Earlier this year at the place I was working at the time, somebody asked what we (as a company) were doing to get in to Facebook and Second Life. My initial reaction was “why would we be doing anything?” - kept to myself, of course.  Whenever a social trend emerges, it seems businesses want to jump on board - and those that don’t are perceived as having been left behind or “not keeping up”.

I’m not suggesting that there is no benefit in involving yourselves in these trends, far from it - such an action (especially when adopted at the right time) can really add value to a company’s profile. But blindly having a presence - in any way, shape or form - just to participate can often have a negative effect.

Setting up a Facebook group to promote a new product and encourage viral interest is one strategy that could certainly benefit, but a general “this is our Company, we’re on Facebook as we’re down with the kids” group with no valuable content will just leave visitors uninterested. An unpopular group, or one filled with people mocking the group’s existence is surely worse than no group at all…

The main thing to remember, in my ever so humble opinion, is that the web is a communication tool and not a parallel universe. You wouldn’t commission an advertising campaign without a focus and clear purpose - the same applies on the web.