Page 76 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

Telling your story through social media 65

Your social media posts need to cross-refer
to your website

Your website needs to act as a hub for your social media posts. All
content should cross-refer and have a consistent look, feel and cor-
porate style as part of the reader experience. So, just as with your
social media posts, do your messages stand out with the ‘power
words’ that reflect your values? Was your website originally writ-
ten in a traditional style? Just as it had to be adapted for mobile
devices, might it have to be further adapted to align with how you
write for social media?
Now people expect bite-sized messages, headlined and sub-
headlined to break up text for scan reading. Captions too have a
role to play in explaining the visuals you use. Make everything
discoverable.
Finally, if your website is in English, do you use this in a global
or local context? With the potential to reach out to new territories
via social media too, writing effectively in English means one size
won’t fit all.

Telling your story

We’ve looked at many examples of how companies project their
voice and personality in social media and how they tell their brand
story, drawing readers into it and being interested in readers’ sto-
ries too.
By now you should have a definite idea of what story you
have to tell, alongside your company’s personality. It’s your ex-
citing challenge to write vibrant content that draws people to-
wards you.
So what’s your compelling story? What did it begin with? Where
are you at? Where are you going? Are you going to let readers
share your people’s stories and see their personalities? And are you
going to invite your audience to share their stories?