Unfortunately, as BizCommunity pointed out, bad language can undermine your brand and decrease your credibility. And with more and more businesses using non-writers to handle their socialmedia, or utilizing mobile media, it’s pretty easy to overlook a few gaping mistakes here and there.
But your readers won’t. So if your Facebook page or Twitter feed or (God forbid) your website could bemarked up with a red pen, maybe it’s time to ask for some professional help.

That’s a big claim for a feature that wasn’t even available at the time. But so far Google+ brand pages seem pretty promising. Among their features, the pages offer better search opportunities. Of course, what do you expect from the social network powered by the world’s search engine king?

Not to mention that Google+ brand pages will be more adaptable to personalization. While Facebook fan pages offer a few photos and an ad or poll, Google+’s design leaves a good deal of real estate for brand customization.

And, along with Google comes superior analytic tools, including metrics like top content, referring sites, and time spent on each page. This will in turn help brands determine what content/features are most appealing to their audience.

Guess it’s time we Googled, huh?

With the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, we mark a whole new world – one where social media has come to play a huge role not only in social lives and business growth, but in providing a communal forum to laugh, cry, and even grieve together.

Now, when individuals recall the tragedies of 9/11, they can share their memories and stories instantly and virtually, and receive condolences, commiserations, and sympathies from friends, family and associates world-wide.

So, this September 11, as we honor the fallen and relive the events that have since shaped the nation and the world, we can also remember that, now more than ever, we are never alone.

Facebook’s suite of new features now allows you to custom-tailor your posts and pics to specific audiences, much like Google+’s structure of social circles. Wired.com gives a run-down of the newest features:

Photos you are tagged in won’t show up in your stream until you approve them, and you can reject any tags other people put on your photos. Conversely, you’ll also be able to tag a photo without having to be friends with that person. Largely the same as in Google+, though Google+ seems to default to allowing tags to be made public, subject to a user blocking them in the future. You’ll now easily be able to see how others view your profile. Just as you can in Google+. The settings for who can see every post is now visible on every post and image. (Like, um, in Google+) Over time this will include groups of people such as co-workers, Facebook groups or Friends lists. Exactly like you can do now with Circles in Google+. Posts visible to the internet are now called “Public” rather than “Everyone,” just like in Google+. You can now edit any post after the fact, something that’s annoyed users for years. This feature shipped with Google+. You can now ask someone to remove a photo of you or go nuclear and block a person who tagged you in a photo you didn’t like.

What do you think? Copycat or heavy-hitter? Either way, looks like Facebook is staying in the game.

In fact, in 2009, many hailed it the “No Fun League,” after their social media policy was made public (which included a bar on Facebook updates and Twitter feeds 90 minutes prior, during, and 90 minutes after a game).

Well, the No Fun League has reevaluated its priorities. In fact, the NFL recently signed an agreement with Buddy Media (a marketing firm, specifically to provide tools for making each of the 32 teams’ social media campaigns more successful.

Among some of the updates will be the fact that the majority of players will now have a Twitter account – and be encouraged to use it. In fact, some are saying that social media has taken the place of fan autographs. Those who used to pine for their idol’s signature now want a reply to their tweet.

Once again – it looks like a successful social media strategy is the real GOAL.

Last week, President Obama officially joined Foursquare, the popular location-based social networking site. The White House claims that their involvement with Foursquare is natural, with more than 10 million users already checking in around the world.

Obama’s Foursquare profile will keep fans (and foes) updated on his visits around the country, especially advantageous as he launches an economic bus tour around the United States, and no doubt useful for his upcoming 2012 election campaign.

So with the president on board, maybe it’s time you considered a check-in yourself. If you’ve got a company with events or location-based services, maybe it’s time you checked out (and checked in) to Foursquare.

In fact, nearly half of local car dealers have a presence on Facebook – and they’re using it to their advantage. John Pohlig, director of marketing for a Honda dealership in California, frequently engages customers (and potential customers) with trivia, polls, and contests.

In the current market, buyers of any commodities are more likely to do their research prior to shopping or buying – and that research is primarily an online activity. Implementing a social media campaign will give you the online presence you’d better have when your customers come looking. After all, you can’t afford to miss the boat—er—car, can you?

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