If your business is having a hard time making Facebook marketing work, take heart. Many companies, even many of the big guys, abandon Facebook efforts after a few months. The truth is this: Memorable Facebook-for-business campaigns take a lot of effort, creativity and time. The daily Facebook game can feel overwhelming, especially when even your best efforts are failing to yield results. Yet before you dramatically delete your page and log off of Facebook for good, here are three Facebook marketing rules that could change the way you use the social network.

Share: We’ve all ended up with “those brands” in our newsfeeds. You know, the ones who just blast us with boring advertisements and never really post anything worthwhile? The antidote to that is to share. Sharing cool images, relevant videos, important company milestones, new product photos and the like is far more interesting than just beating your followers over the heads with branded messages. Share the kind of posts you yourself would want to read and chances are your followers will want to read them, too.

Engage: “Engagement” is one of those buzzwords in Facebook management and marketing that we hear all of the time. And there’s a reason. Brands that can really get their followers engaged on social media have truly succeeded. Facebook posts that demand a response (like trivia questions or polls) get users involved, but that’s just the beginning. To dip your toes in the Facebook engagement waters, start with pictures. Photos are a simple and dynamic way to keep your users engaged. In fact, cool and talked-about pictures are 10 times more likely to go viral for a brand on Facebook than posts without images.

Interact: With social media, brands of any size have been given the golden opportunity to really reach out and talk to customers, critics and followers. Use Facebook to get consumers’ thoughts, to address changes in your business, to alert followers of last-minute deals and specials and mainly to find out what’s on their minds. Don’t have Facebook be a one-sided conversation. Use it as a tool to really get inside your followers’ minds and find out what is important to them.

On today’s menu: a delicious Facebook meltdown, a sweet smash hit of online video creation and a delectable sampling of the best treats from the world of online marketing. So pull up a chair and enjoy a buffet we call Five Things You Might Have Missed!

1.) Kitchen & Facebook Nightmares: If you want crystal clear examples of how NOT to use Facebook marketing, how to get a reality television audience to turn against you and generally make the Internet explode, please direct your attention to Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, Arizona. To say the restaurant has experienced negative backlash after an epically horrific appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares would be the understatement of the decade. Things went from bad to worse when the owners freaked out on their Facebook page and started insulting, well, everybody. It’s a branding train-wreck that must be seen to be believed.

2.) No. 1 in Twitter Marketing: Meet TweetPee, a Twitter-based alert that lets parents know every time their bundle of joy needs their diaper changed. This is either the grossest use of branded Twitter campaigns we’ve ever seen or one of the most genius. Either way, it’s Twitter for business that folks are talking about around the globe.

3.) More Social Google Goodies: This week’s Google I/O Developers conference saw a bunch of new, big-time social media stuff from the world’s most visited site. Lucky for us, Taylor Hatmaker from ReadWriteWeb breaks down the ins and outs of these innovations and what marketers need to know in a new blog post.

4.) Slingshots Never Disappoint: We’re not sure what produce wrapped in socks hurled at a wall of champagne glasses has to do with anything, but we do know that as a viral commercial for Hanes, the idea is a hit — and one worth watching. A couple of times.

5.) Snap, Crackle, WTF: On second thought, you may actually want to miss the noisy adjustments in the online commercial for Ryan Lee Chiropractic Center in Los Angeles. After all, the exaggerated snapping and popping of human body parts are just a tad disturbing. But regardless of how this ad makes you feel, it’s memorable.

Facebook marketing has produced all kinds of valuable lessons from the unlikeliest of sources. Take Hollywood lunkhead and action star Vin Diesel, for example. Not only does a guy who gets paid millions to mumble keep getting hired, he also is quite the master when it comes to selling his brand on Facebook.

Just ask him.

“What Facebook didn’t realize is something very big was about to happen, and that was — for the first time in history, and it’s kind of a fluke they didn’t see this coming — when I jumped on that page in April 2009, I started talking to people. In the realest ways,” Diesel modestly reports in a new issue of Entertainment Weekly. “Imagine if you could’ve been a Facebook friend to Marlon Brando, or whoever your role models are. Imagine, if you were able to Facebook Elvis, and talk to him, and hear from him without the Hollywood of it all. That was the Fast & Furious experience.”

While Diesel’s oversimplification might make marketing snobs snicker, the dude has a point. Facebook is still the fastest and most direct social media network for brands, politicians and celebrities. Naturally, many would argue that most celebs and brands on Facebook are having someone else create their posts. But Diesel maintains that every post on his page was created by him alone.

“Facebook used to ask me to come up to their office to explain what the f**k I was doing, and why I had so many fans,” he says. “What was unique was: I never let anyone do a post, I never let anyone post for me in the last four years. My audience knows me so well on the page that if my producing partner’s in the room when I post, they’ll know somebody was around me. That’s kind of cool, that’s how sophisticated they are. Facebook really owes me billions of dollars. But whatever.”

But let’s hear what you think, kids. Have celebrities hurt or helped Facebook marketing? Do you take to heart what a personality or brand posts on Facebook, or is it all juts a bunch of PR hooey? And lastly, what stars do you follow on FB? Sound off below!

Which brand is headed back to the drawing board? And who’s turning to their fans for hot online video creation We’ve got the answers to these questions and so, so much more in today’s Five Things You Might Have Missed!

1.) Original Recipe: We’ll never know what the Colonel would think about KFC’s new boneless chicken… but thanks to a new video campaign, we’ll soon know how fans feel about it. #IAteTheBones is the chain’s new campaign which calls for fan-created videos that show reactions to the new boneless chicken. Video entries are posted on Facebook until June 8; weekly winners will be chosen to receive prizes like t-shirts and gift cards. Five grand prize winners will also be selected to receive $1,000 and a chance to be included in an online or social media advertisement within the next year, KFC says.

2.) Curves Ahead: If you missed the hubbub over H&M’s new swimsuit campaign, don’t worry. We’ve got a feeling we’ll be talking about this photo shoot featuring a normal-sized girl for quite some time. Size 12 model Jennie Runk became an accidental hero this week when her campaign for the global clothing brand was released, drawing applause and accolades from fashion industry and marketing insiders alike.

3.) The Facebook PR 411: Lisa Buyer at Search Engine Watch published a fascinating blog post this week entitled “22 Facebook PR Secrets Every Community Manager Should Know.” Must-read tips include why you should market on Saturdays, the benefits of a positive attitude and why less is more.

4.) Watch What Happens: Sci-fi films and tech gurus alike have long predicted a super smart watch that acts like a phone, computer and social network. But according to Read Write Web, the smartwatch revolution might not happen for a while. Still, with big brands like Apple, Microsoft and Google toying with the idea, the smartwatch might be the next tech branding story to keep our eyes on.

5.) Social Media Meh: Is social media marketing lost and no longer valuable? Are we wasting our time? What brands are doing it all wrong? Kipp Bodnar ponders these concerns in a fantastic article on social media marketing that you may have missed.

Feeling overwhelmed and out of the loop? Take a break and catch up with five fantastic stories from the worlds of online marketing and digital branding! Grab a coffee and enjoy our weekly list of five things you might have missed.

1.) Awareness, Orchestrated: In an effort to raise money, CRIS Against Cancer organized a classical music concert in Madrid. According to I Believe in Advertising, “The idea was that the orchestra played the 9th Symphony of Beethoven according to audience response. But, each bar of the score corresponded to a seat in the National Auditorium, therefore any un-sold tickets would mean an unplayed bar, and silence in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony score.” This incredible video shows what happened.

2.) Bestseller Blogs: If you are an indie author planning on using blog marketing to help sell your latest book, this article from Huffington Post is a must-read. In it, the Writer’s Relief staff outlines three essential blogging tips for any budding writer wanting to grab the attention of readers and publishers alike.

3.) Disappearing Ads: If, even as a marketer, the ads on Facebook Mobile drive you nuts, we have some good news. In a story you might have missed, Facebook mobile now lets users hide annoying and plentiful advertisements that pop up on our smartphones. The innovation comes right on the heels of an article from The Atlantic which griped about the irritating ads.

4.) Skinny Machine: “Never underestimate the power of style” is the moral of this little soda story. Diet Coke’s “Slender Vender” is one of those clever marketing ploys that plays perfectly with the brand’s image while producing a memorable visual. The thin, silver vending machine looks as cool and stylish as Diet Coke’s new bottles and cans. Plus, the song in the video is super catchy, too.

5.) A Mother’s Day Marketing Miracle: Finally, we think there’s no better illustration of how to use social media marketing to put your tiny, homespun business on the map than JumpSacBaby. This incredible article from Mashable is as inspiring as it is inspirational for anyone trying to use social media to grow their business and find ways to give your brand a social media makeover.

While we marketing types tinker away on our Facebook-for business-campaigns, the “numbers people” have discovered something sort of shocking about the world’s most used social network. According to a report in The Guardian, new users aren’t exactly flocking to Facebook anymore and growth has appeared to stall.

The Guardian explains the Facebook drop-off like this:

“In the last month, the world’s largest social network has lost 6m US visitors, a 4 percent fall, according to analysis firm SocialBakers. In the UK, 1.4m fewer users checked in last month, a fall of 4.5 percent. The declines are sustained. In the last six months, Facebook has lost nearly 9m monthly visitors in the US and 2m in the UK. Users are also switching off in Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Japan, where Facebook has some of its biggest followings. A spokeswoman for Facebook declined to comment.’The problem is that, in the US and UK, most people who want to sign up for Facebook have already done it,’ said new media specialist Ian Maude at Enders Analysis.”

In other parts of the world, however, Facebook is still growing and folks are still signing up. In Brazil, for example, Facebook sign ups grew by 6 percent last month. Yet without significant growth in more developed markets, Facebook will have hit a glass ceiling. Social media experts are wondering if an inevitable “MySpace effect” is coming next for Facebook.

Can another hipper, younger and more dynamic social network knock Facebook off its perch? Perhaps, but for small businesses and mega brands alike, Facebook marketing is still valuable and worth our time. Sure, it isn’t the end of the digital marketing rainbow some once thought it was, but Facebook is a great tool for informing folks about your business and for engaging your customers and following. No other social network gives you the ease and access to so many people worldwide to talk about your brand.

But that’s what we think. You tell us: Is Facebook marketing still relevant or on its way to becoming extinct? Sound off below!

Can blog writing lead to a book? Is crossdressing on Facebook a sign of good marketing? And which shoe brand made a major Boston blunder? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our weekly list of Five Things You Might Have Missed.

1.) Not Skirting the Issue: Want to draw attention to a hot button national issue and raise awareness? Use Facebook marketing and do it in a dress. Or at least that’s what seems to be working for men in the Kurdish community in Iran who are showing their support of women and gender equality. Photos of Iranian men in traditional women’s clothing started popping up online yesterday on Facebook. The page currently has 10,000 supporters and over 150 photos of guys in women’s clothing. Meanwhile the campaign has made international headlines.

2.) Meat the Burglars: Kent’s Meats and Groceries of Redding, Calif., solved two problems with a new online video. By using real-life footage of a recent the bungled burglary attempt by a portly dude in a bandana, the store turned a headline into a potentially viral video hit and put its brand name on the map. Plus, the stranger-than-fiction comedy features that awesome theme music from Benny Hill.

3.) From Nightmare to Dream Come True: If you’re still wondering about the power of brilliant blog creation, the story of Shane Burcaw should convince you to start blogging. Burcaw is a 20 year old with spinal muscular atrophy and he blogs about his daily life with humor and heart on his Tumblr “Laughing at My Nightmare.” Publishers took notice of the truthful and highly-followed blog and Burcaw just got signed to Roaring Book Press.

4.) Tougher Twitter: Worried about security breaches on Twitter like the disastrous one that happened to the Associated Press this week? So is Twitter. On Wednesday, the social media giant announced plans to make future attacks even more difficult. The company promises it has new ways, including a two-step verification process, to thwart Twitter hackers as outlined in this article from The Consumerist.

5.) Boston Boo Boo: We wrap up this week with an unfortunate t-shirt from Nike which read “Boston Massacre” and was splattered with fake blood. The shirt, which was made long before the tragic events at the Boston Marathon earlier this month, was meant to “reference the Bronx Bombers sweeping the rival Red Sox during a key regular season series in 1978 and in the 2006 MLB Playoffs. The phrase itself was borrowed from the notorious 1770 incident in which British solders opened fire on civilian protestors in Boston, killing five and wounding six,” according to AdAge. Nike quickly pulled the shirt and apologized profusely for the t-shirt.

If you don’t read our weekly list of five things you might have missed, you could potentially miss out on cool blogging commenting innovation, some shocking news that will affect mobile marketing and the incredible brand engagement happening in Peru. And you wouldn’t want to do that now, would ya?

1.) SMS, Meet the FCC: If you’ve been using SMS text messaging to market to your clients, things just got a little more complicated. According to ClickZ, an updated ruling by the FCC now dictates that marketers must get written consent before sending sales messages via SMS text. “The ruling classifies text messages with auto-dialed ‘telemarketing robocalls,’ and requires ‘prior express written consent’ from the recipient. This consent can take the form of an ‘email, website form, text message, telephone key press, or voice recording,’” Melinda Krueger of ClickZ writes. Translation: The days of branded text blasts without permission are officially over.

2.) Widespread Comments: This week introduced a super-cool way for blog commenters to also share their thoughts on Google+. Google+ users who comment on Blogger-based blogs will now be able to post these comments on Google+ which instantly spreads the conversation — and the blog — to a huge audience. This innovation is good news for both blog readers and blog marketers.

3.) Twitter Tracks: Speaking of new products from social media giants, Twitter rocked the Internet this week by releasing Twitter Music. Think more Pandora meets MySpace and less iTunes and you’ll get the idea of this new service. Twitter Music seems like a hit already with artists and labels, but it remains to be seen if music fans will respond.

4.) LinkedIn Love: Having a hard time marketing on LinkedIn? You’re not alone. Getting a brand to break through on the crowded, schmoozy site is no easy task, so this article by Mike Delgado of Social Media Examiner is an essential read for marketers looking for LinkedIn love.

5.) The Power of Smiles: Lastly, we wrap up our list with this awesome photo booth marketing idea from Coca-Cola. The world’s favorite soda got serious Peruvians to crack a smile in photo booths posted around the country with the “Happy ID Project.” Armed with smile-activated cameras, the booths popped out IDs that give lucky smilers free Coke stuff and rewards just for turning their frowns upside down.

Suffering from Twitter marketing ADD? Having a Facebook management meltdown? Is the once fun task of updating all of your corporate social media accounts more annoying than scrubbing a toilet? Sounds like it might be time to simplify your social media marketing practices. In the spirit of simplification, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite tools and tricks to make social media marketing easier.

Budget your time: Great social media campaigns start with great organization. In addition, a well-thought-out plan saves you time later on down the road. Set a time where you’ll handle your company’s social media (every morning, three times a week, etc.) and stick with it. Without the panic of trying to squeeze it into your schedule, you’ll be able to get creative and have more fun doing it.

Analyze and Reorganize: Analytics tools on Facebook and on dashboards like Hootsuite are incredibly helpful for brands trying to figure out which posts are working and which ones are duds. Use these tools regularly to get insight on your failures and successes and you’ll be able to better direct your future campaigns.

Google Alerts: These have been around for years, but if you’re not using Google alerts, you are missing out. Google Alerts notifies you by email every time your brand, topic or desired keyword shows up in Google searches and in the news. This super-easy tool helps you track your company’s SEO without spending hours manually sifting through pages of searches.

Social Oomph: Companies that are Twitter happy can really get a lot out of this service, which automates the entire tweet scheduling process, provides easy tracking of keywords and instantly purges your direct message inbox. Unlike other Twitter dashboards, this one also lets you save drafts, schedule social media distribution for blog posts and dozens of other nifty time-saving tricks for a few bucks a month. For serious tweeters, Social Oomph is a must.

We’re back once again with five stories from the world of online marketing that you won’t want to slip past you! From social media hokey pokey to big brand blunders, we’ve got you covered.

1.) Hiatus Dismissed: After a very public dumping, GM has returned to Facebook and is now advertising on the site once again after a 12-month absence. Ever the trend setter when it comes to digital media, does GM see potential in Facebook ads that the rest of us are missing? Or is the big car company just covering its bases? Either way, it’s an interesting move.

2.) Bluth or Dare: The return of Arrested Development on Netflix is about to reach a fever pitch (at least among the show’s devoted fans), and this new teaser ad campaign should push it right over the top. Featuring inside jokes from the cult series (like grape juice, denim jorts and a banana), the series of posters is bound to have fans drooling.

3.) Big Mac Addiction: McDonald’s found itself issuing an apology for an advertisement which critics say poked fun at mental illness. The posters featured the words “You are not alone” along with the image of a woman in pain hiding her face. Below the photo was more copy about getting help for Big Mac addiction accompanied by McDonald’s corporate number. Needless to say, riders of Boston Mass Tranist, where the ads were displayed, were not amused; the company since has kiboshed the entire campaign.

4.) InApp-ropriate: A censored comic book, millions of ticked off fans and the iTunes App Store are all at the center of an interesting branding controversy currently brewing. The hubbub involving a tiny image in the popular comic book Saga depicting gay sex could change what we market and develop for smartphone applications. For its part, Apple says it isn’t budging on the censorship. “We view apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app. It can get complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store.”

5.) Phone Home: And closing out this week’s list is Facebook Home. The definitely-not-a-smartphone but not really an app thing Facebook released this week caused some to scratch their heads, but there’s no denying the online video creation for the product is very cool. Now, if we could only figure out what the heck it is…