Customization is key. Take advantage of customizable social media sites for your business. Instead of blending into the crowd of average company profiles, try adding your logo, colors, and images that are in line with your brand standards. The more personalized you make your social media pages, the more effectively it presents your brand to the public.

Have you heard about Facebook Places? It is a location-based featured (similar to Foursquare) that allows you to check in at a place of business.  It will also allow your friends to check you in, showing where you are and where you’ve been.  Does this seem like something you do not want to share with others? To edit these settings, go into your Facebook account under “Privacy Settings” there you will be able to edit the settings based on your privacy lists. When you are checked in or a friend checks you into a “Place” an email will come to you, such as the one below.

Privacy can be one of the biggest fears for users of the internet.  Keeping yourself up to date and informed about privacy settings and policies can keep you safe online.

Do you consider the internet to be safe? Think about how you use it on a daily basis – and try not to base your judgment on what you’ve seen on the Dateline NBC show To Catch a Predator. Even though the show was meant to be a one-time special program it became a successful series due to the high ratings (and the ease of finding accused criminals), but that doesn’t mean that the internet has to be a scary thing. Social sites can be great tools for individuals and businesses, but how can you protect yourself? Here are five safety rules that can help you stay out of online trouble.

1. Nothing is 100% safe. That’s right, there’s no King of the Internet to enforce that great deal you found, guarantee a return, or to make sure your identity information will never be given away. Yes, companies have privacy policies and rules to follow, but not all of them follow through 100% of the time. Also, international commerce can be a tricky issue because of different laws and jurisdiction. Do everything you can to stay informed about those you’re doing business with online.

2. Watch out for fine print! Make sure you read the return policy. If you’re skeptical about buying something, know that the pictured item might not be exactly what you’re really getting. Take the time to read the details before you commit.

3. Don’t publish your year of birth. It is just one more valuable piece of personal information that can be used to steal your identity. The month and day is safer to disclose, but the year of your birth is best kept as a secret online.

4. In terms of what you blog about, “If you wouldn’t publish it on the front page of the New York Times, don’t publish it in a blog,” said Caroline Melberg, Marketing Maverick. This means that just because you think you have a local audience of readers that you trust, you’re still making that information available to anyone who wants to find it – yes, that means it’s available to EVERYONE.

5. Finally, don’t ever publicize times when you’re leaving for a vacation, when your house is empty, or when you’re going out alone – this is especially true for location-based services. You’re letting everyone know the most vulnerable times to be robbed, attacked or something worse.  Blog about your vacation or your night out after you come back.

While there will always be people out there that do not have your best interest at hand, these tips are just a few of many to help keep yourself and your company safe while using social media! Are there any precautions that you take or tips you use while on social media sites?

Nearly half of Facebook users are over age 35: A significant 48% of Facebook users are over age 35 (iStrategyLabs).  If you’re looking to connect with people over the age of 35 for business, Facebook is a great place to do so.

One of the discussions that Marketing Maverick Caroline Melberg of the Social Media Incubator™ has with clients on a regular basis is whether or not social media is just a fad or a trend that will fade away over time.  To answer this, we need to define what social media really is.

Social media includes sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – but it’s actually much bigger than any of those sites.  Social media refers the ability we all have to interact on the web, and it began with Web 2.0. The web most of us started using was Web 1.0; we could get information but we couldn’t interact much.  Web 1.5 gave us shopping and ecommerce, which was a major step. However, it still was probably not as big as Web 2.0, which gave us the ability to interact and connect.  So while any one of the individual social media sites may fade away over time, the concept of social media and the “connectedness” will not. It allows all of us to have the “community” aspect of social media and is more than just a trend – it’s a radical shift in the way relationships grow. It also has had a dramatic impact on business and will continue to do so in the future.

Yes, the way we use social media will continue to evolve. What’s the next major site?  We’ll just have to wait and see. As for the idea of social media as a community – it’s here to stay.

Are you considering ignoring a friend request on Facebook because you’re worried about your personal life and professional life overlapping? Stop worrying! Facebook allows you to create multiple “lists” that you can add specific friends to. You can give each list of friends access to certain pieces of your information and profile. For example, you might want add all of your colleagues from work to one list without access to your pictures while adding all of your close friends to a list that has access to all of your information. That way, you can keep both your friends and your privacy!

Pause for a moment and ask yourself, “Who could my man smell like?” Might sound ridiculous, but this question can lead you to a prime example of a campaign starting virally and becoming social; the current Old Spice video campaign. This series of videos feature former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa, known in these commercials as “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” Haven’t seen the video, watch it and other now!

A recent Ad Age article released the available results (so far) of this campaign and how it has not only raised the sales volume of Old Spice, but how it has gained success for other Proctor & Gamble brands as well.  The popularity of these videos skyrocketed in just a matter of days.

“As of July 18, Old Spice, with 94 million views, had become the No. 1 all-time most-viewed sponsored channel on YouTube”… “Old Spice had eight of the top 11 most-popular videos on YouTube on July 16. In the six days following the start of Mr. Mustafa’s personalized videos, he reached more than 100 million followers.”

-Ad Age, July 26, 2010

This campaign is clearly a success, but it might be surprising to know that these results don’t take into account the recent social push of videos with customized messages. That addition would blow up these statistics even more.

Caroline Melberg, Marketing Maverick of the Social Media Incubator, has a theory about these results. “While the viral video was great by starting as a TV commercial and as a video on YouTube with people sharing, the social phenomenon began once they tapped into social media with the customized messages and the engagement factor,” said Melberg. “Yes, Mustafa is an attractive man wearing few items of clothing – so he would most likely attract attention anyway – but the point is that the social engagement is what really catapulted the success of this campaign.”

How can you tap into this type of engagement with your potential customers?  Social media allows you to have one-on-one conversations with your audience, which means that the days of “set-it-and-forget-it” marketing are a thing of the past.  With social media, you can create relationships with many people, one at a time, and that’s incredibly powerful for building your brand and growing your business.

In regards to last week’s Part 1 of “Social Goes Mobile,” it’s evident that having an unlimited amount of news and information at your fingertips has dramatically changed both social behaviors and business practices.
But why should a business owner care? Caroline Melberg explains more of exactly what mobile social media offers.

“For a location-based business, these services allow you to offer specials and promotions targeted at your ideal clients  (see, Foursquare business).  When I log into Foursquare, I see specials that are offered at locations near me, giving your business added promotion.  When I check in at your place of business, I can leave tips for my friends. Now all of my friends see where I’m checking in and what my “tip” is about your business. In effect, I’m promoting your business – for free!” said Melberg.

Melberg sees this as a great tool for businesses. “As a business owner, you’ll have access to specific information about who is checking in at your business, what they like and don’t like, and other places they visit, which gives you the ability to tailor your marketing to your ideal audience in an unprecedented manner,” said Melberg.

Using social media as a business-marketing tool is one thing, but what else do individuals have to gain from supporting these businesses via mobile? Melberg explains, “When I use Foursquare, I can earn “badges” for checking-in and other activities.  If I check-in at the same place often enough, I can become the “mayor” of that location. Many businesses offer special discounts for the mayor of their business, and they promote these specials throughout all of their marketing.  This encourages my friends to try to “unseat” me as mayor – but to do that, they need to come visit your business.”

Just FYI, these services aren’t just for location-based businesses. The Wall Street Journal has created custom badges you can earn on Foursquare by checking-in to specific locations around New York.  Also, Twitter has recently launched location-based tweets, and rumors are plentiful that Facebook will launch it’s own version of a location-based service in conjunction with your personal profile on the Facebook site.

So what do you think about social going mobile? Do you use it just to help you make plans with friends? Or do you see it as a valuable business tool?

If you’re making plans for a night out, why not let the plans come to you? It’s becoming quite evident that mobile is the new social, and location-based services are the bridge business owners are crossing to get there.  Location-based services include sites like Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt.  As an article in Friday’s Star Tribune titled “Mobile is the Night” describes, visitors to local bars and restaurants use these types of services to “check in” when they arrive, letting their friends and followers know where they are.

You might find the idea of “checking-in” at a business or restaurant idiotic – laugh if you want, Foursquare is today where Facebook was just a couple short years ago.

Foursquare has become a leading social media site and has experienced impressive growth recently.  According to a TechCrunch article on July 7th:

• Foursquare will top 2 million users this week  (That’s up from just 1 million users last fall – they average

12,900 new users per DAY).

• Foursquare lists 5.6 million venues.
• Men outnumber women on Foursquare 2 to 1.

So what makes this social media explosion such a big deal? Caroline Melberg, Marketing Maverick of the Social Media Incubator, believes that these social sites will have a lasting effect. “This mobile-savvy generation in their early 20’s is just entering the workforce and will be driving adoption of these types of services, just like they’ve done with social media,” said Melberg.

According to Melberg, the explosion of smartphones, such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Droid, is creating both the desire and ability for people to access the web while mobile, and products like the Apple iPad are furthering that ability.  People search differently when mobile (vs. at a desktop PC) because they want instant answers – to know what’s going on around them right now or to find a location immediately. “With this demand for live information, having your business front and center when consumers are ready to buy is smart business,” said Melberg.

In the Star Tribune article, Marina Maric of ASI Communications commented on the fact that she uses social media as her party planner. ‘”I don’t have to go to 40 different places to find information,” Maric said. “It sort of comes to me. That’s why I love it.”’

That’s the reason people love these types of services – news and information that is relevant to them is delivered directly to them, meaning they don’t have to hunt for it.

Make sure to look for Part 2 of “Social Goes Mobile” later this week when we dig deeper into Foursquare to see more of what it offers for business owners.

Putting an ad on a billboard, on TV, or in print media can give your brand great exposure to a large market. But how much does that market actually trust your ad and its message? Yes, it matters how you’re getting your message across, but it also matters who is communicating to others about your brand – and what is being said.

According to a poll conducted last year by The Nielsen Company, consumers are more likely to trust consumer reviews that were posted online or opinions in a blog over traditional advertising ( i.e. TV, radio, billboard, and print ads). This means that even if you spend a large sum of money on a TV commercial to promote your company’s great customer service, the average consumer is more likely to trust a negative review online from an anonymous blogger than your pricey, creative commercial.

So what’s the solution? If you can’t beat it, join it – social media, that is. Nielsen reports that globally, time spent on social media sites has increased by 82% since last year. With this intense increase, it’s vital to make sure your company is taking advantage of all that social media has to offer.  By doing this, not only can you increase awareness of your brand, but you can also keep track of what others have to say about it. Look at it as another platform for you to get your desired message to an even larger audience.

Does it seem overwhelming? Or are you unsure of how to effectively break into the market? Thankfully, there are social media solutions to help you by creating a strategic plan that identifies the course of action, goals and outcomes for your company’s social media return on investment. But whether you try it on your own or need some advice, social media is a must!