Any good social media evangelist will tell you that you have to give, give and give.

It’s true. Social media is about sharing.

• Sharing what you know
• Sharing free stuff
• Sharing links
• Sharing connections
• Sharing your time and attention

Heck, the web was built on sharing. Right from the start we shared information, friendship and bookmarking links.

There are times though when “sharing” will not work out for the best:

1. When it is not good value – You might think that free is free, but in fact your reader normally has to supply an email address or at least their attention. We all know the phrase “that’s ten minutes of my life I am never getting back” – don’t be the cause of wasted time. Not a good way to build a brand.
2. When it is impersonal – Giving is great, when it is yours to give and has some relevance to your audience!
3. When it is expected – This is one where I have made a mistake too. If you give away too much then certain parts of your audience start to see you as the freebie guy, and get huffy when you put something up for sale. Free works best when it is seen as a valuable gift or resource and not as “freebie of the day”.
4. When it is confusing – Even free needs to be sold. You need to describe at least the key benefit. Too many people think free sells itself. Confused contacts do not consume your content and they do not come back for more.
5. When it is a bait and switch – If you are giving something away make sure that is what you do and if there are any conditions or requirements make sure they are clearly articulated. When someone signs up then finds their credit card statement contains items they didn’t anticipate they do not see it as a cost of business, they see you as a scam artist. Even some gurus have tried to pull this trick and bad word spreads at lightning speed.

The best way to give something away is to value it yourself so that your reader will value it. Give it the attention, description and processes that it deserves, and deliver it well.

Another shameless plug of my photos's site.

Hopefully many of you love Flickr as much as I do. I can’t say that I upload as much as I would like, because I’m not as good as most of my contacts but I enjoy going on every day and checking out the latest photos.

Flickr is in fact my favorite of all the social networking sites. So I was pleased today to see the addition of App Garden on Flickr.

App Garden is obviously jumping on the iPhone App Store bandwagon. App is so much a part of our daily life now, that I wouldn’t be surprised if it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary soon.

The App Garden is a one stop shop for all the Flickr apps created using the Flickr API. There are apps like the Photoworks SF, created for photogs in San Francisco looking to order prints. And there’s Trippermap which allows you to geotag your photos using Google Earth.

So far it looks like there are less than 50 apps and nothing that truly sticks out for me as a must have app but considering the popularity of the photo sharing site I’m sure the numbers will be rising soon.

In a blog post today, written entirely in Spanish, Twitter announced a Spanish support. Below is a translation of the blog post.

Earlier this month we invited volunteers to translate Twitter into more languages. Thanks to these enthusiastic volunteers hispanoparlantes (sic), Twitter is now officially available in Spanish. You can change the language or visit Twitter.com, Settings and change the language setting in the option at the bottom right corner.

Some [Spanish-speaking users] Pepe Aguilar (@ PepeAguilar), Manu Ginobili (@ manuginobili), Jose Hernandez (@ Astro_Jose), Andreu Buenafuente (@ buenafuente), Juan Fonseca (@ Fonseca) and La Moncloa in Spain (@ desdelamoncloa) had discovered the Twitter value even before we released the translated version. We hope to offer Twitter in Spanish means more people will be able to access and enjoy this service.

Welcome!

Spanish is now the third language supported by Twitter with English and Japanese.

One of my clients asked me what the secret to engagement was.

Many bloggers talk about engagement but you  hardly ever see people actually write down the secret to engaging your audience. I think it may be because secretly a lot of people are not interested in actually engaging readers, they just want it to seem like they do.

What is engagement?

Anything that shows your audience is actually paying attention and is interested. Mostly it shows in getting some sort of feedback or action from your visitor:

• Blog comments
• Contact form submissions
• Competition entries
• Retweets
• Bookmarks
• Poll answers
• Survey submissions
• … and so on

As you might tell from the headline, I think the secret to getting greater engagement is the same regardless of if you are having a conversation face to face or in social media, and that is to be truly interested.

Rather than using social media as a “broadcast” mechanism, actually be interested in your audience and truly get to know them. As a group and as individuals. Ask questions, yes, but more importantly seek out answers and follow up on them.

We always can tell when someone is faking interest. Some are better than others at hiding their true intentions, but eventually I think it leaks out in behavior when someone is on the level and really looking to have actual discussions with visitors.

I am sure you have had the experience where a friend is allowing you to talk just while they line up another opportunity for them to hold the floor and bask in the delights of their own voice. Your turn to talk is just a breathing space for the one-person show that is their spotlight.

Don’t be this person in social media.

Seeking answers to your questions should be about the person responding as much as the content of what they have to say and certainly way more than an excuse to get everyone referencing you and your name.

Squash the temptation to engage purely as a branding exercise and start becoming authentically interested in your audience. They will reward your efforts tenfold. After all, everyone’s favorite subject is yourself, much as many would deny it!

How do you engage readers? Can you name anyone who does it particuarly well in your niche? Please share in the comments …

1. OCNN (Ochocinco News Network)

Everyone knows the story of Chad Johnson, the wide receiver for the Bengals, who legally changed his name to Ochocinco. He thought that it meant 85 in Spanish, although in Spanish 85 is actually “ochenta y cinco.”

Well Chad Ochocinco is very involved in Twitter. He has announced a partnership with Motorola to start the OCNN. I’m terrified of the kind of news he’ll be breaking.

2. Miley Cyrus Leaves Twitter

I am placing this on the list, not because it is sad but because it’s sad that anyone even cares. I’ve seen too many stories about this and it happened more than two weeks ago.

I’d like to put her Twitter rap from YouTube as number 3 but I think I’ve used enough space for Miley Cyrus already.

3. Head of State Assassination Pages on Facebook

Both President Barack Obama and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have been targets of assassination hyperbole.

In September a poll on Facebook asked “Should Obama be killed?” Recently several “Kill Berlusconi” Facebook groups have appeared. All of the pages are being investigated.

4. Social Media Monitoring by Big Brother

In-Q-Tel, an investiment firm established by the CIA, is investing in Visible Technologies. Visible Technology currently provides to monitor the brand performance of private businesses like Hormel and Microsoft on social media sites. The technology could be used by CIA to monitor trends over a plethora of topics. They, however, are unable to monitor Facebook and MySpace pages set to private.

5. Boobs or Books?

Megan McCain posted a TwitPic showing off more than just the book she was reading. The saddest thing about this to me was that I’ve read nothing but great reviews for Arthur C. Danto’s biography of Andy Warhol. However, more people are talking about McCain’s cleavage than her taste in literature.

Last week I was at BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas. It was a fantastic time to listen to some fascinating sessions and talk to my fellow social media geeks.

One of the much discussed features of the conference was that Ford had a bunch of cool cars in the parking lot that we could take out for a test drive. Obviously the hope was as well as personally warm to the brand and the brand representatives (from what I understand this was successful), they were also hoping folks would blog about the cars and the experience. Sadly I didn’t get chance to try the cars so I have nothing to report on that score, but I did talk to a few who did and who were buzzing about the whole thing.

If you are an auto dealership, how cheap and easy would it be for you to get some buzz in the same way? Turn up at an event with some cool cars, preferably something ordinary folks would never have a chance to play with. Just give people an opportunity for a pleasurable experience with nothing asked in return. You can hope, but don’t ask.

Does it work? Yes. It works very well. Check out this event where myself and others were invited along to a supercar day. We weren’t asked to but couldn’t wait to blog about it.

Guaranteed Buzz

Another approach is to provide outstanding customer service in social media and online. Go the extra mile, wow people with your responses.
Do not, however, fake customer service using social media as a bandaid. People can and will call you out on it. This article by Outspoken Media for example.

Last, you could court controversy. This is a high risk strategy that sometimes backfires. I would caution against it, and aim to steer you towards the more positive ideas above, but companies have had some success getting traction in social media and spilling over into traditional media by pressing emotional or political hot buttons. A recent example is this Obama halloween mask which, though in poor taste (and offensive to many), has spread around Twitter.

The key in all of these is to know in advance what you want people to say, and match what you want people to say with what they are interested in talking about. Do not give math geeks sports memorabilia and Disney princess fans the latest version of Grand Theft Auto

What buzz campaigns have caught your eye recently? Please share in the comments …

Compete and J.D. Power presented an analysis yesterday stating that the auto industry would be better served searching out new buyers on social media networks rather than search engines like Google and Yahoo.

The speech was given at the J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa.

Compete and J.D. Power studied the web URL addresses that new-car buyers had visited and recommends that a social media presence like fan pages or profiles is beneficial for interacting with potential buyers. The round table also commented on social media’s ability to understand consumers. The biggest topic at the round table was social media’s future in the automotive industry as a game changing tool.

Other information gained from the study found:
• 1/3 of buyers visit auto brand or third-party sites 6 months before purchase
• 2/3 of buyers visit auto brand or third-party sites 3 months before purchase
• 19 % of buyers, who search online, claim to visit dealer sites first.
• 41% visit OEM sites first
• 40% visit third-party auto sites first
• Online buyers consider an average of 2.9 cars before making a decision

Today I wanted to give you some insights into the investigations I have been making into Automotive Dealer web marketing efforts. Even if you are not in that market, you might get some ideas for how you can improve your own campaigns.

When you look around the web at any field in business there are often common mistakes, either because “that is the way things are done in our industry” or because everyone copies each other. Do not parrot a flawed model, optimize your web experience for customers so that they are more inclined to go with you rather than every other clone out there!

1. Go commodity - The biggest mistake I see car dealers make on the web is an over emphasis on commodity features. What do I mean? Focus on price, or information every other dealer has. Where is the differentiation? This is the web, we can’t assume our website is the only one the visitor will read today! Provide a reason why the visitor should choose you over any of your competitors.
2. Me-Me-Me – You know what? The visitor is not that interested in your CEO/MD/Sales team. Customers want some information, to feel a sense of trust and confidence, but when it is all about you then the visitor is turned off. Tune in to what the customer needs and wants to know, and get out of the way.
3. “Check book marketing” – When I look at a lot of automotive company websites it is obvious that someone has opened their bank account to an agency and said “just make it happen”. Stale website, expensive non-optimized advertising, and me-too approaches. Most good agencies want to collaborate to make campaigns a success, make sure your agency emphasizes what makes you different and better rather than take the easy cookie-cutter approach that does not get results.
4. Lack of engagement – Rather than put your customer at arms length you need to invite them in, get them to interact, invite questions, and know that you are responsive and have a customer-focus. This is like sampling your customer service before purchase, and also great for keeping customers around longer term. Even something as simple as a newsletter can start the process. Out of sight, out of mind!
5. Rush – It is unlikely that a visitor is going to make a purchase the first time they see your site, so why are so many of these websites in a rush to get you out of the “door”? You need to hold interest and not be so eager. The customer could be at any point in the buying cycle from initial research to price comparison, so you need to be sensitive to these needs and help and encourage rather than push.

I think the root cause of most of these issues come down to

• Partial abdication of responsibility – You want a good job but do not feel you can get very involved in the process. In fact, you need to be involved because it is you that is being represented. The experience of your website will directly impact how your customers feel about you.
• Outbound thinking - By prioritizing what you want to say rather than what you want the visitor to experience you set yourself up to be a blowhard rather than a good salesperson. The best in sales are listeners first, remember that and you will not go far wrong.
• Building a fixed brochure – Websites can be so much more than brochures. Plus everything is measurable and can be continually optimized. Do not settle for mediocre, be constantly looking to improve and grow.

Thankfully all of these issues are easy to start fixing today, and they all start with your prospect. The more you can focus on pleasing and catering to your potential customers wants and needs the more you are going to give that positive impression you need in order to be competitive and make more sales!

The horror film Paranormal Activity is calling its release “The First Ever Major Film Release Decided by You.” In an unheard turn of events, Paramount Pictures agreed to give the film a wide release if 1 million people demanded it and yesterday they hit that total.

The easiest film genre to make a buck off of is horror. Why else would Saw VI be coming out this month? Not because it’s hoping to win an Oscar but because it’s going to make a ton of money.  The ROI on horror films in huge in comparison to other genres.

Take Saw V for example. The budget for the film was $10,800,000 and it made $30 million its opening weekend and ended with $56 million for its theatrical run. This doesn’t even include DVD sales and television deals.

Now we have a film like Paranormal Activity which was made for $15,000 and 1 million people who say they want to see the film. It’s a brilliant marketing move by Paramount. They are getting the word out for a film while only committing to show it if enough of us want to see it.

News agencies have written stories about the campaign and with the word of mouth sales of midnight screenings in venues across the country, the marketing for this film resembles that of a viral video rather than the traditional marketing of Hollywood films.

Paranormal Activity is a lot like the Blair Witch Project in its execution and production value but a good scare is priceless and although this film will not be winning any awards, it’s exciting to see small films make a splash, even if it’s a splash of blood.

Tuvalu

Have you ever heard of the island of Tuvalu? Without a doubt you have heard of it’s web extension, tv. Most web users closely associate the .tv domain with the entertainment industry, which is becoming increasingly popular in it’s usage.

However, there is something most of us don’t think about when we visit these websites, the Country of Tuvalu, which may be taking it’s last breath before receding into the Pacific Ocean because of the effects of global warming. Today it was reported that Tuvalu has been evacuated because of underwater earthquakes in the region and fears of tsunamis.

Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world and has the second lowest elevation of any country, 15 feet above sea level. These two combine to make a volatile mix.

Currently Tuvalu leases the .tv domain. They make $1 million quarterly. So what happens to an a web extension when a country collapses? The extension in all likelihood will probably be converted into representing ‘television’ which it pretty much already is. This was confirmed by GoDaddy.

I figured this to be pretty interesting since I never would have guessed what .tv was or what country it represented. The good news is the money Tuvalu is receiving for the extension makes that their number one export, better known as their only export. The bad news it is was timed with its own demise.