visible-strategies

New Psychographic Study Reports: 8 in 10 motivated to "Tweet" for business -

Most Twitter users don't sign up just to tweet about their day; they're Tweeting to increase their bottom line, a new study reveals. In fact, more people who use Twitter do so for business than for social reasons alone, according to a new psychographic survey conducted by the Kamaron Research Institute.

What's In It For Me?
Risks and Benefits of Facebook Open Graph Search Feature

If you own a business any new feature announcements from Facebook can simultaneously evoke feelings of hopeful excitement and vague dread.  “Will this bring in new business?” VS ‘Uh oh, what have they done this time?” The new feature’s name this time is Open Graph Search. It is in beta release.

Business Page Users: A big plus is that Business Page Users might find personal information that, in the past, has been only available to paid advertisers.  A search result for “people who like to cycle” could be really valuable if you own a bicycle shop or are looking for a cycling group to join. 

Individuals can gather fast facts without needing to post a poll for all their friends. If you are planning a trip to New York or London, instead of only posting a request for friend’s restaurant recommendations, you can enter a search such as “What restaurants have my friends visited in New York?”

One of the big complaints about Facebook since its inception in 2004 was the poor search engine function, with completely irrelevant results popping up. The other big complaint is that personal privacy protection requires Facebook users to be very proactive.

Take a look at the pros and cons that this new search engine may have for business marketing and for your personal account. I suggest you watch the Facebook video regarding how to use “Open Graph Search”.

Decoding a Unique Social Media, Horn Honking As a Language

by  Margaret Ross

 This post originally appeared on the World of Success, Jenningswire where Visible Strategies and Margaret Ross regularly contribute articles about leveraging social media and smart digital strategies and technologies for small business.

For decades horn honking has been used as a way to communicate. Much like email, this social media message can easily be miscommunicated.

 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.

Is LinkedIn Holding Your Contacts and Calendars Hostage?

1. It started innocuously. You were in a hurry and doing multiple things at once. (A normal day.) You were creating your LinkedIn account. The screen showed you a nifty little prompt that encouraged you to enter your email address, so you could “See Who You Already Know on LinkedIn.”  That seemingly helpful offer seemed logical.   You were quickly following all the sign-up steps; the suggestion "to see who you already know"  was in a bold print on a blue background, and in large type.  

2. Their second largest selling point and getting us to do what they wanted was this phrase,  “Syncing your contacts is the fastest way to grow your network. “ The phrasing made it easy for you to see the benefit of doing what LinkedIn wanted. 

3. The third element to catch your attention was the familiar text box prompt, “Your email address,” followed by a cheerful bright blue Continue button. 

Most of us don’t notice or read the even smaller print located above the email prompt that says, “We’ll import and store your contacts."  What does even mean?!

We might have noticed where they were leading us if the words had said something like, "We now own all your emails, phones, names,  and other information in your contact lists and we will do whatever we want with them. " But -  maybe not. 

And - by the way, they might have added, - "We also have and are storing the information in your online calendar"

When you clicked the “Continue” button   LinkedIn took your entire contact list without paying you a single penny for total access to your friends, family, business contacts, doctors, and clients. 

 Social Media & Online MarketingGlossary

Marketers and Business Owners, like mathematicians, have their own language.  This makes the definitions very useful. 

TwitterBasic Vocabulary Definitions

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 Twitter's Follow Friday?” “Why are the pound signs cluttering peoples' messages?” “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.