Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way. The folks at TwitterTooHard.com understand what I’m saying. Take a good look, because this is exactly how a lot of companies come across when they attempt to engage in social media – self-absorbed, dettached from reality and the worst, uninteresting.

This is still marketing, people. You can’t forget to engage your audience. You’ve got to keep them interested, and this may sting a little, but they do have interests outside of your company. No one enjoys listening to a person talk endlessly about themselves or their work. Same goes for a company.

Of course no one follows a construction equipment manufacturer’s tweets to hear them wax poetic about 16th century Shakespearean sonnets, but feel free to mix it up a bit. Maybe you make bulldozers, but your audience would probably enjoy finding out about a new type of hardhat that’s making construction workers safer. It may not sell any bulldozers, but it will add value to your Twitter feed, or blog, or whatever. And when you release that new model of bulldozer – with the hydraulics and 24″ spinners – they’ll be paying more attention.

So as a young Republican, I should be enthused about the following:

Last week, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, candidates to become chairman of the RNC were asked at a debate, among other questions, whether they have any followers on Twitter. Almost all of them responded ‘yes’ and went on to quote the exact numbers of social media followers and friends they had accumulated on not only Twitter, but Facebook as well.

This somewhat unusual line of questioning is part of a larger movement by the Republican party to focus on the Internet and social media after the November drubbing by the more tech-savvy Democrats. In fact, a coalition of Republicans came up with a ten-point action plan outlining how to rebuild the Republican party, with “the Internet” as the number one priority. According to them, “Winning the technology war with the Democrats must be the RNC’s number one priority in the next four years.”

So am I, as the young, social media-pushing Republican, enthused about this? No. Here’s why.

If the Republican party really does plow ahead making the Internet its number one priority, it will be missing a vital step in the process of rejuvenating itself – REBUILDING THE BRAND (or, as we like to say, spanking).

Whether it is social media, online advertising or good old-fashioned print advertising, it doesn’t matter which outlet you’re using if the right message isn’t there. The majority of my peers (who supported Obama to McCain 2:1) were not supporting Obama because they received his tweets or were friends with him on Facebook. They supported him because they wanted change and his brand represented that. Consistently.

The Republican party has already realized it needs to revitalize itself, and that’s an important first step for Challenger Brands. But before it jumps the gun and tries to “get out there” and “connect,” there needs to be consensus about what it stands for and what message it’s trying to portray. Once everyone has a message and cause to rally around, then online support will develop naturally – that’s the beauty of social media.

Until then, tweet off.