Most businesses and brands are boring. Doing social media is really an attempt at unboringfication.
Most businesses have spent most of their time not developing a rich, deep, authentic and approachable personality. Let alone one that behaves congruently with clearly stated values and beliefs. They tell themselves they are the expert in everything. They strive to be everyone's BFF. They are fearful and paranoid. In some cases, they are diagnosably psychopathic.
Doing social media for many businesses is like trying to make this social fail interesting enough for people to want to talk about.
This is the dilemma: Most people simply don't find most businesses/brands all that interesting to talk about.
You can create the best tools. And it will be pointless. This is not a technological problem.
How can you make a shallow business or brand really interesting? How to win friends and influence people? Same challenge. This is where the sustainable solution lies.
Possible solution: Get out there and let your real voice be heard. Engage in conversations good and uncomfortable. Give up trying to manufacture fake messages, censure dissent, and muzzle discussions. If you dare. If your board/PR department permits you.
In the short term, there is always scandal, controversy, and titillation. How to be popular instantly ala Hollywood: Take off your glasses, let your hair down, wear a shorter skirt, cue make-out music... Hopefully this results in viral bursts of associative chatter. Your brand is temporarily anointed with reflected interest by proxy.
What enduring glory if any? Dunno. Good for short term KPIs. Maybe that's enough. Maybe that's all a shallow brand can expect.
(The unboring brands, like Apple, love them or hate them, do not need to "do" social media)
