Leave nothing to chance is prudent advice. Social media opens exciting new doors for communication. Yet, as is always the case, people have found a way to exploit this new technology and wreak havoc in their wake.

Social media identity theft is a new and ever growing menace in our online society and having real life offline consequences.

Cybercriminals are tricking you into clicking links, divulging personal information they can use to hurt you, setting up fake accounts to spread malicious content about you, and more.

You shred important documents so personal information is not stolen from trash bins, but how can you protect yourself from social media infiltration?

Here are a few suggestions I’ve found online that are based on Robert Siciliano’s recommendations. Siciliano is CEO of IDtheftsecurity and a respected expert on the topic.

1. Use a policy. If your company uses social media, make sure you have a strong social media policy that you enforce and instruct employees on the proper way to use it.

2. Lengthen URLs. Never click on a shortened URL before pasting it into a lengthening service like TinyURL Decoder or Untiny. This takes a bit more time, but will help you avoid someone directing you to a harmful Web site.

3. Own your name. Claim your identity online. Grab your first and last name on every social media site you can find, not just the biggies. If you own your identity it is more difficult for someone else to claim it. If you run social media for your business, make sure you grab your company name, trademarked product names, president’s name, etc. There are hundreds of social media sites and this is a huge undertaking. A company called Knowem can help. According to Siciliano it costs about $65 and the company helps you register for up to 120 social media sites.

4. Security. Make sure you stay up to date on your Internet and hardware security by downloading security patches, using Web application software, firewall protection, and more. Plus, set your social media security preferences to protect against outsiders. And of course, watch what you post. Don’t tell the world your boss is driving to the local bank to make the nightly deposit or that your house is empty while you travel across Europe. Think before you post!

5. Report problems. If someone uses social media to hijack your identity, report it to the social media company immediately. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and all the others want to maintain their reputation and protect their companies from cybercriminals, but how can they when you neglect to report your problems?

6. Monitor your identity. The best way to keep on top of your identity is to watch it online. Google Alerts, StepRep, and Twitter Search are a few means to see who’s talking about you or your company.

There are always additional precautions you can take online. Please add your own and help us all learn to protect our social media identities. Good luck and be safe!

The social media sandbox might feel a tad intimidating at first – especially if you are not a 20-something, fresh out of college, tech-/Web 2.0-saavy go-getter. Before your eyes glaze over and that Twitter-twitch sets in, relax! You too can use social media to cross promote your content or event.

While this post will not provide a specific fill-in-the-blank formula for how to promote your event or product, I want you to expand your thoughts about targeted cross promotion.

Let’s take an example event and explore ways to promote it using social media: Your business is participating in a tradeshow to promote its latest product.

Ways to Use Web Sites for Publicity
First, use your own company Web site to highlight your participation in the tradeshow. You can do that in a number of ways…maybe you add a news release, make a calendar note on your home page, discuss it on your product review…you might want to add a downloadable .pdf file to your site that highlights the tradeshow…you certainly want to link to the tradeshow’s Web site and ask them to link back.

Blog to Spread the Word
If you blog, write a post or two about your upcoming participation. Consider adding a special offer to those who read your blog. This could be an incentive to attend the event and redeem the code for a discount or free gift. Establish Google and Twitter alerts to track conversations about the tradeshow and your product. If you see other people blogging about the event or your product, jump in and remind them of your participation and booth number. (You can set up alerts through Twitter when you type a word(s) into Search and then Save This Search, or use a separate program like TweetBeep.)

Are there appropriate industry blogs you can read and submit comments about the tradeshow and your participation? Remember that the idea is not to spam by simply adding your company link. Rather, you want to listen to relevant conversations and add valuable input whenever possible.

Video Makes it Visual
Video is another form of social media. Create a video that highlights your new product and invite customers to personally check it out at the tradeshow. Remember to distribute your video in places like YouTube and TubeMogul, as well as on your Web site.

Jump into Facebook and Twitter
Ask the tradeshow organizers whether they established a Facebook page and Twitter #hashtag for the event. If so, participate in those social media forums. You also want to create your own Tweets and Facebook status updates within your profile discussing your participation and product. Once again, these are both great places to make a special offer to create buzz. Tweet a discount code to be redeemed in person…or a special gift code available to Facebook fans. Remember, the value of cross promotion is to get your message out in as many targeted outlets as possible. In this case, you want to draw people to the tradeshow and to your booth where you can meet them face to face.

Delve even deeper into Facebook and Twitter by finding local businesses or people that are potential customers. What I mean is, maybe the tradeshow is in Chicago and your product is for restaurant kitchens. Search out Facebook fan pages for Chicago-based restaurants, the Chamber of Commerce, Chicago small businesses, etc. Become a fan of those pages and leave status updates about your participation in the upcoming tradeshow and how those fans can benefit from your product. Then, invite them to stop by your booth.

Likewise through Twitter’s advanced search…find appropriate Twitter profiles in Chicago and become a follower.

Participate in Forums
Search for appropriate forums and start commenting. Using the previous example, it might make sense to find forums that discuss Chicago restaurant reviews and join those discussions…even better, find a forum for restaurant owners!

I hope this discussion about using social media to cross promote sparked a few ideas and helps you find a way to integrate this neat medium into your publicity plan. Read the NetStrategies blog or watch Internet Marketing TV to learn more ways to improve your online presence and drive measurable results to your Web site.

1. Do interview your existing clients and see what blogs they read. Start reading and commenting in those blogs.
2. Do not write meaningless comments just to get your Web site link attached. Do lend your expertise.
3. Do start blogging with relevant content.
4. Do not be inconsistent once you start blogging. Keep it up!
5. Do find out whether your customers Facebook, Twitter, or use some other social media platform. Open accounts and participate.
6. Do not Tweet or Facebook off topic. Your potential customers do not care that you are off to bed. They do care if you are testing a new and improved solution to their problem.
7. Do submit your news releases to Digg, Delicious, and a newswire (paid or free).
8. Do add RSS feeds to the content on your Web site and blog.
9. Don’t ignore negative comments about your company or product in social media.
10. Do address negative comments and see whether you can help solve the problem.

11. Do cross market your organization using many different media formats. After you write your blog, turn it into a video, a Podcast, and a slideshow.
12. Do submit your blogs and video blogs to a variety of directories.
13. Do ask your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and business contacts to take a look and your blog and leave a comment or rating.
14. Don’t use someone else’s material and “forget” to give them credit. First, it’s stealing. Second, you miss the opportunity for a link! (FYI, this list is compiled from helpful blog posts and Tweets I’ve learned from over the months, plus some life lessons I’ve figured out on my own!)
15. Do Tweet the praises of others.
16. Do check your social media writing for typos and grammar before you post.
17. Do use your own voice in social media.
18. Don’t forget about search engine optimization in social media.
19. Do look for tools to help your social media efforts. Many are free.
20. Don’t use foul or raunchy language when socializing online. You never know whom you might offend.
21. Do remember social media postings are long-lasting and far-reaching.
22. Don’t diss a customer, business associate, co-worker, boss, or competitor in social media. It will come back to haunt you.
23. Do use social media to share your expertise with others.
24. Don’t use social media to overtly sell your product or service. Social media is social!

What do’s and don’ts do you follow? Add your own do’s and don’ts and together we can build the social media list of all lists!

Everything is measurable in Internet marketing. That’s the mantra my company NetStrategies stands by! Analytics is the tool by which we measure. In following the data, a smart content writer can determine what a target audience does and does not respond to. The data helps you understand who your visitors are, where they come from, and where they exit during the buy-in process.

A good content writer understands how analytics works even if they are not certified experts on the topic. I’ve studied the educational modules on Google Analytics’ Web site called Conversion University. I recommend anyone working with Web sites at least reads through the material to gain a baseline understanding of what data is available through analytics and how you can use that information. (Actually my boss “encouraged” me to enroll for that very reason, and I’m grateful I did!)

Google Analytics is one example of data tracking and measurement. If used and interpreted properly, it is a fantastic way to track your online progress and make changes based on real data.

Here are two other very simple ways to measure your social media efforts if they are included in your content delivery plan, Facebook Insights and YouTube Insight.

If video is part of your content plan, you can upload to YouTube as a free delivery method. It helps that YouTube is also a household name! Did you know you can access Insight through your account see the analytical data on how your video performs?

Insight, YouTube’s analytics and reporting product, allows you to view detailed statistics about the videos you upload to the site. It charts video views on an interactive time line and map, letting you drill down into different geographic regions and see the viewing activity in those regions over selected time periods. You can also compare the relative popularity of your videos in a given region to all other videos in that region.

To see Insights on your own videos, log on to YouTube and click on the “Insight” button under “Account” > “My Videos” > “Insight.”
YouTube plans to launch new features and additional analytics including viewer demographics, how viewers are engaging with videos (playback length, ratings, comments), and a breakdown of how viewers are discovering videos (e.g. search, email, embeds etc.).
Insight includes a report download section so you can easily share the numbers with your boss or your customer!

For more in depth reporting, Google Analytics integrates with YouTube brand channels, giving partners and advertisers more analytical data by fully enabling Google Analytics reporting. Brand channel owners can track metrics such as how long visitors stay, repeat visits, bounce rates, and page views per visitor.

If a Facebook Fan page or movement is a way you deliver content to your stake holders, use Facebook Insights to dive into the context of those interactions with analytics. Insights illustrates how users are interacting with your page, broken down by Wall posts, likes, and comments. Your Post Quality shows you how engaging your posts are to your fans, and your star rating compares your Post Quality to other pages of similar size. Your Fans Over Time graph allows you to track when users decide to unsubscribe from your posts in their News Feed. It also includes statistics on where your fan base is located and which languages they speak. To export your reports, click “Switch to the Old Insights” in the menu and follow the Export link. Facebook plans to add new metrics in the coming weeks and months.

Your stake holders determine the quality of your content when they engage and follow through. Follow the numbers to better tailor your content to what your stakeholders want.

My husband calls himself a Facebook widower. That’s because I spend on average 10-15 minutes an evening catching up with friends and updating my status. For me, Facebook is a wonderful way to stay in touch with old friends, many of whom I lost touch with over the years. I’ve reconnected with high school, college, and Army friends. Plus I’ve friended new people since moving to Northern Va.

I frequently receive invitations to “friend” people as business contacts. It is a question I initially struggled over since my postings are purely personal and have nothing to do with Internet marketing. Though I see the social networking value of Facebook for work, I don’t see how to mix the two under one profile.

If Facebook ever changes their Terms of Use, the solution for me would be the creation of a second Laurie Dunlop profile that sticks to business networking. That way I could build professional contacts and integrate content with my Twitter account which I use for business. Unfortunately, Facebook does not allow this.

Facebook’s site explains, “Maintaining multiple accounts, regardless of the purpose, is a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use. If you already have a personal account, then we cannot allow you to create business accounts for any reason. You can manage all the Pages and Social Ads that you create on your personal account.”

How do you use Facebook? Do you find yourself in a similar predicament? If so, what was your solution?

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It happens. You make a short-tempered comment with your outside voice, wishing at once you had kept that statement to yourself. Yes, perhaps the auto mechanic is an idiot, or the cable company customer service rep should solve your problem sooner. But I know your mother taught you long ago, as did mine, take the higher road and never lower yourself. You’re better than that, right?

Your Tweet IS your outside voice. In fact, it’s louder and never fades away with the breeze. The Internet’s ability to remember is eternal. Like those dead sea scrolls, people can dig up your Tweets and anything else you write online for posterity.

Tweet responsibly. The New York Times recently reported that author Roberta Silman, upset by a negitive Boston Globe book review, Tweeted her displeasure and even posted the reviewer’s phone number and email, asking fans to “Tell her what you think of snarky critics.” Silman later issued a statement through her publisher, explaining “… in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn’t. I’m sorry if I offened anyone.” She reportedly terminated her Twitter account.

CareerBuilder.com writer Rachel Zupek highlights a number of workplace firings that recently occurred as a direct result of Tweets and Facebook postings that the author forgot the reach of social media.

Remember to use your grown-up filter when you participate in the world of social media. Think of it as a face-to-face conversation with your most valued customer, future employer, and mom all wrapped up in one. Tweet with dignity and respect!

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If a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

If someone complains about or compliments your organization online, but you have no social media presence, is it like that tree?

Nope! The forest now listens and one falling tree can cause quite a stir.

I recently spoke with Alison Chander, marketing manager for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), about her association’s social media presence, especially on Facebook and Twitter.

AAAS launched its first page on Facebook in June 2007.

It uses a number of group or fan pages for different activities. Science Careers currently lists just shy of 5,000 members. This fan page complements one of AAAS’s Web sites, Science Careers.

Alison sees AAAS Facebook fan pages as an outreach effort to let people know about the association and what it does. She also likes that the fan page is open to anyone, so even non-members can learn about the advancement of science and segue into membership.

“We get different types of messages through Facebook than through the Web site,” said Alison. “The Facebook page is a wonderful opportunity for people to interact. It alleviates us having to come up with our own social networking system.”

For example, prior to a recent AAAS conference, one Facebook fan posted a question regarding affordable housing options. AAAS fans responded with suggestions. This interaction between association members was made possible by Facebook’s interactive social media platform.

Alison also sees the future potential of Facebook as a way to organize its members around a cause. “Though we have not tried this social strategy yet, we hope to!”

AAAS uses LinkedIn but has not seen much activity yet. “Our LinkedIn page is restricted to members, and LinkedIn has only just started to implement features that encourage people to participate in discussions,” Alison explains.

Twitter is another form of social media AAAS relies on. Alison recommends, “Even if you don’t tweet on a regular basis, set up a Twitter search. I occasionally find tweets I can reply to. In one instance, I direct messaged a potential unhappy customer who was very pleased I cared about what he had to say.”

An active presence in social media is a benefit to AAAS members. I applaud this association for meeting their members when and where they are online. What a great example of a successful social media strategy!

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