Page 64 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

Telling your story through social media 53

The style in the following tweet is a million miles away from the
Innocent approach. It’s sent by a ‘social media’ company as their
standard ‘first point of contact’ tweet, to all people they have
started following on Twitter:
@ (name of person they follow) Do you blog?

Would it surprise you that no one appears to reply? It’s abrupt
(which is different to being concise) and doesn’t show any interest
in the person they question. One gets the feeling that the company
tweets only so they can sell their blogging services.

Writing that creates trust can create

a community

Building a community through social media is not just for com-
mercial brands. We now find many more social enterprises setting
up, not just in traditional third sector activity areas such as health
and social care, education and community services, but also in tra-
ditional private sector activities. Most encouragingly, we see com-
panies who want to use their profits for the public good.
Charismatic retail magnate Theo Paphitis is one such supporter
of skills and entrepreneurship. The following case study shows how
he created a supportive small business community via social media.

CASE STUDY Theo Paphitis’ Small Business Sunday
community

In common with many highly successful entrepreneurs, Theo Paphitis
is open about his dyslexia, which has actually afforded him an
advantage in understanding the importance of simple, vibrant,
well-chosen words to sell messages, products and services and
create a following.