Keeping up with the information revolution is an exhausting exercise - but taking advantage of five forces will put smart operators at the head of the communications pack.

​Never before have there been so many ways to communicate and never has it been so complex - lots of social media platforms, tools, apps and methods to send you bonkers.

Whether you're a business or a personal brand, cutting through the claptrap requires a simple, strategic and sustainable approach. Couple that with the right intel about the communications battlefront, and you're on your way. 

Be it with our work with big media undergoing transformation or with small companies seeking to establish a DIY newsroom approach, some common themes are apparent.

Here's five of them - forces we believe will drive content success into 2017:

​The trolls are coming, the trolls are coming - and, if they haven't already, they are about to take your social media, turn it back on you and blast you to high heaven.

Think of them as the Storm Troopers who hunt out easy prey and raze Jakku in the Star Wars epic The Force Awakens. Or the hulking Orcs who obliterate everything in their path in Lord of the Rings. Or the Dementors who suck the life and soul from the good hearted in Harry Potter.

You get the picture. They're nasty.
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But it need not be apocalyptic. You can repel them, or in the least mitigate damage by observing five basic tips. ​

​Running a business or organisation without an in-house social media policy is truly living on the wild side - you can bank on thrills and spills.

When I was a kid we lived at the top of a steep climb. I still recall with chilling clarity hurtling down that long and unforgiving hill on my bike only to realise, before it was too late, my brakes weren't working.

I smashed into a telephone pole just metres from the busy intersection at the bottom of the hill. My bike was a write-off. Fortunately, I was unscathed - but the valuable lesson for me was to always - always - take the right precautions.

Many businesses are focused on increasing their engagement with their customers through social media. But an area that goes ignored, akin to riding without brakes or driving without car insurance, is how their own employees use social media and talk about the organisation.

Basically, what are the rules?