Writing is part of my job, and I do it in one form or another most days. I still struggle with word choice and phrasing, and it takes a long time to craft even a small blog post. If you don’t write all the time, you may find writing social media posts and blogs even more daunting. I might not be able to teach you all I know about writing in this post, but I can give you some tips on how to improve.
What are you trying to say?
You should always strive for clarity when you write. Social media settings call for especially clear and concise writing. You are competing for attention with dozens or hundreds of other posts, and people will scroll on by if they don’t know what you’re trying to say. What do you want your readers to gain from your posts? Are you teaching them something? Are you sharing some news? Are you asking for feedback? Try to make sure your readers know exactly what you are trying to tell them. They are more likely to respond to your post if they know why you’re posting.
Check more than your spelling.
Spellcheck is your friend. But, spellcheck will not fix all of your mistakes for you. I had a conversation with some friends recently about maddening words and phrases they see in social media. Among the most annoying: “sneak peak” instead of “sneak peek”; “addicting” instead of “addictive”; “literally” when you mean “figuratively”; and “for all intensive purposes” instead of “for all intents and purposes.” Your writing loses credibility when you use these kinds of phrases and your readers may dismiss your posts. You may not want to hire an editor for your social media posts, but at least take a second to have someone look over your writing. A fresh set of eyes can be a big help.
Consider your words carefully.
North American society is, by and large, a predominantly white, heterosexual, cisgender society. If you fall into these categories, then you may not ever think about phrases or words you use that marginalize those whose identity differs. Choosing words that diminish the identity of others causes lasting harm. Saying something like “man up” implies that women are the weaker sex. Appropriating other cultures’ language or slang is disrespectful. Refusing to acknowledge a transgender person’s preferred pronoun is offensive. There is a tendency in many social media circles to provoke and push boundaries in order to generate discussion, but you can spark debate without resorting to these tactics.
I know there are people out there who think that we shouldn’t be so pedantic about spelling and grammar, especially in social media, but I disagree. Respecting the language and considering word choice carefully reflects well on you. If you are writing in a public forum of any kind, you should always try writing to the best of your ability.