There are no style guides to social media writing. There are no rules or tips or tricks. Plenty of gurus and software companies have written articles like, “How to write for social media,” that have scintillating tips like, “Keep Tweets short. You only have 140 characters!” But you don’t need rules to write for social media. Social media is for human beings.
But then there are those pesky non-human beings to account for.
And no, I’m not talking about animals or even brands. I’m talking about the largest segment of non-human beings out there: Television news media.
While yes, I jest, there simply isn’t a guide book to help professionally trained news writers adjust to the social web. Met with the challenge of offering my thoughts to a local news operation in Louisville, I researched for hours only to realize I had to create something from scratch.
Yes, broadcast news writers are human. But when they sit down at the computer to compose a headline, a lede and perhaps even an entire story, they’re taught a certain style that’s hard to shake. So they naturally sound forced, sterile and yes, inhuman.
So how do they kick off their own unnaturalness and become more like us? How can they learn to “Write for Social?” Here’s some ideas:
It’s Not Writing. It’s Talking.
Yes, you’re going to push keys on your keyboard or phone, but a personal social media account is not written. The posts, tweets and other entries there are a person’s conversations with their friends. You’re talking to other people – and listening to them in return so you can continue the conversation.
Considering managing a social media account as a “writing” assignment is like having the grocery store bagger ask, “Paper or Plastic?” and you whip out a laptop to compose a spell-checked response. These are conversations. They happen fast. In real-time. Often without preparation or forethought.
It’s even okay if you abbreviate and – gasp – misspell things occasionally. Contrary to grammar Nazi beliefs, Facebook is not a term paper.
Drop The Façade
When you have to be “on” all the time, you play a role that is a version of yourself. You’re always smiling, eyes wide open, enunciating everything perfectly, shoulders back, head high … it’s exhausting, isn’t it? Play the version of yourself that sometimes sits around the house in a t-shirt and running shorts. Exhale. Un-squinch your butt cheeks.
People on social channels expect to talk to other people. And other people aren’t perfect professional portraits with good lighting and face powder. If you’re newsroom stuffy on social media, you’ll be spotted early and often and accused of being fake, even if you’re only being your work self.
Use Human Language
In what normal conversation outside of the newsroom have you ever used the words, “perpetrator,” “alleged,” or even “suspect?” Talk to people on Facebook, Twitter and other channels like you’re talking to your friends or family over coffee. If you used those words and phrases with them, they’d likely say, “Oooooh! Look at the big news anchor with his big, fancy words he learned in teleprompter school! Teach me some of that fancy talk, Cronkite!!!”
And for you weather folks out there, slapping “Dual Doppler XD HyperScan” onto every tweet is ridiculous. We know you want to show off your technology, but you just ate up 25 characters that could have said, “Bundle up & hunker down!” If we’re following you on Twitter, we know your call letters and how cool your big white sorcery ball of radar magic is. Talk to us, don’t sell us your wares.
It’s All About The Tone
Even more important than the words you use is the tone in which you use them. Writing copy for the news is typically done is an urgent or declarative tone. You don’t talk to people in the real world that way unless you’re a flight attendant deplaning crash victims.
“Social” implies conversations. These require listening as well as speaking. You need a conversational tone, but not the manufactured type you use during interviews. The one you need to use on social is like the one you have when your neighbor comes over to borrow your weed eater.
So, instead of saying, “A Fire Guts City Hall! Tonight at 11 on WEEE News!” you might try, “The video of the fire at city hall is depressing. It will lead the 11 o’clock newscast if you want to see.”
See? You can even be promotional without being spammy.
Be An Actual Person
We know you have families. We know you shop, eat, have hobbies and interests outside of work. We don’t expect you to unload your entire private life at us – nor would most of us really want that – but when you’re binging on old episodes of Dexter on Netflix, we might find that an interesting tid-bit of common ground that makes us like you more. And that’s the kind of thing other humans would share in that situation.
We also know you have your own opinions and don’t even care if there’s a disclaimer on your profile saying they aren’t necessarily those of the station. No, you probably shouldn’t tell us who you’re voting for or root too hard against the big local teams – least we start to hate you – but you can say, “Damn that Volkswagen. I thought I was being good to the environment. What a ripoff!” and we’ll likely empathize.
Certainly, your journalistic principles need to be considered, but in the world of social media, journalists who never pick a side are hard to consider trustworthy. For it is here you aren’t a member of the media. You’re just another human with a “Publish” button like the rest of us.
There’s A Lot More To It
While these are cursory ideas on tone of voice and knocking off some of the official constraints of a newsroom pedigree to be more believable and engaging on social channels, there’s a lot more for news anchors and even print news writers to understand as they transition to being extensions of their organization’s brand. Mastering the fine art of promoting without seeming promotional is a big one. And balancing the public figure with the private life is another.
But these conversational tips should do many a news writer good, when transitioning to “write” for social.