Recently, I asked the same question to our resident social media expert. I was feeling the primer she provided a year ago might require some considerable updating. I braced myself for new tools, new uses and new technologies to grasp.

Turns out like any new bright and shiny communication tool, the frenzy of possibilities in the beginning seem endless. But then the dust settles, folks start using the technology day-to-day, and the real uses and benefits are realized.

Here’s what I learned (so far…):

• More people have access and are comfortable with the tools.More than ever people have access to devices that link their social media networks together, from iPads to Kins, making it a viable business communications tool to reach your main market.
• Local, more directed communications are the way to go.

The entire world is most likely not interested in what you have to say, be more targeted.

Side Note: Not quite sure about hyper-local campaigns having business relevance e.g. Foursquare. Could be that places, products and services are rated by people you trust and can relate to with no “middle man” to skew the ratings?  I guess time will tell.

• Not all social media tools are created equal, at least not to your audience.

The market has filtered the strongest tools to the top. Choose the few that work for you and your audience and concentrate your efforts on them.

• With a few years under its belt, social media can now be measured and trends observed. The proof is in the numbers and they are now more credible and available.

Companies can now measure the success of campaigns and then, based on their results, structure campaigns that will be most effective. This decreases the amount of time and money spent on campaigns that will not reach your audience.

• Content is still king. Make it fresh, relevant and robust.

News, updates, and the ability to make connections keeps your audience “tuned in.” Don’t bore them with in-depth industry articles, accolades or your long winded opinions. Rule of thumb, quick, short snippets of information on a regular basis are easier for the average audience to consume day-to-day.

• The shock factor is not necessary to get attention.

Unless you are Lady GaGa, you really don’t need a viral video to bring in business. Does a high YouTube ranking mean anything if the majority of viewers are not in your audience? Target your audience and speak to them appropriately.

So what’s new in Social Media? Turns out not much. Social media is another communications tool. As a marketer, you need to start asking the same basic questions you’ve always asked.

1. Who are you trying to reach?
2. Why are you trying to reach them?
3. And how are you going to impact them?
4. What do you want to be the end result?

Remember the days when we were perfectly fine not knowing where everyone was all the time. When we could just go through our day completely unaware that our best friend was picking up a sandwich from Subway. Well, the world is not what it used to be.

With the increased popularity of applications such as FourSquare, sites such as Yelp, and services such as Yodle, we are constantly being connected to the people and places around us, even if we are unaware of it happening. In the last 3 months, I have noticed a drastic increase in the use of Foursquare. People declaring their “mayor”-hood of the coffee shop around the corner or their favorite burger joint. Being a Foursquare mayor basically means going to a place and telling people the most.

So what does this mean for social media? It means that people are starting to think of these tools as a way to connect to their local community instead of the global community. The trend seems to be piggy-backing on the larger “think globally, act locally” mantra. The tools we are using are global, but the way we are using them is connecting us more to our direct communities. Although social media can still be used to keep in contact with people around the world, it is having a bigger impact on those places and people closest to us.

We can find an area restaurant since their SEO has been “upped” by Yodle, go there cause we read glowing reviews on Yelp, and then Foursquare that we are there. Has there ever been a time when your community has been more accessible?

However, although I do love late night Chinese food…am unsure if I want the world to know I could be “mayor” of the New Hong Kong.

Whether your speaking to small, intimate groups or large audiences in a conference setting,  PowerPoint presentations are an excellent aid for sharing your message. But they should be just that, an aid. Your audience is interested in you…your ideas…your message, so let’s make sure it doesn’t get lost.

Before putting any words on your slides, take the time to draft an outline. Is it succinct while still providing room to hit each of your main message points? Does it have a clear progression through the information that supports your story? Did you edit it down, once…twice…three times? If you answered yes, then your ready to start writing.

Now the next step is very important. As you write your content keep in mind that you are the main focus of the presentation, not your PowerPoint slides. Your slides should support you without taking attention away from you. Here are some simple tips to keep in mind as you write:

1. Keep your words to a minimum by punctuating your points, not writing them as full sentences
2. When showing charts and graphs of numerical data, be clean and keep graphical effects to a minimum
3. Make sure your audience can see your content by choosing a large enough point size for your text
4. Create more impact with an image instead of defaulting to using a slide of bullets

These quick PowerPoint tips are simple for a reason. There is an overwhelming amount of guidelines online, many of which are excellent. But when your under the gun to create a presentation fast, you can easily get lost researching and lose track of “creating”. So think about your next presentation, is there a lot riding on it? If you applied the basics outlined here but feel you need more design experience to engage your audience, you may want to consult the help of a professional team.