top 10 social media writing tips
DESCRIPTION
It's easy to use social media. It's not so easy to do it well. Follow these tips to help your social presence - and your personal "brand" - look more professional.TRANSCRIPT
Social Media Writing Tips*
Jim Streisel | Carmel High School@CarmelJim
10
*In no particular order. C’mon, guys, I’m just not that organized.
Tuesday, June 25, 13
1. Keep it short...very short.
• Posts with 80 characters or fewer receive nearly 23 percent higher interaction than longer posts.*
• Twitter: 85 to 100 characters (max).
• Facebook: 30 words or fewer (nobody wants to “...Continue reading.”
• Type your post, then challenge yourself to write the same information using fewer words. (92 characters)**
*Buddy Media Research
**Draft a post, then try to make it shorter but say the same thing. (69 characters)
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
2. Write for people who are in a hurry. Be clear and direct.
• People check social media when they have time to spare.*
• Write for someone who checks social media accounts for a few minutes between activities.
*Like in the middle of math class. Or social studies. Or now...while I’m speaking.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
3. Be humorous...but be professional.
• Crack jokes. Make puns. Play on words. Make people smile.
• People are more likely to share content that’s funny.* *But don’t make light of serious news.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
4. Make content easy to share.
• Don’t make posts too long.
• Use active verbs.
• RT means “retweet.” MT means “modified tweet.”
• Dn’t go crzy w/abb, tho.**SMH
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
5. Have a conversation.
• Acknowledge when people respond to your posts. This shows you value your readers’ thoughts.
*
*Hi, Jill. I value you.
Sincerely, Me.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
6. Don’t write a press release.
• Don’t be boring and dry.*
• Define your “voice.” Write for your audience.
• How do you want people to perceive you/your publication? Your writing reflects that perception.
*You in the back, stop looking at me like that.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
7. Be nice.
• Don’t tick off your readers; you’ll lose them.
• If you aren’t funny, don’t try to be.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
8. Be knowledgeable.• Be an expert
on all things _____ High School.
• Make your social media feeds something that people will WANT to follow.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
9. Avoid texting slang if at all possible.
• All of that BFF and LOL and SMH is just too darn confusing.*
*Remind me to tell you an LOL story when I see you next. Oh, and I have one that involves FTK as well. Good stuff.
**WTF?!
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
10. Don’t rush.
• It’s better to be accurate than first.
• Spend a couple of minutes on each tweet before you send it to edit and polish.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13
The bottom line.
• Be smart.
• Be professional.
• Be accurate.
• Be nice.
• You’re building your “brand.” You’re building your publication’s brand.
@CarmelJim
Tuesday, June 25, 13