The type of tone that you choose to infuse in your content, will dictate the mood of your business. Boring, dry content will tell your readers that you run a boring, dry business! That’s why pre-planning what your tone is going to be will help you build brand power, and will get you a larger social media community.
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Many businesses these days choose to make their tone as entertaining as possible. This is because social media is just as much about engagement as it is about response. If your content isn’t inviting, then you won’t get people to like or follow your pages. Even if they do, you’ll still have trouble getting them to interact with you. Of all the effort you put into your writing, your tone is the most important.
Visit Competitor Pages and Take Notes
How do your competitors communicate with their communities? There’s a lot you can learn about language when you see it in action. Pick 10 of your closest competitors, and take notes on how they treat their readers, and how they respond to problems. The quickest way to identify tone, is to notice the attitude of the writer. Are they friendly? Sarcastic? Negative?
Moods translate in writing, so make sure that when you nail down the type of tone you want for your social media content – it stays the same. The right tone will let your community know that you are open to interaction. That’s what you want!
Never Pretend, or Overdo It
You know what a fake greeting sounds like, right? Well there is such a thing as fake tweets, blogs and Facebook posts. If you don’t sound sincere, then you’re going to come across as a fake personality. At the same time if you sound to generic, people will think you’re a spambot. The trick is to narrow in on your customer base and your community, and mimic their friendly tones and casual communication styles.
There are many businesses that think sounding dynamic and energetic, is the same as shouting, overdoing exclamation marks, or using ridiculous hearts, smileys and pictures in their content. You’ve seen a tweet made up of lines and dots that forms a picture. These are not acceptable in business, unless you’re a daycare centre.
The Fine Line Between Personal and Business
If you have more than 1 writer creating your social media posts, you could come across a fairly urgent problem. Some writers put too much of their personality in their writing, and this sticks out like a sore thumb. The last thing you want is for people to know that you don’t manage your own social media pages – unless you’ve made that clear on that platform.
Always be helpful, humble and friendly. These are 3 attitudes that will work well in any business. Be wary of the metaphors and imagery you or your writer use – they say a lot about your business.
Tone is the single most important thing you’ll have to manage in social media. You can be the world’s greatest marketer, or business person – but if your tone is wrong online, everyone is going to respond badly. By bad – we mean no response at all. Stay relevant, be professional and don’t forget to entertain your community!
What tone do you like to read on Facebook or Twitter? Witty? Edgy? Angry? Tell us below!
