Our partner, Tech Cocktail, is in a race to sign up the most startups for the Startup America Partnership! The Startup America Partnership was launched by President Obama’s administration to support Obama’s call to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation.

A new initiative of the Startup America Partnership is the Master Challenge. The Master Challenge is putting influential tech leaders head to head in a friendly competition to sign up the best young startups for Startup America. This week, Tech Cocktail is looking to beat out Startup Weekend and become the next Startup Master.

By signing up, your startup gets access to valuable resources, top tier support in industries and recognition as an economy driver. Check out examples of what signing up for Startup America could get you in Tech Cocktail’s Master Challenge article.

Or, jump on this opportunity and sign up your startup now!

A recent article from Lauren Indvik of Mashable sites the network’s rapid growth. Pinterest’s traffic increased by more than 4X between September 2011 and December 2011, with 7.51 million unique visitors in December alone, according to Compete. The amount of traffic it has sent elsewhere has also risen. It is a top five referrer for several apparel retailers, according to Monetate, an independent provider of testing, targeting, and personalization services for websites (search engines are still #1).

Monetate developed this Infographic, which shows (amongst other interesting facts) that Pinterest now drives more traffic than Google+.

In case you are not yet hooked…Umika Pidaparthy, Special to CNN, describes it “Think of Pinterest as a way of cataloging your passions. Members have used the website to plan weddings and holidays. Others have pinned images of clothes, recipes, architecture, art, crafts, cars and even technology.”

Pinterest allows users to follow each others’ boards and “re-pin” another person’s images. With the ability to easily download the “pin it button” on your web browser, Pinterest offers an easy way to share images, products and ideas that inspire with others (just a click of the button, while selecting the image of your choice).

You can also add a “Pin It” button for people to post products they like from your own web site. And people can now add their pins to their FaceBook timeline.

While women may be the leading users of the site, it has gained a surging number of men.  And new sites have sprung up, including the network Gentlemint, deemed as a Pinterest for “manly things”.

I asked our own Social Media Goddess (not her “official” title), Courtney O’Rourke, for feedback and she had the following to share:

“Pinterest is the stuff that dreams are made of. It’s where I go to find inspiration for many facets of life: cooking, DIY, fashion, travel, or simply to escape for a ‘few’ minutes. It’s no surprise that brands are flocking to Pinterest in the hopes that their boards and pins will inspire users and hit that emotion that is weaved throughout the site. While there are some brands that are using Pinterest in a wonderfully artful way, the landscape is not as forgiving as other networks. Brands need to be more cautious and thoughtful on Pinterest, and most importantly do their research before they can expect to be pinned to anyone’s dreams.”

As Courtney alludes, the allure of Pinterest for marketers is great. CICILYK on Babble tends to agree, “With 3.2 million users, of course Pinterest has come to the attention of marketers. In fact, I’d say that of all the social networks I’ve seen develop over the last fourteen years, Pinterest is likely the MOST natural fit for marketers because it’s visually based and everyone on there is talking about their dream items, whether it’s kitchens or crafts or food. Those dream items all require things that need to be purchased in order to complete them. In other words: Pinterest lock, meet marketing key.”

Because of this CICILYK cautions marketers need to tread lightly.  As with any social network, brands need to be aware of being too overt when it comes to trying to sell their wares on Pinterest.  Being too “ in your face”, without also thinking about what is in it for followers, can be a turn off for many and only result in negative perceptions, and ultimately, “unfollows”.

Still, Pinterest done right holds a world of potential.  At Zenzi, our brains are already abuzz with applications for brands and their advocates (bloggers, consumers, celebrities, etc.) to generate “conversation” and subtly build recognition for their ideas and products. Think sharing pictures, images and products for: planning birthday parties, creating the best ever Valentine’s Day dinner, planning your next Disney vacation…to name just a few…and ensuring welcome collaboration with just the right balance.

The possibilities are virtually endless…

We’re three weeks into the new year and just about every social media, public relations and marketing blog has weighed in what they think are the “Top Social Media Blunders of 2011.” To a PR professional, these faux pas are the stuff of nightmares, so read at your own risk. We’ve rounded up our top list of lists, but we’ve also included a few social media blunders from consumer companies below. Hopefully, there are a few lessons we can all learn from these.

Top Lists for 2011 Social Media Blunders:

• Advertising Age’s “Marketing’s Biggest Social Media Blunders of 2011”
• Ragan.com’s “What the biggest social media blunders have taught us” 
• Vocus’ “Five Easy Resolutions for Avoiding Social Media Apocalypse in 2012” 
• Inc’s “Top 12 Social Media Blunders of 2011″

Zenzi’s Top Consumer Brand Social Media Blunders:

1. Kenneth Cole Spring Collection vs. Cairo Revolution

The revolution in Cairo had begun and only hours later Kenneth Cole tweeted, “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo – KC.” Not only were its Twitter followers stunned, but so was the mainstream media. As news programs covered the historic events in Cairo, they also interrupted coverage to mentioned Kenneth Cole’s poor marketing ploy. This decision was especially egregious considering people were fighting for civil liberties – some even dying along he way. Kenneth Cole later tweeted, “Re Egypt tweet: we weren’t intending to make light of a serious situation. We understand the sensitivity of this historic moment –KC.” For many, it was too little too late.

2. Entenmann & Casey Anthony

What do Entenmann and Casey Anthony have in common? Well, if you were on Twitter during Casey Anthony’s notorious trial, the trending hashtag #NotGuilty! Entenmann, the baked goods company, started incorporating trending hashtags in their tweets as a way to reach a larger audience, but in this case it went too far in many people’s mind.  Entenmann tweeted “Who’s #NotGuilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?” This tweet was either a result of ignorance or insensitivity, but regardless of the reasoning, the angry backlash was substantial.  Entenmann tried to apologize, but the damage was already done. Tech Crunch’s article “Entenmann’s Hashtag Surfing Fails Hard With #NotGuilty Tweet” noted “Entenmann’s has raised the bar for social media stupidity, taking the cup from previous #winner @KennethCole.”

3. Ragu ‘Disses’ Dads

Many companies have been chasing the ever-elusive goal of making their video go “viral.” Some companies’ videos have knocked it out of the park like Jennifer Aniston Goes Viral for SmartWater, but others have been met by crickets. Unfortunately, Ragu’s video “Dad Cooks Dinner: What is Dinnertime Like When Dad Cooks?” went viral for all the wrong reasons. The video featured a few moms discussing and poking fun at their husbands in the kitchen, but the video’s poor editing, unpolished nature and lack of comedic timing made it more offensive than funny. Several ‘daddy bloggers’ got a hold of the video and publicly criticized Ragu for this sexist view on family dynamics.

4. Chrysler Drops the F-Bomb

Chrysler had just launched the Imported from Detroit campaign at the last Super Bowl, when an employee at New Media Strategies used the F-bomb under Chrysler’s Twitter handle.  To make matters worse, he also was using it to describe Detroit drivers. The tweet said, “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to (insert expletive here) drive.” Needless to say the employee was fired and New Media Strategies lost the Chrysler Group account, but the damage was done. Apparently, the NMS employee thought they were logged onto their own personal account. Yikes! For more information, see this article from AdAge.com. 

5. NetFlix Forgets Twitter

Lastly, you’ve most likely heard about NetFlix making a separate company for its DVD-rental service called Qwikster. Immediately, customers began canceling their memberships altogether. Many took to Twitter to express their displeasure, but they were met by @Qwikster, a “foul-mouthed stoner” as Mashable described him. Netflix had failed to secure the @Qwikster Twitter handle before the launch. The Twitter account was filled with tweets about girls and smoking weed – not the image any company would want to be associated with, especially when announcing service changes that consumers are already unhappy with.

Ultimately, if there is anything to take away from these situations, it’s that you can’t be too careful. Whether you work for a PR agency or in-house, you are controlling the reputation and future of the companies you represent. One of the best ways to avoid these kinds of mistakes is to create editorial calendars, get tweets and Facebook posts approved ahead of time, schedule future posts and have separate Hootsuite or TweetDeck accounts for your clients and personal accounts. A little preparation and organization can go a long way!

Can you think of one I haven’t mentioned? Which do you think is the worst?

The fact of the matter is, the top browsers are all pretty damn good and choosing your web browser really depends on your browsing purpose. Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Rockmelt are all the fastest, sexiest and bestest. As for IE and Safari, well, I advise to use them for one activity only: downloading one of the browsers below.

Chrome.

Google Chrome is a must for web-aholics. Like all of Google’s other products and services, Chrome sticks to its open-source guns and is very simple yet highly customizable, not to mention, it’s disgustingly fast. Chrome and Firefox have many great features; I’ll highlight those unique to each in order to avoid redundancy. My favorite Chrome features include:

• Built in Sandboxing – Top-notch security that keeps any data to individual tabs including your Flash and PDF plug-in. This might be very technical, so if it doesn’t make sense to you, just know that it’s a very good thing for your computer’s security.
• Incognito Browsing – Your computer won’t log any history in this mode, great for when guest uses your computer and wants to log you out of all your auto-signed in accounts. Note: the websites you visit can still track cookies and all the other crumbs you leave.
• Google Integration – Data is fully synchronized with your Google Account.

Firefox.

Evenly matched with Chrome is Mozilla’s Firefox. It used to be that Internet Explorer was the backup browser when something on Firefox wouldn’t run. But now, Firefox is compatible with almost all websites – I even use it as a backup for pages Chrome can’t run. Favorite Firefox features:

• Do Not Track Mode – Complete privacy where your browser nor visited websites can track your data
• Extensive Add-ons – Customize Firefox to your browsing style.
• Widely Compatible – I have already mentioned this, but really it’s a big deal. Firefox does beat out Chrome in support with a number of websites.

Opera

Opera is THE choice for mobile browsing. iOS or Android, do yourself a favor and download Opera and forget about your stock browser. Opera Mini Browser is optimized for iOS while the full-blown Opera Browser is available to Androids with powerful hardware.  Both Opera and Opera Mini are extremely powerful, extremely well built out and will noticeably speed up your mobile browsing and efficiency.

Rockmelt.

Here’s a wildcard browser many of you might not even know about. Rockmelt is a browser for social media lovers. This browser fully integrates with your Facebook, including chat, posting, newsfeed etc. Additionally, you can add practically any social network as well as other website apps such as Tumblr, CNN, etc. for live news updates. Imagine Facebook and a browser like Chrome or Firefox getting together and having a baby – you’d get Rockmelt (see below).

Social Media Platforms

While traditional social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have held their own in PR and marketing, in 2012 we’re going to see a huge rise in Google+ usage and other social media platforms such as Pinterest. With the increasing popularity of these tools, companies can extend their reach and engage with their consumers more than ever before.

While Google+ was quickly adopted by techies, as Peter Pachal from Mashable states,

“Google+ has had favorable growth and many positive reviews, but it’s still relatively unknown among “real” people. And those that do know it have the distinct impression that it’s the social network for hard-core nerds. That’s something Google has to change if it wants people to use its service instead of competitors, and going mainstream has to be a primary goal in the New Year… and most of all it has to find its voice — its one-sentence description that doesn’t have the words “like Facebook” in it.”

So watch out in 2012 to see where the Google innovators take Google+, and how it’ll appeal to the masses, not just the “nerds.”

Pinterest on the other hand has proven to be a quick and easy way for companies to engage with their consumers, techies or not. Companies have become increasingly present on the Pinterest prowl and many have found that this platform is a quick and easy way to improve business. With Pinterest seeing a 4,000% increase in visits over a 6 month span, it’s no wonder why businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. Pinterest is an effortless way to collect your favorite images  (products, clothing, furniture, art, you name it, it’s on there!) and pin them onto inspiration boards. Just click your images, and you will be taken to the original site that pinned it and voilà, just like that a business can make a sale.

Reputation is Everything!

Maintaining a strong reputation online is going to be more important than ever this year.  With social media spreading like wildfire, it has never been easier for consumers to quickly voice their satisfactions or lack thereof. Instead of allowing negative feedback to impact your business, devote several hours a week to clear up any misunderstandings or complaints you may receive.  Keep those Facebook accounts clean by determining when and how you will deal with an issue. It’s the best policy to maintain responsibility and offer a resolution if one of your consumers is upset. Better yet, give that consumer a specific person and email to direct their concerns to. Not only will it help resolve their problem, but it also takes the conversation off social media. If you are proactively showing your followers that you are willing to fix the situation and doing it publicly, other followers will see that your company takes responsibility. Your responsiveness will NOT go unnoticed.

Specific Pitching

Let’s face it, people are not picking up their phones and they’re barely replying to email. So, as a PR professional, how are you going to stay ahead of the game when it comes to pitching?

A Few Rules of Thumb to Use in 2012

Take the time to build some meaningful relationships. Are you pitching mom bloggers or tech ninjas? Then you need to start following their blog, Twitter and Facebook and comment on their work! As we learned from BlogWorld 2011, bloggers respect and notice when you write meaningful comments and in turn will be more likely to recognize your name when you officially pitch them. Pitching editors and journalists? A little background research can go a long way. If you are writing a customized pitch, do your homework! Always mention a previous article in your pitch, it shows you took the time to read their work and therefore gives you more credibility.

With more and more agencies moving towards “niches,” it’s important that your media lists are continuously evolving and being updated. Starting from scratch with those bad boys? Start with the basics and go through all your media lists. Are they out of date? Are they relevant to what you’re pitching? If your company has moved away from representing clients from all walks of life, to specifically just food and beverage, then maybe it’s time to re-think having all those “other” lists.  If you don’t need them, throw them away.

Next, start building from the ground up. Even though it’s tedious to pull new media lists, you won’t be sorry if you take the time to do it right. You would be amazed at how far a few good media lists can take you. Lastly, once you’re ready to pitch those amazing bloggers, journalists and editors that you have cultivated relationships with, make sure you are using an attention-grabbing, quick and to the point, informative subject line (did you get all that?)

Follow Up? Yes Please.

Like we said, a phone call won’t cut it, so instead of wasting precious time. Get online! Using social media is a great way to connect with the people you’ve pitched. Second, don’t be afraid to send multiple emails. Oftentimes, journalists and editors are inundated with emails from people just like YOU (yeah, you). If you have done your research and you know your story is exactly what that writer covers, keep emailing them because they might’ve erased your original message. Don’t forget, nothing beats face-to-face interaction. Go beyond normal office hours (who are we kidding, we’re in PR) and take the time out of your schedule to attend events and meet the people you are pitching, this will make future pitching that much easier and fun!

Zenzi’s New Year’s Resolutions 2012

Arianne Schumacher

Professional: To build quality media and professional relationships that will help further my clients’ goals, message and mission.

Personal: Breathe. Laugh. Love. Dream. Achieve. And drink more water… just because it’s good for you! …and maybe go to the gym..
Courtney O’Rourke

Professional: Turn my online relationships into IRL relationships. I’m even *considering* not following someone on Twitter until I meet them in person first. Radical, right?

Personal: I WILL learn to speak French in 2012!

Hilary McCarthy

Professional: To work with my teams to stalk (ahem…), be even more targeted and proactive to the top 3-5 reporters identified with my clients. To think outside of the box on how we can offer something special just for them, in so doing, make their lives easier. And, of course, to always think about the big picture for clients and their audiences (always look at it from the perspective “what’s in it for me?”).

Personal: To have greater balance; turn off the “thinking me” every now and then and just be present in the moment.

Jenn Tsang

Professional: Remember that whenever I get stuck or it feels like I’ve hit a wall that there IS a resource to help me out.

Personal: Bump my parents to the top of my most called list.

Julie Lyons

Professional: Become an expert in new media measurement, providing our clients an accessible, accurate way to measure social engagement, online conversations and more.

Personal: Take a photography class and pull my food blog out of hiatus.

Lanette Jorgensen

Professional: To build my professional network with media, clients and other PR professionals!

Personal: To find a true balance in hopes to make more time for me!

Lauren de la Parra

Professional: Continue to learn and absorb as much as I can about PR and to work on my public speaking for CTR next year.

Personal: To try and find one thing everyday to be thankful for and to continue giving back to others.

Sarah Hardwick

Professional: Grow my influencer network by 150% and learn one new tech tip, trend, or tool each day.

Personal: Breathe, hydrate, meditate!

Tenaya Wickstrand

Professional: To increase my efficiency by 20% for day to day tasks.

Personal: To get involved in theater/a band/ you name it… just something musical!

It can happen to any company, you get into a situation over your head and need to react fast to fix a problem. Most of the time, we can detect potential issues and work to nip them in the bud before they explode, but what about the issues that we can’t plan for? A crisis communication plan is an important PR strategy to diffuse negative situations by showing a proactive attempt to alleviate a problem.

Why is it Important to React Quickly and Launch Your Crisis Communication Plan?

As crisis communication expert Gerald Baron says, “If you’re not quick, you’re not relevant” and he couldn’t be more right. Time is of essence when dealing with company crisis. For example, Sea World managed to promptly address the tragic incident where one of the park’s 12,000 lb. killer whales drowned a seasoned trainer.

What Worked?

Sea World did an excellent job of implementing a quick and effective crisis communication plan by releasing a company statement of what happened (although they changed the trainer’s cause of death later). In addition to the all-important statement, Sea World hit the social media platform running and addressed the situation on their blog and via Twitter. Sea World even suspended the @Shamu Twitter handle because of its controversial voice.

You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide!

Sea World did a great job of utilizing their President, Jim Atchison to address and ensure viewers and media that Sea World would not take the situation lightly, and would be conducting further investigation into the incident.

We’ve all seen it happen, (ahem… Tiger Woods). People and companies make poor PR moves to avoid a negative situation all together. Instead of taking responsibility, they hide to avoid public scrutiny, hoping the action will eventually be forgotten. Conversely, Sea World addressed the killer whale incident head on. In the grand scheme of things, Sea World’s responsive, hands-on approach saved their brand from a lifetime of negative publicity.

5 Steps to Crisis Communication

1. Create a crisis team:  It is critical that this team consists of the most senior-level executives, public relations professionals, corporate communication and marketing departments, etc. Furthermore, a crisis is NOT the time, I repeat NOT the time to receive media training. Anyone on this team must be previously trained in dealing with the media and ready to address the hardest-hitting questions publicly.
2. Monitor potential risks: CEO’s and top executives usually have a good idea of what kinds of risks their company might encounter, whether this stems from the state of the economy, to potential government regulation or even potential threats from competitors. Although these are mostly foreseen issues, there is always the chance that lower-level employees can encounter unique problems that your crisis communication teams needs to be aware of. Keep communication channels wide open, every employee offers valuable input. Think of potential risks as an ongoing project, if you continually monitor your risks, then you will always be in a good position to handle a problem if it arises.
3. Pre-planned processes and protocol: If a crisis occurs, it’s imperative to have processes and protocol in place for quick reference. Who is your chain of command? Do you have pre-approved information and protocol set up to address the media? Crisis can happen at any time, will you be ready to address issues and answer questions on behalf of your company?
4. Keep a close eye on social media: More than ever before, social media can be a blessing and a curse. In a time of crisis, companies need to consider the fact that traditional means of communication such as a press conference is not necessarily the most effective way to extend your message. Instead of sticking to traditional mediums, companies should think outside the box and remember that people get their information from a variety of sources these days such as, blogs, discussion forums, Facebook and Twitter to name a few….plan accordingly. Careful monitoring of company Facebook and Twitter accounts is key. Social media can be your quickest medium to media and consumers to address difficult questions, correct false assumptions and in general, be a voice of reason – since you know your company best.
5. Q&A, role-play:  Companies can easily identify potential risks and monitor them, but there’s more to that. Role-playing can offer tremendous insight into how to deal with a company crisis. After identifying potential risks (see question 2), come up with dialogue to address each of those problems. If you have a good idea of what could happen, then you should be able to establish some dialogue on that issue. Think of questions the media might ask and come up with answers…you won’t be sorry you did this!

Blogs, in particular, are growing in popularity, and can be a great resource—whether, as a parent you are looking for insightful behavioral wisdom, observations on the joys of raising kids or helping your family to eat better—if not a great escape to hear from other moms and dads facing similar challenges.

But just as your needs for information vary, so too do blogs, in the ways that they provide it. The following are just a few examples of the types of blogs out there:

• Writers from major newspapers or parenting pubs that have a blog. Increasingly publications are moving a portion, if not all of their content online, as well as making online-exclusive content available.  Take the Wall Street Journal’s “The Juggle” and The New York Times’ “The Motherlode”  from KJ Dell’Antonia’s, for instance.  More and more, reporters and writers are being asked by editors to generate blogs and other fresh content on the web.
• Moms who blog for the fun of it, or to make money, and have their own sites.  These blogs are also spouting up, but don’t underestimate them, because they don’t belong to huge publishing companies. Sites like DomesticBuzz, and MommaSaid for instance, can draw thousands of loyal visitors per month.
• Bloggers for major web sites—like Babycenter’s Momformation Blog, BlogHer, or others—that have a parenting or mommy channel.  Major women’s and men’s sites like these are packed with great info that address all of the facets of being a women or man (style, beauty, dating, careers, etc., in addition to parenting)

Why is important to know the nature and type of blog that you are contacting?

Blogs are personal.  In many cases, they are the writer’s “baby” so to speak. So blanket pitching and blasting out information—if ever appropriate, which it is not—will not be appreciated in most cases.

Bloggers at BlogWorld in LA this past November said repeatedly, that they prefer a softer, get-to-know-you first, dialogue with companies and PR professionals.

As with any communications with the media, understanding the contact’s needs should come first.  And, as with any reporter, it all comes down to how they can also benefit.  What can you or your organization offer the blogger?  Some, but not all bloggers, will appreciate:

• Free content that they can use to make their jobs easier – this can simultaneously offer a great opportunity to expand your company’s reach. In some cases you may even be able to syndicate your content to bloggers or other web sites to increase exposure. In general, content pitched to bloggers should not be promotional in nature.
• Partnerships—many, though not all, bloggers are looking for advertising or sponsorship partnerships to help them to keep their sites going. Some include information about advertising and sponsorships on their web sites. For many consumer companies, advertising or sponsoring key blogs can be a great way to grow your brand.
• Getting and trying your products – Product endorsement can be a great win for brands.  Knowing how to approach bloggers to stand out, from the hundreds of products a month some receive, however, can be key in landing them.  And we can never overemphasize the importance of knowing the blogger’s coverage area to prevent sending inappropriate or unwanted samples–frozen meat lovers pizzas sent to a vegetarian parenting blog, etc.  Some bloggers may have a policy to not endorse products, period.
• Access to experts – Companies can also frequently benefit from opportunities to serve as an expert resource for the blogger, on a topic on which executives are knowledgeable.  This can be a great way to position your company as an authority and possibly also get a link or two to your site or products.

In working with bloggers, it is important to first ask, what are my goals in working with them?  And how can I also best help them to make it an appealing partnership?

You can then hone in on the potential needs and goals of a select few, targeted bloggers that might be a good fit.

For more on interacting with mommy bloggers, please email us at info@zenzi.com

If you haven’t created your G+ brand page yet, go to your personal Google+ page and on the bottom right side bar, select “Create a Google+ page.” Google will then walk you through creating your page.  Whether you’ve created your brand page already or not, make sure you take note of these features – highlighted in this image.

1. Have a Punchy Tagline. Right under the name of your page, you get 10 words to describe your page. Make sure these 10 words (or less) alone gets your message across.
2. Posting. Like your personal G+ page, posting to your brand page works the same. It is set to default share with the public, so make sure everything you’re posting is relevant and what you want the world to associate with your brand. For more info on posting to certain circles versus public, see our Google+ Walkthrough.
3. Circles. One of the major differences with G+ Pages versus your personal G+ is that pages cannot add individuals to its circles without the individual first adding the page to one of their circles. However, pages can add each other freely.
4. Photos. If you’re building a brand page on G+, you probably already have a Facebook brand page. To easily repopulate all your photos from your Facebook page to your G+ brand page, check out Pick&Zip. It will let you select anything from your pages’ albums to your own albums to your tagged photos. Then you can easily go into your G+ brand page and re-upload your albums or use Picasa Desktop (free) which can sync directly with your G+ account. Unfortunately, you will have to redo all your captions and tags. Sorry ‘bout it. For more on Google+ photos, check out Charlie Sorrel’s article in Wired.
5. Videos. G+ pages has a tab to easily upload and share videos. It also gives a nifty option to disable the video link if you have no videos to share to keep your page clear of clutter.
6. Scrapbook Photos. The 5 photo spread across the top of your Google+ Page is your “scrapbook photos.” These are photos you define and will not change without your instruction, unlike Facebook where the top photos on your page are defined by the most recently added photos. This gives you a chance for some very creative branding such as these Google+ Pages.

Aside from the design and content on your page, make sure to add your official G+ badge to your website! They provide the code snippet and by adding it to your website, you easily “verify” this is your brand’s official page and drive traffic to your new G+ brand page. To find your G+ brand badge, in the left hand column click “Get started.”

Then follow to “Get the Badge>>.” Also on that page is your direct link to your brand’s Google+ page.

Another important note is that Google+ Pages currently only allows one admin. Mashable has reported that Google+ will enable multiple admins for brand pages before 2012. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

If you have any further questions, I’d love to help answer them! Leave a comment and we’ll get back to you. Add us to your circles for more more trends and insights!

It’s official, the 2011 holiday season has arrived in all its glory! While I truly love the holidays and savor every moment with family and friends,  for me and many others the holidays are always paired with a variety of new but familiar angst all centered around one thing:  FOOD.

Where will we be dining this year? Will we be hosting? Do we really want to do a turkey? How can we possibly fit 20 people in our tiny apartment? Should we brave the turkey fryer this year? What is Tofurky, and is it really shaped like a turkey? What day am I going to brave the lines at the market? How about a standing rib roast instead? What is a standing rib roast, exactly? Can’t we just get Chinese take-out and call it a day? What time should we make the reservations for? Are there any restaurants in our neighborhood that are even open on Thanksgiving?

Sound familiar?

Whichever path you choose this season- be it the path to culinary nirvana or your favorite restaurant down the street, here are some of my favorite iPhone and iPad apps designed to help pave the way.

Forkly: Move over Foodspotting, there’s a new, cooler app in town. Forkly made its big debut this summer, and with recent awards from the Denver Web Awards and big props from Mashable, it’s quickly risen to the top of the most tasty food apps list. Forkly allows you to share your foodie adventures by tasting and rating your meals and drinks. It is designed to match your tastes against those of fellow forkers to provide you with the smartest recommendations. My favorite part of Forkly is the ease of use. Never before has it been easier to share your tastes, complete with photos. From a restaurant, your fridge, a food truck- wherever you and your iPhone end up dining, there’s the opportunity to “Fork It” with your friends. Sync up with your Facebook and Twitter forkin friends, and before you know it you will have an arsenal of new “Wants” to try from across the globe. I have gotten into the routine now of looking up tastes, or “Discover” from a restaurant even before I see the menu. I call it planning ahead. If you haven’t already, you can download Forkly for your iPhone from iTunes. Happy Forkin!

Epicurious: From the folks at Epicurious.com, this app is my go to app for recipes, shopping lists and inspiration. Epicurious has been by my side long before iOS existed. I have had many successes, and only a few failures that I can recall over the years. Although I am passionate about cooking and culinary exploration, I loathe the shopping part of the process. Reason #1 why I love Epicurious- the shopping list feature. It automatically populates a shopping list that can be emailed to you or whoever you have deemed your personal shopper to make the shopping experience a breeze. I find the interface to be very user friendly, including the search feature, which makes for easy discovery of new recipes from all types of cuisines. User reviews always come in handy and offer up interesting variations and alterations to each recipe. When it comes to seasonal recipes, they provide an excellent array of menu options from easy to difficult. I have both the iPhone and iPad app, with the iPad always being the preferred device in the kitchen. It makes a perfect electronic cookbook. Epicurious is available in iTunes, for a wide selection of devices, iPhone, iPad, Android, B&N Nook, and Windows Phones.

The Complete Cheese Directory: A newer addition to my iOS foodie toolkit, the Complete Cheese Directory is simply easy to use, and informative. I absolutely love cheese, but consider myself to be a novice when it comes to building the ultimate cheese platter. I’m always challenged by putting together that perfect selection that is both complementary and delicious. My favorite feature of this app are the photos that accompany each cheese, along with a suggested wine pairing. It boasts one of the largest selections of cheeses, and continues to be an extremely valuable companion for any visit to the cheese counter. The Complete Cheese Directory is available for the iPhone, and can be downloaded on iTunes.

Urbanspoon: You gotta love Urbanspoon! This was the very first iPhone app I remember downloading, and it’s never let me down. With an enormous network that’s forever expanding, Urbanspoon has really pioneered the foodie restaurant finder app world. The ease of use,  giant network providing a plethora of reliable reviews, and the slick yet simple design are reasons enough to love it. The slot machine style shake search feature is still one of my all-time favorite search tools out there. It allows you to search for restaurants by location, cuisine type and price range. Thanks Urbanspoon, it’s been great having you around. Download Urbanspoon on iTunes, available for the iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry.

From our table to yours (be it your coffee table, your favorite restaurant table, or your fancy, glorious dining room table) We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season! Bon Appetit!