My last post was 21 days ago. As an individual, I can be forgiven. But that type of inconsistency really drives me crazy when it comes to companies and brands. There’s no excuse for a company website to have a news section that hasn’t been updated for over a year or, even worse, to have months-long gaps between tweets or blog posts.  

When companies first jumped into social media, the party line was that it was a way of bringing their brands closer to consumers, engaging with them and enabling two-way conversation. Instead of making use of the relationship-building qualities inherent in social media, marketers have simply turned it into another advertising channel.  

Some companies started out with the best of intentions but then regressed into promoting product with their tweets and blogs rather than actually talking with consumers and answering their questions or complaints.  Now many have become fair-weather friends, just getting in touch with consumers when it suits them.

Social media offers marketers the opportunity to get consumers talking about their brands in a positive way.  First, they must reopen the lines of communication – and keep them open.  Then they have to remember there’s more to being a friend than counting clicks.