1.You’re not really into it.

Yes, we know, this happens all the time. A company starts a Facebook page just for the hell of it and doesn’t put any time or attention into optimizing it. They assume that just because they’ve got a name, loyalists will appear out of the blue and magically start accumulating. Brands who aren’t really into it tend to ignore questions from their flock, go weeks and months at a time between posts and often make HUGE mistakes (like assuming they own specific URLs and handles and then printing them on billboards and collateral without double checking).

It’s better to have no presence than a crappy one. At least in my opinion.

2.You’re WAY too into it.

I know, I bet you’re reading this like “How can you be too into social media?!” Calm down and I’ll tell you. Some brands/companies (usually its whomever they put in charge of managing their social networks) get really caught up in the idea that their job now involves being able to go on Facebook or Twitter . What typically ends up happening is this social media liaison person becomes so adamant in “getting the job done” that they don’t realize that they’re irritating everyone else. These people tend to post things that don’t really matter to their audience, they just post for the sake of appearing in someone else’s feed (even if it means re-posting stuff you’ve posted 5 times in the past).

3. There’s no incentive.

In a perfect world, we (as people) would love to think that everyone wants to be our friend based entirely on our awesomeness. As many of us find, (and if you haven’t, you will) a lot of times, people only want to be our friends because we do nice things for them. This is true for companies in social media too. Think about it, why else would anyone want to become a fan of your random company or product? Everyone is looking for a handout and the best way to generate positive word of mouth in any case, is to be generous. NO, I’m not just talking about money or free swag; you can be generous with your customer service, advice, whatever — different people appreciate different things. Either which way, we’re all looking for a reason to connect with one another. Don’t forget that.