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.

“Relationships matter.” Not only is this a motto social media experts tend to live by, but it’s also the original tagline for LinkedIn. Launched a decade ago this week, LinkedIn had 4,500 members at the end of its first month. According to co-founder Reid Hoffman, “Today, hundreds of millions of professionals around the world are turning to LinkedIn to connect with each other, manage their identities, get insights they need to be great at what they do, and find their dream jobs.” LinkedIn is the original professional social network, and at ten years old, it continues to be a terrific place to market our small businesses, brands and ideas. Here’s just a few reasons why LinkedIn is a social media marketing must.

It’s a great place for blogs and articles: Worried your company blog is too heady, too technical or just too business-like to find an audience among regular blog readers? Post that sucker on LinkedIn and watch the schmoozy professional set gobble up your content. LinkedIn’s audience reads and responds to more serious and specific blogs and articles than, say, the kids over on Facebook.

It’s like giving your business card to millions of people: LinkedIn boasts more than 200 million active users from millions of companies and organizations in every possible field imaginable. Having your company active on the site, therefore, introduces you to millions you might not otherwise have met.

It’s a great place to see what your competitors are up to: From the ice cream place in the mall to the Fortune 500 investment firm, they’re all here on LinkedIn — and for users, this is great news. Not only do job searchers get a more creative way to widen their nets, but companies using the site for marketing get a front row seat to see how their contemporaries and competitors are using the site, too.

It’s drama-free: Tired of the blubbering and griping on Facebook? Over Twitter meltdowns? LinkedIn is the place for you and your company. For a social network, the site is delightfully free of most of the personal BS found on other platforms. It’s a mature exchange of information, for the most part, and is largely free of baby mama drama, cat videos and unsolicited political opinions. And for that we’re extremely grateful.

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.

We’ll admit that when Google released its social media platform, Google+, awhile back, we weren’t thrilled. I mean, another social network to market on — and an untested one at that? The whole prospect seemed exhausting… especially considering that Google had tried and failed before at the social game. Besides, how many more networks do we need? Even the most nimble marketers have reached their limit. Yet something strange has happened since Google+ was released in 2011: Google+ has become really cool, relevant and super simple to use.

In terms of registering and getting started on a social network, no platform is easier than Google+. If you have a Gmail account, this process takes about two minutes; if not, it’s still easier than getting started on Facebook (and a lot more fun). Google+ wisely wants its users to get in the action right away, so “start screens” take new members through the best of the sites features and how to use them. Setting up a branded page is just as easy and can be done in a matter of moments. Once a company is ready to go and get schmoozing, a great place to start is the Communities section. Every possible interest and topic is covered in these groups and they are a great place to meet followers, promote your brand and explore how Google+ really works. Like any new social media account, it takes some time to find people and make connections, but Google+ is truly unique and well worth the little investment it takes.

Social media marketing on Google+ means your brand gets all the benefits of Google, including the search engine, YouTube, Calendar, Chrome, Wallet, Maps and Hangouts — to name just a few. Yes, by marketing on Google+, your posts stretch to all of Google products. Powered by the most-visited site on the planet gives every social move you make longer-lasting power than it would have anywhere else.

Writer for Copyblogger Demian Farnworth says there’s another powerful reason to consider Google+.

“Where a tweet or a Facebook post has a shelf life of 30 minutes at the most, a Google+ post can be found during a search by someone in your network … no matter how old it is,” he writes.

But these are not the only reason to consider Google+. It also has dozens of unique features and is incredibly image and video friendly. And all you need to get started is to visit Google. Does it get any easier?

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.

Does the whole Twitter-for-business thing scare you? Could your current Twitter marketing plan use a little extra oomph? We can help! In the hopes of inspiring you to tweet like a rock star, we’ve rounded up ten of our favorite brands, in no particular order, currently killing it on Twitter. Watch and learn, young grasshopper.

Skittles: ”Tast(ing) the Rainbow” in 140 characters or less might be a tall order for another candy company, but Skittles is certainly up to the task. The brand’s Twitter marketing is as random, hilarious and good-natured as the rest of its digital marketing, making Skittles an excellent example of consistency.

Netflix: Having recently moved into marketing original programming, Netflix wisely uses Twitter to promote its new shows while keeping in touch with its customers, who often use Twitter to ask the brand questions, file complaints or  to talk back to the company.

Starbucks: A longtime Twitter marketing leader, Starbucks shows us how special offers and follower engagement is done by providing branded tweets that are also a pleasure to read.

Google: The world’s most visited site turns its Twitterfeed into a newsfeed with the latest headlines and updates on all things Google.

Adidas: Think Twitter marketing can’t be cool? One gander at the Adidas Twitter page will have you thinking again. Fashionable, hip and informative, Adidas elevates the platform into something stylish.

The Home Depot: Twitter is great for conversations about your brand and products. Home Depot does this with ease, asking the kinds of questions that get do-it-yourselfers talking back.

Subway: Great brands on Twitter know to vary the discussion, so they post lots of dynamic content like photos and videos. Sandwich king Subway fills its Twitterfeed with everything from nutritional information to Subway celebrity sightings.

Bissell:  Even those of us who dread vacuuming can respect the friendly and diligent customer service displayed on Bissell’s Twitter page. No question goes unanswered, no follower gets ignored — and we’re happy to report that doesn’t suck.

Amazon: Still haven’t mastered how to be chatty on Twitter? Amazon has, and a gander at its Twitterfeed is like a master class in Twitter marketing.

Kia: Kia, like many car companies, proactively uses its Twitter account for PR purposes, launching new campaigns and linking to videos of its latest commercials.

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…

Face it: We’ve all followed that brand before. You know, the one that posts disjointed, irrelevant posts on Facebook. That company that only blogs sporadically and when it does, the posts make little or no sense. It’s the same business who opened a Twitter account, made a bunch of blasting noise for a short period of time and then vanished. These brands seem to embody the word “random” — and not in a fun way (like a random disco dance number that happens out of nowhere at a party). We talking random, lazy and nonsensical content that just pops up whenever company officials get around to posting. But in addition to being annoying, random content marketing doesn’t work.

There are two ways being random with digital marketing fails. The first has to do with intention. Facebook page updates that don’t have anything to do with your brand, awkward and overly emotional tweets and blogs with videos that don’t really speak to your customers aren’t the best way to get your message across. Yes, anybody can put whatever they want online, but when it comes to your brand, some thought and planning should apply. Not every online message our brands send out will go viral, but they can at least make sense and share a piece of the bigger story of our brand. Most importantly, marketing randomly can negate other aspects of branding work a company does.

The second way this idea of “random” stinks as a marketing mantra is when we’re talking about marketing with regularity. Brands with no schedule, no plan or no routine when it comes to updating their blogs, websites or social media accounts are doing themselves a huge disservice. One tweet once a week won’t get you noticed. A blog post every blue moon won’t help your SEO. Online marketing takes creativity and regularity. Time and time again, the brands that succeed with content marketing are the ones that keep with it and post regularly.

Good news, Twitter marketing virgins! Now is the perfect time to get started using the social media platform to reach even more consumers, followers and contemporaries. Twitter recently relaunched its Twitter for Business program to help educate marketers and advertisers on all things Twitter.

Twitter for Business has made it incredibly easy for newbies to the site to get started with its three resource guides: Twitter 101, Marketing with Twitter and AdTools. Twitter 101 is exactly what it sounds like. This guide gives blue bird newbies the basics on the benefits of social media marketing with Twitter, along with a glossary of terms, advice on building your brand on Twitter, a simple how-to using the platform — even a tutorial on how to write great tweets. Marketing with Twitter takes things a step further, giving users more in-depth information. Understanding analytics, how to target tweets and how to use Twitter to improve your brand’s reach are just a few of the topics covered here for the budding marketing genius. Finally, AdTools is the one-stop-shop for brands who want to advertise on Twitter. How do ads on Twitter work? What’s a promoted tweet? How much does it cost? These and all other Twitter ad-related questions are covered in this easy, do-it-yourself advertising guide. Twitter for Business also has specific information for small businesses, dozens of success stories from companies currently marketing on Twitter and tips on community building.

Twitter’s commitment to education and to helping businesses understand the platform is inspiring. Instead of just pushing brands into buying ads, Twitter is explaining how its services work and how to best use them for your company’s individual needs. It’s also refreshing to see a brand demystify its marketing products and make them feel more accessible.

So, readers, will you use the new Twitter for Business programs or are you totally over tweeting? Chirp at us in the comments section below!