They key to social media is being a good listener. Just like in face-to-face conversation no one wants to be talked at, they want to be engaged, heard and cared about. Here are a few things you might be missing in your Facebook marketing strategy:

1. Why?
Asking yourself why your fans are following you on Facebook is a crucial part of understanding what their expectations are and if they are being met. According to a study by ExactTarget, 70 per cent of consumers who “Liked” a brand on Facebook did not feel that they had given the same company permission to market them. Be it, freebies, product info, or personal endorsement - find out what your fans are doing on your page.

2. Value
Of the over 500 million participants on Facebook, the majority likely don’t primarily login to check out their favourite brands. So if you are interrupting or crowding a Facebook news feed with spam - you can be sure your fans will be less tolerant of your messaging.

3. Fun
Facebook is a guilty pleasure for so many consumers. Think about it; banned from many work places, full of gossip and imagery and available 24 hours a day - it’s fun. In fact, so much so that 31 per cent of consumers say they monitor the time they spend on it because it’s so addictive.

eHarmony patented the Compatibility Matching System to bring  over 33 million registered users in over 150 countries together. The company which study’s the marital satisfaction of thousands of couples to better understand why some relationships endure the test of time is responsible for more than 4 per cent of marriages in America.

The competition is looking for a moment of connectedness, magic, a piece of wisdom, a key dimension of compatibility, an insight from a relationship that has lasted or from one just starting out.

Participants can create a 60 second documentary-style film that is honest, hopeful, inspiring, genuine and warm to be used by eHarmony to illustrate compatibility and to help celebrate love.

Submissions will be judged based on their originality and creativity and there adherence to the creative assignment as outlined on the MOFILM competition website. Entries will be judged by a panel of judges from eHarmony.

Cash prizes will be awarded to submissions that win fifth, fourth, third and second place. The grand prize winner of the eHarmony Rome video contest will win $8000 in cash, a round trip for two to Rome and a four night, three day stay in Rome for an exclusive trip to the International Rome Film Festival.

Today’s social media strategy is sometimes created in-house, other times through an agency. Most often it goes through several hands and departments including PR, marketing, advertising, customer service and management. With all those people how do you decide who does the talking?

Here are a few important characteristics of any social media representative:

1. Identity
Your social media rep is often the first point of contact for customers. This person must know your brand identity inside and out and be able to capture the very essence of who you are and what you do in a very concise manner.

2. Empathy
When customers reach out to your brand it is for one of two reasons: to give you positive feedback or negative feedback. While I believe no one likes to be yelled at, abused, embarrassed or taunted - your social media rep must feel empathy to those reaching out and care about helping them.

3. Logic
This one goes hand-in-hand with maturity or clarity of thought. If you’re social media rep is indecisive or flaky that won’t go over well with customers or clients. No one wants to feel like their concerns are not being heard - least of all your customers.

4. Professionalism
Although I have found this one is starting to fall by the wayside, professionalism can go a long way. Being polite, keeping a level head, or simply responding in English and not computer slang or as if I were talking to a 13-year-old (no offense, we’re all 13 once), can make the difference.

5. “Can-Do” Factor
As we seem to increasingly be a results based society it’s no surprise that if your social media rep can’t actually do anything about concerns, complaints or company flaws, what good are they really? Social media reps must have a plan in place to take action so they can back up what they are saying.

This article has been re-posted from www.dustin2to.com.

This past weekend I visited my brother Daren in Ottawa. This was the last time I’ll see him before my trip to Africa later in September. We have wanted to do the Great Canadian Bungee jump for a while now and this was the only weekend that worked for us both.

We spent Saturday skateboarding and all of Saturday night in the casino playing cards - we got home well after the sun was up. This was a great way to cap the weekend on Sunday afternoon before my drive back to Toronto.

In this video I jump first. I’ve taken a lot of ribbing since then for my lack of composure, but I have a good reason for the flailing. The guy who went before me did some flips at the crest of his first bounce, and this is what I wanted to do. I found out later he works there and has jumped hundreds of times. Daren jumps second. I admit he is much more composed but I’m certain the fun was equal.

I hid the camera in the bushes for my jump and ran back up the hill after I was unhooked to grab it to shoot Daren. Here’s a link to see the whole version shot from the ground:

youtube.com/watch?v=P1fgvLfuTMw

The video sound track is an obvious choice, in my opinion too obvious, but it works for this. Enjoy.

Dustin2TO is the life-changing journey of a young business development manager’s adventure to the hub of Canadian business. Follow Dustin as he navigates his way from Winnipeg to Toronto and help introduce him to new friends and experiences while opening up a new office for ICUC Moderation Services, the global leaders in content and community moderation services.

A new study from Pew Internet found that between April 2009 and May 2010, social networking site usage grew 88 per cent among participants aged 55-64, and that the 65 and older group’s social networking presence grew 100 per cent in the same time frame.

While the younger generation continues to dominate social networking usage the data clearly shows that their usage only grew 13 per cent during the year covered by the report.

So what is causing the shift? And will the older generations continue to climb in social networking adoption, or will they eventually peter out?

1. Family
Everyone has a desire to stay connected to their friends and family. If your children or grandchildren are using Facebook then you are more likely to use it yourself, to stay in touch. And guess what - you might find some of your friends are doing the same.

2. Youth
No one likes to get old (not really), and certainly no one likes to be left behind. Social networking may not be as scary as it first appeared to older generations and as it becomes more mainstream it has been more easily adopted by them.

3. Value
The early stages of social networking may have been easily dismissed by today’s older generation as not having much value. However as more marketers see this demographic growing online, there is more and more areas that provide value and engagement.

While email sill dominates communication for the 50 plus age range, we must consider that this, as most things do, will change.

Discovery World HD is an official sponsor of the 2010 Planet In Focus International Environmental Film and Video Festival. This competition is open to Canadian residents and will offer participants a chance to showcase their work on the big screen, TV and online.

Submissions must be no longer than two minutes and must be based on an environmental theme. Entries can be uploaded on the contest Film Snacks website, along with a 100 word synopsis that briefly explains your film.

A panel of impartial judges will review all of the eligible entries and evaluate the videos based on their creativity, originality, chosen topic and how it is related to the environment and overall quality.

The grand prize winner will be the video with the highest score and will win a trip for two to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They will also receive two tickets to Planet in Focus International Film Festival.

The winning entry will also be screened during the Friday night gala of the Planet in Focus International Film Festival, as well as broadcast on Discovery World HD and online at DiscoveryWorldHD.ca.

Whether you spent the past few months laying in the sun getting a tan, biking across the country, or overseas, this campaign will allow you to share your memories through photos, videos or a blog to win a cash scholarship.

Participants can access the Brickfish website to register or log in and then follow the submission guidelines to enter into the Summer Fun contest. The rules are simple - all you have to do is submit an entry that represents your summer of fun whether it’s visual or written.

All submissions will be featured on the contest website and will be tracked by their popularity, ranking and how viral they are. Each submission will be evaluated by a panel of Brickfish judges based on their creativity, relevance, audience support and  viral influence.

The judges will also take into account the public voting. All visitors will be eligible to vote once every 12 hours on their favourite entries during the public voting period between July 13, 2010 and October 5, 2010.

One sweepstakes prize will be awarded to a voter, reviewer and sharer through a random selection and will receive $150 cash or scholarship. One winner will also be awarded to the most viral entry and will win $300 in cash or scholarship.

The grand prize winner selected by Brickfish from the top 100 highest scoring entries will win $500 cash or scholarship.

While so many brands are focusing their efforts inside Facebook they are still struggling to bring their customer base into this social hub and getting them to “Like” them once they arrive.

Facebook fans are certainly not the only measure of success in this platform, or even the most important, however fans definitely play a role into the overall reach of your brand and your messaging - so they are certainly a part of it.

So why aren’t fans “liking” you? Here are a few reasons why, and how you can work it into your strategy.

1. Awareness
So many brands are on Facebook these days - however people just don’t know. Remember the easier it is to find that Like button, the more likely it is that people will click it. Don’t forget to add that social plug-in on everything to allow customers to engage with you immediately and from everywhere. Websites, advertising, email communications and anywhere else you think it’s appropriate.

2. Conversion
It’s not just about getting customers to your Facebook fan - it’s about getting them to click that button. People sometimes need that extra push and a simple call-to-action can go a long way. Facebook has made this concept easy by allowing you to decide what tab your fans will land on when they arrive to your Facebook page. Create something exclusive, or engaging - here is your chance to be original and push that conversion.

3. Content
If you’re looking to engage more fans and get them involved and interested in you - you need to do some listening. Content isn’t always about informing people - sometimes it’s about asking questions and being a sounding board for ideas, creativity and discussion. News feeds, discussion boards, notes, photos and stories are all effective ways of engaging fans and providing them a channel to get involved with your brand.

In June 2010, 457 marketers and managers were surveyed by the three companies and over 50 per cent were in the publishing, media, advertising and marketing industry. And, 72 per cent of U.S. companies said they had devised a social media strategy.

“Companies that have held back on adopting social media throughout their organizations would benefit from starting with a cohesive plan that involves all of the key groups within the organization,” says a study by Digital Brand Expressions, while those that have already adopted the social channel should get all departments and employees on board with a complete strategy.

Not only are more marketers realizing that a long-term strategy is important to social success, rather then the one-off experimental basis that many companies rely on, however this is also increasing their social media investment.

Seventy-five per cent of companies that are already using a social media strategy plan on growing their investment in the area within the next year. While the social media portion of the marketing budget has already grown from 3.5 per cent to 5.6 in the past six months, this is expected to grow to 9.9 per cent in the next 12 months.

This projection should put a smile on many solution partners faces, and should remind marketing professionals that when they step into the social media space there is more to be concerned with than simply the decision to incorporate the medium.

Participant can make use of the exceptional image quality and unrivalled flexibility of the Panasonic P2HD, AVCCAM or DVCPRO HD to take your talent and vision to the next level in three easy steps.

First, entrants must create a video that demonstrates the innovative way in which you are using your Panasonic professional camera or camcorder, explaining how your camera allows you to capture unique footage and improve the quality of your work.

Second, participants are required to upload their video of no more than five minutes to the contest. There, they will be asked to create an account and include a title and brief written explanation of how your camera allowed you to capture your subject best.

Contestants should also be sure to tell their friends and family about their entry as public voting will count toward determining who should be selected as a semi-finalist.

Third and lastly, after the deadline a panel of judges from Panasonic Pro Video personnel and industry video professionals will determine the top two videos in each of the contest categories, including; comedy, nature, documentary, news and drama.

October 19, 2010 will see the category winners videos posted online for the public to have the opportunity to chose the grand prize winner of the Shoot It Share It contest. The winner will be announced during the Createasphere Exposition in California and will receive an AG-HPX370 P2 HD camcorder package.