Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

Have you seen it? Do you have it yet? Isn’t it cool? The Twitterverse is ablaze this week with the arrival of the New Twitter. Many social media addicts the world over are diving into the new layout and finding all sorts of things to love, while others more resistant to change are reluctant to jump right in. Still others are reporting that the new features haven’t been rolled out to their accounts yet. What’s the deal with all these changes, anyway? And what do they really mean for those of us who use Twitter for marketing? Let’s take a look at the top 3 changes!

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

The social web is abuzz with the news of Google+ Pages finally being launched yesterday. After initially deleting personal profiles set up by brands, Google is finally allowing them to set up pages similar to those already available on Facebook. But are these pages really ready for primetime? What could they be doing better?

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

It’s finally here! After more than a year, Facebook’s iPad app is here! Sporting a sleek, simple look, the app finally offers iPad owners a chance to experience Facebook in a way that takes full advantage of the devices capabilities. Sure, Facebook.com works just fine on an iPad, but the app now makes use of the touchscreen and screen real estate in a way that the desktop website never could. What are the best features this long-awaited app has to offer? What does this app mean for your brand’s fan page? Let’s take a look together!

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

Hacks happen. They can happen to anyone or any brand, no matter how big or small. Most recently, the @NBCNews Twitter account was hacked just last Friday. The hackers tweeted false “Breaking News” reports of the World Trade Center memorial site having been attacked by hijacked planes, complete with flight numbers, an exact time, and the hashtag #groundzeroattacked. The situation was eventually corrected and NBC regained control of the account, but this does raise some extremely important concerns about security in social media. How can you be sure your brand won’t be the next @NBCNews? What steps should you take to prevent an incident like this?

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

It’s official! Our Commander-In-Chief has joined everyone’s favorite location-based network: Foursquare! The White House announced via its blog on Monday that “There are over 10 million people already ‘checking in’ around the world, and now you’ll be able to discover ‘tips’ from the White House featuring the places President Obama has visited, what he did there, plus historical information and more.” While the President is not the first public figure to be represented on the rapidly-growing social network, he is arguably the most respected and beloved to date. My colleague Cara recently gave us an outstanding general look at what Foursquare can mean for businesses, but what’s changed now that President Obama has checked into the location-based revolution? What does Obama on Foursquare mean for your brand?

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

Take a look at this picture. Does something look wrong to you? Look closer. Even closer. Do you see it? It’s those two little icons at the bottom. Those two little symbols represent a big misunderstanding of how best to promote social media offline. A recent conversation with my co-worker Brian got me thinking about the ways brands attempt to market their social presences in offline media. We agreed that far too often, brands think that they’ve covered their bases as long as their print and TV ads remind you to “Follow us on Twitter,” or “Find us on Facebook.” Simply reminding your audience that your Facebook Page exists isn’t enough to drive them there. “Find us on Facebook” isn’t a call to action, it’s a homework assignment!

Originally posted at the Likeable Media Blog.

So you’ve jumped head-first into Twitter? Good for you! I’m totally addicted to tweeting, so I completely understand. I can’t get enough of it. But once you become as serious about it as I am, you start to realize that simply sharing what you ate for lunch isn’t enough anymore (that pizza was awesome, by the way). After a certain point, you begin caring more and more about engaging with the community you’ve built up around yourself. It can be difficult to do that when your only followers are 20 of your real-life acquaintances who don’t have time to be active on Twitter, even if you do have lots in common. On the other hand, if you have 2,000 spam followers, you won’t be engaging much with them, either. How do you block out the noise, but still reach out and interact with a large audience?