A big part of having a social media strategy is how you portray your company’s persona. Your followers and fans won’t listen to you if the company’s voice does not match up with the company’s purpose statement. So, as you decide on a company persona, remember that how you write is equally as important as what you write.
When it comes to writing voice, keep these no-no's in mind:
Don’t be casual. Remember all those rules you memorized in high school grammar class, such as capitalize at the beginning of a sentence? Implement them, and stay consistent. Your viewers have enough friends who use ten exclamation marks to emphasize a point; they don’t want to see a company doing the same. Stay away from texting jargon such as “lol” or “ttyl.” If you respect grammar rules, you will appear to be a serious, more professional company. That way, when you do implement sarcastic or humorous content, your readers will still take you seriously.
Don’t be corporate. Cut out long-winded, confusing language. Viewers’ attention spans are short in social media; they won’t spend time reading your wordy words. They also do not want to spend time deciphering meaning, especially if content lacks substance to start. Put a little soul into your content. Be straight-forward, be humorous, be human.
Above all, don’t conspire publically. It may seem obvious, but do not rant against your competition on Twitter and Facebook. In fact, it might be better to not mention them at all. Pretend your competition does not exist (while keeping track of them on the sly), and don't create content bragging about your company’s latest gains or making low-blow jabs at your competition. Your readers want to see your company as professional in content and in conveyance.
Remember, your company is what it says (or writes). Make sure that when you speak through social media, you speak well and with class.
{Picture by Horia Varlan}
