Set up some Google Alerts to see what’s being said about you online.

discuss tips for hiring a great cater and give your visitors ideas on how caterers price events. Discuss trends in the industry, and you can also provide ideas for what works best for different event types.

Your blog is also a great place to post photos and recaps of successful events.

When an alum announces on Twitter that he or she just landed an exciting new job, his alma mater’s social media manager might reach out with a quick, congratulatory tweet. But what happens after that? Does the social media manager alert the school’s career center that the alum has a new job and might be in a position to mentor current students (or even hire them)? Does the social media manager relay to the fundraising/development office that the newly successful alum might now have the financial resources to give money?Imagine another scenario: A high school freshman asks a question on a university’s Facebook Page about an academic program, indicating that he or she can’t wait to apply for admission in three years. Does the school’s social media manager simply answer the question and offer a friendly, “We’d love to have you!” or does he or she alert the admissions office that a particularly enthusiastic high school freshman has made an inquiry via Facebook?

10 million people currently use Foursquare 3 million check-ins occur each day 400,000 businesses use Foursquare as a marketing tool 78,387 venue mayors are ousted each day 358 million check-ins have occurred outside the United States

The best time to tweet is 5PM ET 1 to 4 tweets per hour is ideal The best days to tweet are midweek and on the weekends The best day to share on Facebook is Saturday The best time to share on Facebook is Noon ET

Shoppers who go online are willing to interact with retailers on social networks in order to find information on deals, contests, and products in general

42 percent of online shoppers follow a retail brand via a social network

The average such shopper follows six retailers. Fifty-eight percent are looking for news on deals, 49 percent want information on products, and 39 percent are after details of events and contests.

Thirty-one percent of moms sampled here proactively sought out brands they liked on Facebook and another 11% liked a brand after they saw that their friends had liked the it.

About two-thirds of moms (68%) don't mind having brands contact them through social media if they feel the content is relevant to them.

62% say that a positive product experience is the biggest motivator for them to talk with others about a brand. 33% most wanted to share coupons with friends.

Overall, 59% of adult Facebook users had “liked” a brand as of April, up from 47% the previous September. Uptake among the oldest users appears to have been a major factor in this rise.

Typically, social media users report connecting with brands to get deals and discounts, as well as information about products and special offers.

affluent social media users tended to follow brands because of a preexisting affinity for them, and a desire to be kept informed.

Facebook is, by far, the most engaging social platform out there, as 52% of Facebook users engage with the site daily. For comparison, 33% of Twitter users engage with the service every day, while only 7% of MySpace and 6% of LinkedIn users do the same.

the average online user in the U.S. now spends nearly 16% of his or her time on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr or Twitter. That’s up from just 8% in July 2007. In the last year alone, social networking use has increased by approximately 25%.

Facebook now reaches 73% of the U.S. Internet population each month

LinkedIn, Tumblr and Twitter all hit record highs in May, 2011. LinkedIn now attracts 33.4 million U.S. visitors, more than Twitter’s 27 million and Tumblr’s 10.7 million.