Stumbling into Social Network Conversations

During  yesterday's class, I mentioned that marketers do not know how and why to enter "conversations" on social networks, noting that they do not want to irritate individuals. It happens. "Is it just me, or does it seem like every commercial ends with some half-assed attempt to drive social media traffic? What's the rationale behind adding a Facebook and Twitter logo to the bottom of a commercial with no page name and no call to action? Does the team putting the spot together think viewers will be pleasantly shocked to discover the brand has social channels? And that viewers love their brand so much that they'll drop everything to search for the right page out of their own curiosity? Or how about the ever-present hashtag? Am I supposed to be so excited about watching a commercial that I log on to Twitter to tell all my friends about it, using the guidelines the brand just introduced to me?" Those questions come from a marketing executive posting on AdAge.