Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Social media Writing

Writing in the Social media space


It is well understood that social media is the latest and the fastest growing tool in a larger communication strategy. With that being said it is always consider your overarching communication goals when developing social media activities.

As with all media outreach, the keys to an effective social media presence are to

• Identify your target audience.

• Determine your objective.

• Select the appropriate channel for your message.

• Decide upfront how much time and effort you can invest

Since it is about communications and connections, what we write and put up is of tremendous importance. Writing on the web requires a special ability so as to reach out. And perhaps the easiest thing to do is to keep it simple and plain.

So, what is plain language?

·         Friendly yet professional

·         Unjargonised and comprehensible

·         No or limited acronyms

·         Short and sweet

·         Consistent and non-repetitive

·         Use of active voice

·         Use of measurements that are familiar to audience

Next. It is imperative to engage the reader and keep him interested not just for once, but to keep him coming back. To be able to do that one needs to:

·         Give the most important information first.

·         Tell what actions to take in clear, easy-to-understand language.

·         Explain why the action is important.

·         Use concrete nouns (things you can see, hear, smell, taste or touch).

·         Write to individuals and not algorithms.

·         Be real and prompt.

·         Bring on Variety - Social media engagement isn’t about being focused in the traditional sense. It’s about engaging attention with variety. You get there by engaging your audience with an irresistible variety of short-form entries.

·         Remember, it’s a conversation and not a monologue.

·         Remember, social media is about sharing.

·         Do not wish away negative content and posts. It is going to happen. Prepare for it. Be ready with all details. Choose your words wisely.

·         Use all media forms – pictures, infograms, videos, audio, cartoons, animations and do not limit to words and words only. Use colour and styles and themes.

·         Keep the fun element and be cool.

·         Always be accurate and correct about facts and figures.

 

Writing for social media is a totally different ball game. It takes a change in attitude and thought to be able to get the best out of your social media content.

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