One of the truly killer apps for social media management is called Buffer. If you're not familiar, the idea is that, using Buffer, you connect your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, and set schedules for each account. You can then add links to pages or stories, or craft status updates, and allow Buffer to publish those updates according to your predetermined schedule.

Google Now has finally come to the iPhone and iPad. In an officlal blog post, Google announced that the popular app and service, previously only available to Android users, is now available on the iOS platform as part of an update to the Google Search app for iPhones and iPads. Users can download the update or go grab the app from iTunes if they don't already have it [iTunes Store Link].

LinkedIn released an update for their mobile apps today that is, in a word, gorgeous. The entire app has been rebuilt and revamped to the point that, I'm suprised we didn't have to delete the old app and download an entirely new one. According to the LinkedIn Blog, the update is designed to "make it easier for our members to quickly discover and engage with the rich professional insights being shared across LinkedIn to help them make smarter decisions from wherever they may be working. We’ve designed the new LinkedIn mobile phone app for every professional, with a richer and more engaging stream and more personalization features."

Facebook released an update for their mobile app today that makes it a lot easier to get to and use group messaging. According to the update, it now takes fewer taps to start a group message. And, once you've got a group conversation going, it's easier to name the conversation and get to it later.

To start a group conversation, open your Facebook app and tap the chat icon in the upper right corner, or simply swipe to the left to reveal your chat favorites. Tap the New Message button and begin adding people to the conversation.

As soon as you start the conversation, a field field will appear above the conversation that you can use to name it. In the upper right, tapping the (i) icon will take you to the Group Info area where you can change the name, add more people, adjust notifications or even leave the conversation.

Over the weekend, Flickr released an update for their mobile app that brought complete hashtag support to the image-sharing network. This seems liks a smart move from Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, and is one within a series of updates to Flickr which have demonstrated Yahoo's commitment to strengthening their position in the picture and social-sharing circle.

If you like to handwrite notes, and aren't yet using a handwriting app for your iPad, it's time to give Penultimate a try. From the makers of Evernote, the Penultimate app has been completely redesigned to combine natural handwriting and drawing ability, with the power and flexibility of the Evernote app.

Evernote is the note-taking app that we've discussed and recommended before. With Evernote, you can create notes and clip information on one device, and automatically sync that note with all of your other devices, including your iPhone, iPad, laptop or desktop computer. I use Evernote every day to brainstorm blog topics and write blog posts like this one, take notes during client meetings, save templates for emails and letters, track project details and more.

Businesses that want to be successful with social media and blogging must be mindful of news topics and trends within their industry. Your social media activity should be packed, up to 80%, with content and information from other sources, reserving just 20% for talking about yourself. At the same time, breaking news and important industry stories are ripe for great blog posts (we call this newsjacking). In order to monitor potential sources of information for sharing or blogging, business owners need to invest some time into a few tools.

Twitter announced today a major improvement to their Search and Discovery features, and these improvements are immediately accessible through the mobile website as well as iOS and Android systems. According to the update, version 5.3 includes:

Instantly access great content with improvements to search and Discover.

Apple's signature productivity apps, Keynote, Pages and Numbers, the iWork suite, all received updates today for the iOS platform that provided major compatibility improvements as well as a number of additional features. These are changes that we think will help small businesses tremendously. Let's take a look at the improvements offered for each program.