Let's pretend you want to create an online media buzz for your business in September. Where should the buzz building steps of the marketing survey or polling process begin? It begins with a sound and seasonal idea that makes sense for September.
For decades horn honking has been used as a way to communicate. Much like email and attempted humor in tweets this social media message can easily be miscommunicated and misunderstood.
How to Speak Horn - A Social Language
As a language, deciphering horn honks can be challenging. When someone honks their horn, you don't really know if they are honking at you at all—and if they are -- what exactly they are trying to say. To make it more of a conundrum, a honk in your city can be different than a horn honk you might hear while visiting your aunt across the country.
Until the complete etiquette of horn honking is more formalized, I’ve prepared some horn honking basics to prepare you for your next road trip.
Tap
A "tap" is a light application of pressure on the horn. It is really the most genial kind of horn honking (you didn't know there was such a thing, did you?) Here are two different types of horn taps and what they mean: - A tap while at a light: “I don't want to be rude, but the light has changed. Do you think you might go now?” - A tap while on the freeway: “I see your signal and will let you in this lane…if you hurry and acknowledge this courtesy with a hand wave.”
Toot
Taps and toots are often difficult to distinguish. However, as the amusing word "toot" signifies, toots are friendly honks. You might hear a toot from your college roommate, who spots you while you are driving on the other side of the road. Perhaps you haven't seen him or her in years; perhaps you are driving the same car you were in college, and it is now held together with duct tape, while they are driving their brand new BMW, and the whole incident makes you reevaluate your whole life and how you've spent the last 20 years.
Sigh. Anyway, that's what a toot can mean.
Honk
This is more serious than a tap or a toot. Honks are rarely friendly greetings. They are much more likely to be sounds of “Watch out!” or “Pay attention!” The noise duration is longer. The sound decibels are louder and more intense. A honk may mean, “The light has been green for 15 seconds already, so finish your text later.” Just as with a tap or a toot, everyone within ear shot is startled and the momentary stress relief is only experienced by the “honker.”
In the current climate it is perhaps more typical to hear stories about people loosing a job rather than finding one. However, it is certainly possible to buck this economic trend and make yourself hyper-employable even in today’s market. Moreover, it’s not all doom and gloom as far as the economic situation goes, there are an increasing number of positive signs about the state of the world’s markets. For example, France and Germany are recently reported to have emerged from recession. Continue reading about Ten Tips To Land Your Next Job Using Social Media : Chapter One
#Hash Tags, Following, Follow Friday, Re Tweeting, How to @Reply
Twitter Basic Vocabulary Definitions: Welcome to the Twitterverse. The Tweeting communication code clearly starts out confusing. Every social network, from industry organizations to soccer parents, has its own specialized terms and acronyms. Those new to this microblogging jargon are in search of simple and clear answers to a myriad of critical questions such as "What in the world is Follow Friday?" "Why are the pound signs cluttering people's message?" "Is it a gesture of friendship or plagiarism to ReTweet (aka RT) someone's tweet message?" Once we begin to speak the language; we feel compelled to help the next Newbie.
To avoid seeing yourself as a social media wallflower. Simply reach out.
Social media is a wonderful tool for promoting a business or a brand: it's free, it's effective, it doesn't even take much time. However, the word "social" is there for a reason, which may give the introverted, wallflower types some pause.
If you want to promote your business via social media but you're not the bubbly life of the party type, is there any hope for you?
The name "Justin Bieber" is familiar to just about every teenaged girl on the planet these days - and every parent of a teenaged girl - but what many people don't know is how the mop-topped teenager first came to the attention of superstar manager and rapper Usher.
Bieber posted videos of himself on Youtube, which caught the attention of a manager, who introduced him to Usher. And the rest is pop idol history.
Everyone with a business and a website wants their website to be prominently featured on the search engines. Pay Per Click advertising is a way to ensure that your products and services are found by people who are searching for information related to those products or services. Google is a perfect example.
Want positive press? Unique, fascinating or funny polls have proven hook for press attention.
Polls are an often-overlooked method of generating buzz about a subject or a business. Journalists are always looking for quirky or surprising news tidbits, and a well-designed poll carried out by a professional research firm can provide them with exactly what they're looking for. If you watch the news at all, you will see that polls are frequently featured - and we're not just talking about election time. Polls about dating habits, internet surfing habits, spending trends, and on and on, are regularly featured on the news.