This post continues a series on effective writing in social media.
Social networking accounts can be great venues for sending readers to your blog posts or other e-articles. Be sure to post a network update or "tweet" for each article of yours that goes online, particularly items that emphasize your professional expertise. You can also send direct messages to those of your fans/friends/connections who have special interest in the article topic.
A word of caution, though: social networking is not an advertising campaign, so don't try to use online articles to launch a sales blitz. Focus at least every other article on some topic besides you. When announcing new products or special programs, concentrate on general newsworthiness rather than on convincing readers to buy; think press release, not advertorial. And put "contact us to learn more" information only at the bottom of the article itself, not in the network update (presumably anyone looking at your social networking account already knows or can easily find out how to reach you, so don't risk appearing pushy by emphasizing the information).
Do link to your social networking profile(s) in the e-article's bio/contact information; interested parties should be able to access full details from either end. (Post a copy of or link to the article--and a link to your profile(s)--on your main website as well.)
In the social networking announcement of your article's publication, concentrate on arousing click-over interest. The article title is frequently enough if it's both intriguing and descriptive; include the subtitle as well, if you can. If the full two-part title exceeds "tweet" or other space allotments, consider what best fits the "intriguing and descriptive" requirement; where an article is listed under a series title (as this one is), the "end section" may well be the better choice. Alternatively, you can quote the article's opening sentence, or create a "thesis statement." In any case, don't forget to include a direct link to the article!
Remember the basic rules of e-articles: short paragraphs, short overall length, relevant links, and strong visual elements.
Most social networking accounts also offer opportunities to publish "articles" directly on the network; prime examples are LinkedIn discussions and Q & As, which will be the subjects of my next two posts.
Other posts in this series:
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Profiles
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Network Updates
Social Networking for the Business Writer: "Cold Call" E-Messages
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Discussions
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Q & A
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Top-Ten List
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Social Networking for the Business Writer: "Cold Call" E-Messages
This post continues a series on effective writing in social media.
In the social media world, it no longer takes extensive research to locate an e-mail address; anyone with an account can contact a high percentage of the network with a click of a button. With account options like LinkedIn's InMail, you may have nearly unlimited access to the whole network. But the rule that long predates e-mail--if you want to make a professional impression, deliver your pitch in a professional manner--still holds.
E-mail is perhaps the most carelessly handled aspect of business writing. Even Ph.D.s and editors at major publishing houses are known to send messages like the following:
"Dear sir: We are in high apreciation of having received your Inqiiry. Unfortunetely, we recieve Thoursands of inquiries each week and must reject many xcellent ones. We regret that We ar thus unabel to use your prospoal at present."
No doubt convincing the recipient he's probably better off without that company anyway, if their attention to detail is that limited.
While the writer of the "no, thanks" message may not have much to lose, the person creating a proposal has plenty. Especially in a social networking e-message where attaching your resume may not be an option, you may have only one paragraph to convince a coveted investor that you're intelligent, capable, easy to work with, and otherwise worth investigating further. This is no time to dash something off in rush mode and send it into cyberspace without proofreading.
So when making a "cold" pitch through a social network, remember the rules that have long served well with the snail-mail and telephone approaches.
Know your target. If your message sounds too generic, recipients may assume this is a mass "blitz" of identical mailings--something worth little attention. Do some advance research, then customize each query to the recipient: call the person by name;, refer to a known attribute of the company (a recent news item, a major aspect of their brand, something their Web site needs) and how your own skills and experience relate; match the tone of your message to that of their own public writings.
Be respectful. Although the "never use first names" rule doesn't necessarily apply in social networking, many traditional-minded organizations still look favorably on initial approaches addressed to "Mr. Smith," "Ms. Green," or "Dr. Morgan." Other people, of course, are almost insulted at not being addressed by first name; so, again, do your homework in advance and learn what atmosphere prevails at your contact's company. In any case, never use any name version that does not appear in a person's profile; Richard Executive may never be called "Dick" by anyone he knows. Even if he is, he may not appreciate hearing it from a new contact any more than he'd want a stranger to slap him on the back unannounced and boom out, "Hey, buddy, how's it going?"
Keep business approaches businesslike. Besides erring on the side of formality in what you call the person, don't use "Hi" or "Hey" as a salutation. (Most people hate the word "hey" to begin with; it sounds too much like an order to "drop everything right now and listen to me.") Don't use slang or "folksy" language in the body of the message either; and keep any humor low-key unless you're requesting an audition at a comedy club.
Focus not on what they can do for you, but on what you can do for them.
Ask for what you want. Sounds obvious, but a surprising number of people never get around to this. All it takes is one sentence: "I would appreciate being added to your supplier database," or "Please tell me when to call for an interview."
Don't make promises you can't keep. Amazingly, the vast majority of people who write "I'll call to follow up next week" never do call--thus sabotaging any interest aroused by the initial message. The same goes for promising to send a portfolio, subscribe to your contact's blog, or register with a supplier database: if you say you'll do it, do it!
Always thank the contact for his or her time.
Never click the Send button without proofreading the message. And when proofreading, it's a good idea to look not only for typos, but for unnecessary words and ambiguous phrasing. Remember these three C's: clear, concise, and correct!
You may also want to include links to your Web site and/or blog--as well as to any articles you've published that appear online--to make it easier for the contact to investigate you further. Next week's post will further discuss e-articles as they apply to social networking.
Other posts in this series:
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Profiles
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Network Updates
Social Networking for the Business Writer: The E-Article Connection
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Discussions
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Q & A
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Top-Ten List
In the social media world, it no longer takes extensive research to locate an e-mail address; anyone with an account can contact a high percentage of the network with a click of a button. With account options like LinkedIn's InMail, you may have nearly unlimited access to the whole network. But the rule that long predates e-mail--if you want to make a professional impression, deliver your pitch in a professional manner--still holds.
E-mail is perhaps the most carelessly handled aspect of business writing. Even Ph.D.s and editors at major publishing houses are known to send messages like the following:
"Dear sir: We are in high apreciation of having received your Inqiiry. Unfortunetely, we recieve Thoursands of inquiries each week and must reject many xcellent ones. We regret that We ar thus unabel to use your prospoal at present."
No doubt convincing the recipient he's probably better off without that company anyway, if their attention to detail is that limited.
While the writer of the "no, thanks" message may not have much to lose, the person creating a proposal has plenty. Especially in a social networking e-message where attaching your resume may not be an option, you may have only one paragraph to convince a coveted investor that you're intelligent, capable, easy to work with, and otherwise worth investigating further. This is no time to dash something off in rush mode and send it into cyberspace without proofreading.
So when making a "cold" pitch through a social network, remember the rules that have long served well with the snail-mail and telephone approaches.
Know your target. If your message sounds too generic, recipients may assume this is a mass "blitz" of identical mailings--something worth little attention. Do some advance research, then customize each query to the recipient: call the person by name;, refer to a known attribute of the company (a recent news item, a major aspect of their brand, something their Web site needs) and how your own skills and experience relate; match the tone of your message to that of their own public writings.
Be respectful. Although the "never use first names" rule doesn't necessarily apply in social networking, many traditional-minded organizations still look favorably on initial approaches addressed to "Mr. Smith," "Ms. Green," or "Dr. Morgan." Other people, of course, are almost insulted at not being addressed by first name; so, again, do your homework in advance and learn what atmosphere prevails at your contact's company. In any case, never use any name version that does not appear in a person's profile; Richard Executive may never be called "Dick" by anyone he knows. Even if he is, he may not appreciate hearing it from a new contact any more than he'd want a stranger to slap him on the back unannounced and boom out, "Hey, buddy, how's it going?"
Keep business approaches businesslike. Besides erring on the side of formality in what you call the person, don't use "Hi" or "Hey" as a salutation. (Most people hate the word "hey" to begin with; it sounds too much like an order to "drop everything right now and listen to me.") Don't use slang or "folksy" language in the body of the message either; and keep any humor low-key unless you're requesting an audition at a comedy club.
Focus not on what they can do for you, but on what you can do for them.
Ask for what you want. Sounds obvious, but a surprising number of people never get around to this. All it takes is one sentence: "I would appreciate being added to your supplier database," or "Please tell me when to call for an interview."
Don't make promises you can't keep. Amazingly, the vast majority of people who write "I'll call to follow up next week" never do call--thus sabotaging any interest aroused by the initial message. The same goes for promising to send a portfolio, subscribe to your contact's blog, or register with a supplier database: if you say you'll do it, do it!
Always thank the contact for his or her time.
Never click the Send button without proofreading the message. And when proofreading, it's a good idea to look not only for typos, but for unnecessary words and ambiguous phrasing. Remember these three C's: clear, concise, and correct!
You may also want to include links to your Web site and/or blog--as well as to any articles you've published that appear online--to make it easier for the contact to investigate you further. Next week's post will further discuss e-articles as they apply to social networking.
Other posts in this series:
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Profiles
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Network Updates
Social Networking for the Business Writer: The E-Article Connection
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Discussions
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Q & A
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Top-Ten List
Monday, November 1, 2010
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Network Updates
This post continues a series on effective writing in social media.
To many people, blogs and tweets still equal "a lot of boring talk about what so-and-so had for breakfast." Though the business world hopefully knows better, no one is interested, either, in the minutes from your research team's latest meeting or the exact number of components to be included in your new computer's circuit board. If network updates by whatever name are to promote your business effectively, they must be concise, professional, well-timed, and, above all, interesting.
Concise. Twitter had the right idea setting a limit on characters per tweet; network updates were never intended to be as long as articles. Writing an update that runs beyond one short paragraph is like responding to a casual "Hi, how are you?" with ten minutes of details on your problems and triumphs. If what you want to say will take more than two sentences, put the key points into one sentence and append a "for more information" link.
Professional. While brevity is a requirement for network updates, compacted words and heavy abbreviations ("Thnx 2 our lyl cstmrs") are better left to text messages. They look super-casual, even flippant, and done-in-a-rush as well--leaving the subconscious impression that your products and services are created after the same fashion. Abbreviations are best limited to dates ("11/1/10"), numerals (as in "9" for "nine"), addresses (especially state names), and the symbols "%" and "&." Also, try to write in complete sentences; though they needn't be grammatically precise, they should at least sound like normal business-setting speech.
If you have real trouble writing both concisely and professionally, set aside half an hour each day to analyze how the experts--the top business writers and those whose social networking updates you follow--do it. Remember that adjectives and adverbs are usually dispensable. Keep a thesaurus handy to check for shorter synonyms to words and phrases. If all else fails, hire a social media specialist to write your updates!
Well-timed. Your updates will be better-written if you make time to compose them carefully, rather than dashing them off. It helps to have a daily or weekly schedule for posting; how often depends on how often newsworthy things happen at your business. If you have an event or new product launch scheduled, post updates on your plans (ideally with each post providing fresh information) once or twice a week for a couple of months in advance.
Interesting. The reason blogs and tweets got a bad reputation was that too often what they said was of interest only to the poster. In writing your updates, use the "what's in it for me?" principle--"me" being your network contacts, not you. An exclusive focus on self-promotion is boring by definition, which is why famous brands tell funny stories in their commercials rather than focusing on things the viewer has probably already made up his mind about. Even if everyone doesn't already know what you sell, people would rather have information they can use whether or not they're planning to buy a car or a computer. When composing your network updates, think about making website recommendations, inviting the public to events, or linking to blog posts, rather than always talking about what your company has to sell now. And don't be afraid to report the occasional hilarious gaffe--particularly if you can say in the update that it's now corrected.
Remember that people like their information in sound bites. Those bites can be very tasty when well-written!
Other posts in this series:
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Profiles
Social Networking for the Business Writer: "Cold Call" E-Messages
Social Networking for the Business Writer: The E-Article Connection
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Discussions
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Q & A
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Top-Ten List
Quick note to Houston-area followers who are fans of the writer's other blog at http://newsongsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/: on Saturday, November 6, a poetry book based on that blog will be for sale at the Gifts of Grace expo at Grace Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX. Contact http://www.houstonsgrace.org/ for more information.
To many people, blogs and tweets still equal "a lot of boring talk about what so-and-so had for breakfast." Though the business world hopefully knows better, no one is interested, either, in the minutes from your research team's latest meeting or the exact number of components to be included in your new computer's circuit board. If network updates by whatever name are to promote your business effectively, they must be concise, professional, well-timed, and, above all, interesting.
Concise. Twitter had the right idea setting a limit on characters per tweet; network updates were never intended to be as long as articles. Writing an update that runs beyond one short paragraph is like responding to a casual "Hi, how are you?" with ten minutes of details on your problems and triumphs. If what you want to say will take more than two sentences, put the key points into one sentence and append a "for more information" link.
Professional. While brevity is a requirement for network updates, compacted words and heavy abbreviations ("Thnx 2 our lyl cstmrs") are better left to text messages. They look super-casual, even flippant, and done-in-a-rush as well--leaving the subconscious impression that your products and services are created after the same fashion. Abbreviations are best limited to dates ("11/1/10"), numerals (as in "9" for "nine"), addresses (especially state names), and the symbols "%" and "&." Also, try to write in complete sentences; though they needn't be grammatically precise, they should at least sound like normal business-setting speech.
If you have real trouble writing both concisely and professionally, set aside half an hour each day to analyze how the experts--the top business writers and those whose social networking updates you follow--do it. Remember that adjectives and adverbs are usually dispensable. Keep a thesaurus handy to check for shorter synonyms to words and phrases. If all else fails, hire a social media specialist to write your updates!
Well-timed. Your updates will be better-written if you make time to compose them carefully, rather than dashing them off. It helps to have a daily or weekly schedule for posting; how often depends on how often newsworthy things happen at your business. If you have an event or new product launch scheduled, post updates on your plans (ideally with each post providing fresh information) once or twice a week for a couple of months in advance.
Interesting. The reason blogs and tweets got a bad reputation was that too often what they said was of interest only to the poster. In writing your updates, use the "what's in it for me?" principle--"me" being your network contacts, not you. An exclusive focus on self-promotion is boring by definition, which is why famous brands tell funny stories in their commercials rather than focusing on things the viewer has probably already made up his mind about. Even if everyone doesn't already know what you sell, people would rather have information they can use whether or not they're planning to buy a car or a computer. When composing your network updates, think about making website recommendations, inviting the public to events, or linking to blog posts, rather than always talking about what your company has to sell now. And don't be afraid to report the occasional hilarious gaffe--particularly if you can say in the update that it's now corrected.
Remember that people like their information in sound bites. Those bites can be very tasty when well-written!
Other posts in this series:
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Profiles
Social Networking for the Business Writer: "Cold Call" E-Messages
Social Networking for the Business Writer: The E-Article Connection
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Discussions
Social Networking for the Business Writer: LinkedIn Q & A
Social Networking for the Business Writer: Top-Ten List
Quick note to Houston-area followers who are fans of the writer's other blog at http://newsongsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/: on Saturday, November 6, a poetry book based on that blog will be for sale at the Gifts of Grace expo at Grace Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX. Contact http://www.houstonsgrace.org/ for more information.
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