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What are the seven deadly sins of writing for social media?
Get RSSYou are cordially invited to enter a social media experiment with me.
I’m speaking at the Online Marketing Show 2007 in a couple of weeks on the subject of the seven deadly sins of writing for social media.
Bear in mind this is a presentation to online marketing professionals and is very much in the context of building brand and customer loyalty online.
From the last twelve years spent writing and editing content for companies and organisations of all kinds, I know what I think the seven deadly sins are. I’d list them, in no particular order, as:
- Not setting a strategy before you start. “We should have a blog” says the CEO. And so it begins…
- Going for volume (ie myspace) over a targeted, specialist community (ie brickshelf.com for LEGO enthusiasts).
- Ignoring the rules of engagement – posting corporate salespeak on messageboards, for example, or ‘digging’ your own stuff. Wasting people’s time with irrelevant blog entries about your new pet…
- Not having the resource, the skills – or possibly the staying power – to maintain your content; to respond quickly and appropriately to negative comments/questions/reviews, or to participate in debates about your products or services.
- Failure to be transparent and to fully disclose your connection to a product/company.
- Expecting it to be easy. Building trust online takes time and requires brands to be both open and generous – to freely share their expertise and to work hard to create genuinely interesting and useful content.
- Ignoring best practice in web writing. Providing good quality content in web-friendly formats which is usable, easy to find through search engines and written to brand guidelines which encompass social media.
So do you agree with my list? Is there anything you’d add? Or remove? Because the main thing I love about social media is that it is the chance to combine your own opinion and expertise with that of your peers, learn something new and engage in a bit of a skirmish…
So if you feel strongly about the writing you see on blogs, wikis, bookmarking and community sites etc, or if you just want to take issue with my list, then please post a comment.
And if you’d like to see the result of our combined efforts, the presentation is at 3pm on Wednesday 27th June at the Business Design Centre, Islington.
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Comments
These seven points certainly sound familiar to me, the only thing I'd add (which is probably covered by point 4) is the assumption 'if you build it they will come'. A lot of businesses think people will just automatically start arriving; however, it takes
You've really hit the nail on the head. I heartily agreed with all your rules, but only have one comment. Under '6. Expecting It To Be Easy' I would also make a note about not having a thin skin, or even another rule: '8. Brace Yourself' (sorry, that woul
Adrian, thanks for this. Any example I can use of a co or brand you've seen being 'flamed' would be gratefully received!
Check out this thread from Yelp NYC for an example of someone ignoring the rules and then paying the price from the community. It's an example that is a
Not sure that I agree that no 7 is a deadly sin. Whilst I absolutely applaud any effort to improve the quality of writing on and for the web, plenty of blogs, wiki entries, etc. are very successful (in terms of traffic) without the writers having a clue w
While there are successful sites without acknowledging formal styles, I'd suggest that most have picked up a grasp of the basics, perhaps by subconsciously picking up good writing from other sites, or mediums. Nos 4 and 6 are the biggest sins for me, as
Yep, they generally make sense to me. The first one is particularly troublesome, and all too common. But I disagree with point number seven. It's much more important to be authentic, and to speak with your own voice. If that means making spelling and gra
[...] Seven Deadly Sins of Writing for Social Media - Whether you have a blog or use other social media in your strategy, it would be useful to consider these seven points. In the comments section I also discussed the possibility of another rule: “B
[...] pretty much wrapped up. However, following in the footsteps of Catherine at Sticky Content, who invited peer contributions for her presentation at the Online Marketing Show this summer, I’d like to invite the wonderful Mozzers to suggest [...]
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