Today we welcome to The Hired Gun blog family Daryl Lang, who blogs about copywriting at Breaking Copy and whose day job is as senior copywriter at Shutterstock. His monthly column, Think First Then Type, will cover tips and techniques to help you use language more effectively at work–after all, even the best and brightest ideas won’t catch on if you can’t get them understood.
Social media can be a real love-fest. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have opened new channels to reach people we care about, both personally and professionally. But you can kill the good vibes when you spark an ugly online fight or post a status update that accidentally offends someone. Call it social media remorse. Symptoms include pangs of regret, profuse sweating, and a knot in the pit of your stomach.
Luckily, it’s within your power to avoid social network-induced stress (Twulcers?). Just slow down and think about what you write. Here are a few more tips to prevent social media remorse.
1. Be your best self. Let people hear your voice when they read your posts. Share what you love and what you know best. Use short words and breezy sentences. When your personality and expertise shine through, people connect with you in a positive way.
2. If your company has a social media policy, follow it. Some employers require you to post a notice in social media profiles stating that your opinions don’t necessarily reflect those of the company. That’s a wise idea even if your company doesn’t require it.
3. Don’t whine. We all want to vent about the bad song stuck in our heads, the poor customer service experience we just endured, and the rude people grinding us down. An occasional complaint is fine (especially if it’s funny) but don’t make negativity your brand. Build up more than you tear down. Be gracious when people make mistakes. It will make an enormous difference in how others perceive you.
4. Don’t dig your own grave. We’ve all heard stories of people who’ve lost jobs (or friends) after a poorly thought-out Facebook post. Here’s a way to avoid posts that seem fine at the time but incredibly stupid in retrospect. Before you post something, imagine your words being read back to you in the voice of the person you’d least want to read it. If it sounds bad, don’t post it. Remember, whatever your privacy settings say, people gossip. Nothing interesting on a social media site stays private for long.
5. Embrace the awkwardness. As much as we’ve come to rely on social media, it is still in its clumsy, pimple-faced adolescence. Like the early days of television, when newscasters smoked on the air and everybody sounded like a game show host, we’re still figuring out tone and etiquette. You won’t always get it right. That’s fine, because neither will anyone else. Be creative, write at your own pace, and don’t forget to take a break and laugh.
With a little effort, online social networks can make your real-life social network stronger. After all, isn’t that the point?
[Image © Dmitriy Shironosov/Shutterstock]
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