Have you been anxiously waiting to claim your Google+ custom URL? Well soon you’ll be able to.

After exclusively offering these personalized URLs to big name celebrities and corporations—Google has finally started rolling them out to everyone else.

Also, Facebook is now the second most-popular site for watching online video. (Can you guess whose number one?).

Read about these top stories plus find out how marketers are combining email and social media for big-time results.

This is YOUR weekly news roundup.

1. “Pre-approved” custom URLs now rolling out on Google+

Earlier this month, Google announced the launching of custom URLs to a select number of high-profile users and companies (David Beckham, Britney Spears, Delta Airlines). This week those URLs began rolling out to a broader, but still selective number of other Google+ users.

To find out if you were chosen to receive a custom URL, log on to Google+ and look for a grey banner at the top of your screen. That banner will have a suggested URL from Google+ that they have pre-approved for your business. (For example, Constant Contact’s is plus.google.com/+constantcontact). You can then choose to either “claim that URL” or request a different one for your business.

Bottom Line: While the custom URL availability is still limited to larger companies, it is expected to roll out to everyone in the coming weeks. If you’re using Google+ to market your business, you don’t want to miss the chance to “claim” your URL. Even if your account is still relatively inactive, claiming your URL now will ensure you have the URL you want if you decide to focus on Google+ in the future.

2. Facebook is now the second most-popular site for online video

Move over Yahoo—a report from ComScore this week found that Facebook saw more than 53 million unique viewers throughout July, compared to Yahoo’s less than 49 million. Google, which owns YouTube, still enjoys a more than comfortable lead with nearly 157 million unique videos.

Bottom Line: The unbelievable popularity of online video (over 900 million people watched videos in the second quarter of 2012) is having a big impact on social media. Businesses are constantly looking for fun and engaging ways to interact with their fans, and rich media videos and photos are making it easier to do just that. Find out how video can help your Facebook marketing.

 3. Which companies have the most fake Twitter followers?

We all know trying to build a following on Twitter can be frustrating—especially when you see so many big companies with thousands, if not millions, of followers.

But new research from Business Insider this week found that for some of those companies, their following might not be as “real” as you think. Instagram (@Instagram), for instance, has only 61% “good” followers, 25% inactive followers, and 14% fake followers. Twitter itself (@Twitter) has 47% fake followers and just 17% real ones.

Bottom Line: If you’re a small business, you really shouldn’t waste any of your time comparing your following to the big guys. What you need to focus on is developing a community of quality followers who will engage with your content and help you reach new audiences.

Compare the quality of your following to the companies on this list with the free Fakers app.

4. Facebook app for iOS is now 2X faster

Have you found yourself screaming at your iPhone or iPad when trying to update your status or post a photo to Facebook? You’re not alone.

In fact, the speed—or more appropriately—lack of speed has been a huge complaint from Facebook users trying to manage their Facebook while on-the-go.

That’s why this week Facebook has released a new version of their app for iOS that is reportedly twice as fast when it comes to launching, loading photos, and updating stories in your newsfeed.

Bottom Line: When it comes to technology, especially mobile technology—faster is always better. You and your customers don’t have time to wait for apps to catch up with your busy schedule. Get the app here or download the update from your mobile app store.

5. [Infographic] Why smart marketers are teaming social media and email marketing

Yesterday, we talked about the importance of combining your social media and email marketing. But how exactly are other marketers doing it and what type of results are they seeing? A new infographic from Experian took a closer look and found some revealing results.

Here are some of the key findings:

• Facebook and Twitter are the top networks being promoted through email: both up 70% since 2010.
• Emails promoting Pinterest are getting the most attention: generating higher opens (14.1%) than both those promoting Facebook (12.7%) and Twitter (14%).
• Promoting Facebook with email boosts website traffic: 60% of brands that sent emails with “Facebook” in the subject line averaged a 27% increase in traffic to their website from Facebook in the week after they sent.

Bottom Line: Email marketing and social media can, and should be a tag-team effort. We’ve got some great resources to help you do it.

What news stories caught your eye this week? Tell us in the comments.