Social Media -13 Writing Tips

Carrying on from the article on Social Media – Building Successful Relationships, I want to show those who are afraid of writing on-line, that the skills of effective writing  are the same whatever the media. Another demonstration that on-line and off-line are not two different worlds – the first is just an extension of the second.

1. The Social Media World is a Wide One.

Many years ago I was given a great bit of advice: don’t think about what you want to write, think about what the audience needs to read in order for you to meet your objective. This may take deep thought, as the social media audience has a wide range of needs.

2. Plan

It’s so tempting to just open up the word processor and start writing your latest social media masterpiece but even with short pieces, it’s better to spend a few minutes planning. Decide on your objective and list the points you must cover in order to meet that objective. In a longer piece, you can expand the list to include those things you should cover (less important than the musts), and those you could (the anecdotes etc that give colour to the piece).

3. Use short sentences and everyday words

Expertise is not demonstrated by using long, complicated sentences. Rather, short sentences using everday words to decribe complex issues in simple ways is the hallmark of a true expert. Remember, social media covers most of the modern world and not all of you readers will be reading in their mother tongue.

4. Avoid the passive

Keep to the structure subject, verb, object unless you are using the passive to create surprise. If I write “At the end of the conference the President was interviewed by a  school girl”, this creates surprise because of the unusual end to the sentence. Writing “A school girl interviewed the President at the end of the conference” loses the surprise element.

5. Write from your heart

People often tell me that they’d love to get stuck into the social media world but aren’t good at writing. If you write from your heart, with honesty, sincerity and passion, people will forgive you the occasional grammatical error. If you really feel uncomfortable writing, then examine the new kid on the social media block – video blogging.

6. Be careful with superlatives

They are overused and often unnecessary. An occasional superlative is acceptable, peppering your piece with them is not. This applies to another area of social media, internet marketing. I read an advert the other day describing something as “extremely unique.” Unique means one of a kind, you can’t be extremely one of a kind! The superlative is redundant.

7. Make impact at the start

The social media world offers people a lot of choice. If you are boring, they will quickly move on. So find a way to make impact from the start. This will entice people into wanting to read more. If you can’t think of a way to do it, beginning by asking the readers a question is often a good tactic as it draws them into your piece.

8. Be Direct

Throughout social media, I see people writing as if they are trying to emulate Sir Humphrey in “Yes Minister”. Don’t pad out your sentences, it casts doubt in the readers’ minds. Being direct also adds impact to your work.

9. Check your Spelling

Readers know that writing software comes with spell-checking, so use it or you will lose credibility.

10. Use examples the social media world can relate to

It’s usually more elegant to use examples that your audience can releate to than to attempt to write something that is theoretical.

11. Edit your work

When editing, keep the ABC of effective writing in mind; accuracy, brevity and clarity. Cut out unnecessary words, go though the piece again, and cut again!

And the most important rule:

12. Never, Never, Never be boring!

Yes, never! Social media audiences have a short attention span so find interesting ways to put over your message.

13. Model Yourself on the Social Media Rockstars.

Model does not mean copy. You have to find your own voice. It means looking at what works, what doesn’t, what you can adapt to your own style. Find writing you like from the social media greats and put it in your own words.

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