Instagram, the mobile photography app purchased by Facebook, has been getting a lot of attention lately. From critics saying it is killing photography to hype and hoopla from marketing pundits saying it is a must-have as part of your “visual marketing tool box.”

Let me start by saying, I’m not against numbers, scores, or analytical methods that give us an objective understanding of how far-reaching our brand’s impact is, be it our personal or professional brand.

As consumers, we might sigh in frustration when our sister-in-law posts the 285th picture of her new cat on Facebook. But we most likely won't share that frustration with the world. We might be annoyed and surprised at the vitriolic politics or the annoying FarmVille requests of all of our "friends." But other than "block" those post, we certainly won't @reply with a complaint about their behavior. And, if Dad mistakenly posts a picture of himself in his underwear, we certainly won't be blogging about this with the title "Family Social Media #Fail."

Brands, on the other hand, have to be much more careful. Marketers are the nerdy freshman at the cool kids' senior party. Say the wrong thing -- or say it in the wrong way -- and risk getting ridiculed and bounced out. Come with a case of beer and some great conversation, and you just might be a hit. But even then, you are only one mistake away from a viral case of #Fail. Your mistake could become the fodder for endless blog posts of how it "shouldn't be done."
 

Customers … why don't they just do what we want? That would make direct marketing so much easier, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, it's not that easy. In today's marketing climate—with so many choices, technological devices and brand messages bombarding the senses—it's more difficult than ever to get customers to do anything, let alone what you want them to do.

In printed direct marketing vehicles, the stalwart "order now" or "go online" prompts simply don't cut it anymore. You need to do more. How? By creating a compelling call to action that cannot be ignored. Prompt customers to act, to see the call to action screaming at them from the printed piece in a way that moves them to react and act. To do something!

Referrals from friends have a significant impact on typical buying behavior, an effect commonly known as social influence. Social influence is part of the reason so many marketers, as well as investors, get excited about the marketing potential within social-media networks. However exciting the potential, marketers and investors still need to understand the relationship between social influence and online sales. What effect, if any, do friends have on one another's buying decisions when engaging on a social network?

If social media consultants are doing their jobs, they should put themselves out of business. I speak as one of their kind. Before joining Fast Company last spring, I was the social media editor at the New York Daily News. So I'll say it even bolder: At some point, Fast Company should fire me. (Just not too soon, please!) Your company will never be truly social if you silo social activity within a consultant or a staff manager.

Twenty years after the Internet first went mainstream, most businesses have yet to take full advantage of the most fundamental opportunity it has created for them. Thanks to digital media, companies can create their own relationships with consumers at incredible scale--and they can use the data from these interactions to build better products, produce more effective marketing and, ultimately, make their customers happier.