Michael Foley on why corporations are having such problems with social media.

The biggest problem facing social media is impatience with it. There are a lot of big brands dedicating resources to social media lately because it is the new “bright shiny thing.” I’m worried that these big brands may feel the need to shut down these social media business experiments if they don’t see results (meaning big revenue) in time for the next quarterly earnings report. It takes time to build relationships and develop trust, especially if you have been neglecting your customers for a long time (and most brands have). They’re already suspicious of you because you’re selling something. Real relationships aren’t built on the salesman’s need to move product on deadline. They are built on a mutual exchange of value over time. Don’t think of your social media presence as an experiment, but instead think of it as an investment so that you can obtain social capital in the long term.

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