I'm Just Not That Into You!

Do you ever get the feeling that brands get all hot and heavy setting up their community and engagement strategies only to turn around and say just a few months later, "I"m just not that into you"?

It goes something like this. Like most relationships, it all starts off wonderful and exciting. The honeymoon phase. The press release comes out. Community engagement! Supportive tools to empower our customers! @twitter customer service!

Amazing. Who knew? I sign up. I follow you. I get right into it. I start to expand our relationship and feel like we are going some where together.

But then...after a while it just seems like, you're not calling. You're not writing. No response to my emails. Waiting on hold for what seems like hours. The promises of brilliant new functionality to support my needs never happens.

What was a fabulous start to a great relationship somewhere along the line just seemed to go away. When did i stop being your priority? And after all that personalized information i gave to you? You asked for my commitment and engagement, what about you?

I've heard from a bunch of people lately that they would prefer not to get into the social media game if they aren't going to do it well.

I couldn't agree with them more. Community engagement has to be a long term and sustainable proposition. You can't just start a community and then abandon it. Turning around after a year or two and saying, "I'm just not that into you" simply isn't an option.