The Cul-de-Sac is a great metaphor for what happens in social media.

People (people online) steer into the cul-de-sac. Sometimes they are lost. Sometimes they are looking for an address. Sometimes they are just driving around.

Do they want anything from the owner of the house (Brand)? No. Not really. Maybe a little information.

Does the home owner (Brand)  want anything from them? Well, in this case, yes, they want them to become customers. But the online environment doesn’t lend itself to persuasive selling. So there is passive selling through content. Or contests or giveaways, which is way worse.

So, most of the time it’s two ships passing in the night.

If you are a Brand, most of your friends and followers on Twitter and Facebook are just that:

Drive-bys.