Lynne D. Johnson, Senior VP of Social Media for the Advertising Research Foundation, says it best:  Social media is about relationships.

In an interview with the Social Times, Ms. Johnson was asked about social media and branding.  She responded:

"It's not just about putting up a Twitter or Facebook page; it's more about engaging in relationships.  Brands have to be interested in the narrative. 

If you have no story about your brand, then people will make up the story for you.  It's not a fad at all; it's an evolution. 

Now the consumer is being thought of as the collaborator.  Traditional marketing used to have these closed surveys and got feedback from people in private rooms.  Now it's all open.  It's not a fad."

Ms. Johnson also recited a statistic she read recently: 20% of all tweets are about brands. 

Social media might not be the marketing or relationship building tool you're used to, but the fact of the matter is that you and your brand will be left in the dust if you don't tell the story yourself. 

Source: SocialTimes, November 2009.

(Bonus points to all of you for reading this, because you're reading a blog!)