Consultant and professional Chris Brogan recently took time to write a blog about “Social Media Fatigue” and how some companies, for lack of better wording, just aren’t doing it right.

Brogan explains, “One of the biggest push backs I hear from people when I talk about how wonderful I think Google+ will be for business professionals is that they’re tired. They’re tired of joining a new social network. They’re tired of going through the dance of re-adding their friends and connections on yet another platform. They’re tired of having to think up even more content for yet another platform, after having finally committed to Facebook or Twitter or wherever else. For a lot of people, the fatigue comes from that sense that they’re doing all the work, but not seeing the results. For another group, it’s that feeling that we’ve all done this before, so why do it again? For others, it’s just that we’re getting to the point where we feel maybe that we’ve shared all we can think of sharing, and we’re tired of rehashing the same old things over and over again.”

Sound familiar? Even Brogan inquires, are you tired of social media? Sick of the seemingly constant updates, regurgitating what appears to be common information and never seeing any real results? Don’t worry; Brogan’s got an answer for you.

“Writing about social media can be boring. Writing about how to empower people, however, is pretty much always interesting. Telling people the same old thing on Google+ that you’d have shared on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn is about as boring as it sounds. Maybe try doing something new with the platform. On an absolutely random post about eating the Swedish meatballs at IKEA, I got a comment back from writer and all around interesting thinker, Jeff Jarvis, about how he not only likes the Swedish meatballs, but he admits to liking Taco Bell. For whatever reason, I came away from the experience thinking, ‘Huh, I wouldn’t normally get into these conversations, inane as they are, on the other social networks. I wonder why I’ve given myself permission to do so here.’ Wake up. We can all find new ways to talk about social media by NOT TALKING ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA. (Queue the Fight Club comments.) The thing is this: we’re using these tools to enable new connections. We’re using them to make different kinds of business happen. We’re using these tools to help causes that matter, and so much more.”

More importantly, Brogan then asks, “Look at your last 20 posts on any social network, and/or your blog. What are you talking about? Do you find yourself interesting?” If the answer is no, you might want to consider switching up your content. Okay, so maybe you’re not interested in writing about Swedish meatballs, but he asks, “What else could you talk about instead? What would really change the nature of the conversation? How could you move from ‘talking about what everyone else is talking about’ into talking about what’s next, what’s new, what’s personal, what’s helpful?” Still having trouble? Take a look at some of the suggestions he offers:

• If you’re a real estate professional, why not bring the neighborhoods you’re selling to life in stories and videos.
• If you’re a freelance photographer, share the stories behind the photos.
• If you’re a corporate blogger, tell us the passionate stories behind the big official posts.
• If you’re writing just for your own passion, show us what you’re passionate about.
• If you’re someone selling something, tell us the stories around that product or service.

To read more about his suggestions for fighting off social media jet lag, take a peek at his blog, and even more telling, take a look at some of the comments left there.

Are you tired of social media too? What changes have you made to try to stave off the exhaustion? How do you measure your social media success? What results have you seen and what results are you looking for?