% of all Twitter accounts aren’t following any accounts, and 51% aren’t being followed at all. For social accounts, that’s not very social!

Post Often (Daily) to Your Social Media Accounts

Just as a balanced diet combined with exercise is the best way to maintain your health—balance on social media is the key to an effective marketing strategy.

Consistency is one of the secrets most successful companies and marketers have in common. Small businesses should observe balance and consistency in social media activities to remain robust and visible. To stay consistent in social media, keep the enthusiasm going and always do “social media with purpose” (which is the motto at Lightspan Digital).

Maintain Social Media Staying Power

Here are five tips on how to consistently maintain your social media presence and gain social media staying power.

1. Start posting. To get started, make a point to post several messages every business day. Post throughout the day to reach a wider audience and ensure your message is seen.
2. Post often. Every community is different in terms of how talkative it is. On Twitter, conversations move very fast, and it can seem hard to get a word in edgewise, while Facebook brand pages are less active. Each market also varies in how engaged the audience is. Understanding these factors will help you gauge how often to post. The point is to start posting so you can figure this out!
3. Offer friendly messages. This can be done with a simple, “Good morning” post. Although you might think this is cheesy, no one can resist a welcoming message first thing in the morning. Wish your followers a “Happy Wednesday!”
4. Ask questions. One challenge brands have is coming up with enough content to share with its community. But sometimes, content lies within your community. So when you run out of ideas, ask your followers questions! You may be surprised of what you discover, which may turn into great user-generated content.
5. Answer questions. Identifying your community’s burning questions can help define you as an influencer. Do this by noticing common questions and problems and then offer an answer or solution. You’ll be doing a service for your followers and enhancing your social stream.

What are your tips to maintaining social media staying power? Leave them in the comments below.