Jay LeonardRules and Guidelines for Optimizing Your Personal Social Media Presence Without Jeopardizing Your Career
The art of writing has changed. Not everywhere; but when it comes to writing for the web, we seem to have lowered our standards over the past decade. We are lucky to have programs like spell check and autocorrect to fix our misspelled words and politely point out poor sentence structure, but these programs rarely catch every mistake. As a result, the Internet is a festering cesspool of grammatically incorrect blog posts and error-ridden news articles. It’s tragic.
No one likes a grammar Nazi, but just because Twitter forces you to cut off your thoughts at 140 characters doesn’t mean every writing rule should go out the window. In fact, that limit could inspire tweeters to improve their writing by forcing them to be concise and articulate.
In this time of tweets, Facebook posts, and self-published novels, is there any hope for the future of grammar? I’d like to think yes.
As a social media specialist and self-described grammar nut, I’ve read dozens of articles about how marketers and others in the industry can optimize their profiles or boost a brand’s online presence, but sometimes it’s the small nuances of each site that determine how successful you are on each platform.
So, here’s my approach to cultivating good writing for the web – along the same lines as E.B. White’s classic: The Elements of Style.
Elementary Rule of Usage
Write for your audience and platform
This is a crucial component of good writing and it’s the lack of this practice that causes much of the disastrous prose across the web. Many people are under the impression that their LinkedIn profile can be written in the same lax style as their Facebook page, or personal blog. This mistake could cost you a job. If a potential employer is researching job candidates on the professional social network, an error-filled, poorly written LinkedIn profile could put you at a disadvantage in the hiring process.
TLDR: LinkedIn, Google+, and any other professionally-oriented social profiles should be error-free, curse-free, clear, and reflective of your best work.
A Few Matters of Form
When it comes to Facebook engagement, you can like, share, and comment on company profiles, brand pages, or communities. You can also like a status update, picture, or post on a friend’s wall. Generally, Facebook and work don’t mix, unless you manage your business’ Facebook page or you opt to like your company on Facebook. That’s allowed. Messaging on Facebook is pretty much only something that happens between friends and is rarely used for professional correspondence.
Make sure you have a private Twitter account or your Twitter is tied to a personal email address and your username doesn’t give you away. Twitter reveals a lot about an individual (their likes and dislikes, general location, online behaviors, etc.) and a potential employer probably shouldn’t be privy to all that information. It’s a good idea to have a Twitter account from a personal perspective because you can grow your online presence and also follow the news cycle closely. For the most part, keep Twitter separate from work unless you specifically deal with Twitter in the workplace or want to cultivate your personal brand in the professional space.
Keep it professional, people. This is your chance to shine. While Facebook, Twitter, and other accounts like Instagram and Pinterest can be kept private, LinkedIn is meant to highlight your professional accomplishments. Flesh out your resume, edit it thoroughly, and make sure all contact information is accurate and up-to-date.
Google+
Google+ gives users the chance to share material with select groups of people. It has an air of exclusivity about it that makes it valuable for SEO and content promotion. Make sure all of your contact info is up to date and others in your industry can reach you and engage with your content if they desire. It’s also a good idea to join groups and communities that suit your interests. Regular participation in these forums will lead to a larger online presence and increased “authorship”.
These are the most popular social media accounts for personal promotion, but of course there are many, many others with different functions. Choose two or three for yourself and update content regularly so that you build a strong online persona. Get started optimizing these pages for search today in order to avoid rookie mistakes and optimize your online reputation.
Choose Your Words Wisely
Finally, when it comes to writing for social media, no matter which platform you’re engaging with, write well. Be concise and omit needless words. As William Strunk said in The Elements of Style, “make every word tell.”
I’ll leave you with that piece of advice from a seasoned expert.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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I couldn’t agree more. Writing for the web is a form that most people just don’t seem to understand. To take your article a bit further, people really need to start using plain language when writing online content. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website (http://www.consumerfinance.gov) is a wonderful example.
Thanks Stuart. That’s a great resource. Their language is simple yet informative.