randtailers website” href=”http://www.brandtailers.com”>ad agency. That's almost as bad as my impatience whenever I have to watch 3.5 seconds of an ad online before I can skip it. Oh the guilt.

Yet, at the end of the day, I am a consumer, just like everyone else. And I'm a bit tired of waiting for our industry to figure this next new media out. Because that's all it is, just another media. Certainly one that requires more earned brand fans than its paid cousins over in traditional land, but still just another form of media (Social Media,

get it?). And let's face it, the number one reason why Social Media is the favored step child of advertisers is because it doesn't require the 3.7 million dollars to run a :30 second spot like it does in the upcoming 2013 Superbowl. What if it cost the same amount of money to reach the same amount of fans on Twitter? Per tweet?

The only way Social Media is going to be helpful in the world of advertising is to let consumers own it. Let them be the voice of the brand, and let the brand earn a quality voice. Scary, yes, but at least this way the communication has a chance to be something more than another advertising failure. What if it's consumers who encourage other consumers to investigate a brand online for no reason other than it's a great brand they want to share? It already seems obvious that brands who spend their time focusing on the quality of their product more than getting people to Like them are ultimately getting more Likes.

Remember, today's #1 marketing challenge is TRUST. You can't buy it. You have to earn it. If you're a marketer, be thoughtful of how you're asking for a consumer's interest. They'll see it, appreciate it and really, truly LIKE you.