Make sure your franchise gets noticed with social media
Published: 18 February 2016
Have you thought about your social media presence? Whether it’s shouting out about your latest accolade or revealing a new territory, Fiona Talbot’s second edition of
How to Write Effective Business English (£14.99,
koganpage.com) may be just what you need to make yourself known on the Twittersphere.
According to Fiona, the book imparts how “social media requires an integrated approach and we need to adopt a distinctly conversational style in our writing”. The guide will help you to improve your punctuation and grammar, with a section focused on frequently confused words to help you avoid common mistakes.
Check out Business Franchise’s exclusive extract of How to Write Effective Business English below:
Some major platforms out there
Businesses need to choose the channels that best suit their needs – and also those of their target demographic. You can’t just expect everyone to open a Facebook or Twitter account in order to engage with you. Choose channels you know your audience is interested in too (and remember that not everyone wants to be on the same channel) and that you can invest time in. Then get social, otherwise how can you expect to create a loyal following or generate leads?
Douglas Ray, a multimedia producer at Three Ships Media, created an amusing, helpful ‘donut’ analogy, which people adapt regularly, and which describes the feel of some major platforms right now:
- Twitter – I’m eating a #donut.
- Facebook – I like donuts.
- YouTube – here I am eating my donut.
- Pinterest – here’s a photo and recipe for donuts.
- Instagram – here’s a vintage photo of my donut.
As more channels get added to the mix, including WhatsApp, Viber etc (forms of chat that sit between original text messaging and the more recent instant messaging – see chapter seven) and Google+, recognise and adapt to their style. Keep your purpose in mind: be clear.
How do companies shine through their social media interaction?
There’s been a shift in focus from product or service (the focus of traditional writing) to consumer in social media. So your writing will need to be:
- Always reader-focused and less about direct selling (this doesn’t completely rule out selling, depending on what each channel allows in terms of promotion);
- More about your voice and your brand personality.
Share information and experiences of value, the newest this, the helpful that, etc. If people value your content, they can become ‘brand advocates’, without ever meeting you. You’re likely to reciprocate and this can open new dialogues and horizons.
Learn by looking at how companies shine through their online interaction.
Reproduced with permission from How to Write Effective Business English by Fiona Talbot, published by Kogan Page: www.koganpage.com/effective-business-english. For your exclusive Business Franchise 20% discount enter ‘FRANCHISEBUSENG’ at the checkout before the 31st of March.
