Writing for social media is NOT the same

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Social media is different. It's different because the reader is in control and the reader is cynical and doesn't trust spin and brand speak. The reader will participate and comment and, because he or she is connected, will share his or her views with their network. To some it may be bad news but social media is not a fad and it is here to stay.

Traditionally copy in ads, news media and PR is a one-way communication in the control of the writer who could persuade and form opinion as he alone held the floor. This is not the case when everyone is empowered to speak; then the opinions become user-generated. In this space we need to consider our approach to writing business copy and that may mean learning new techniques, techniques which are going to become more and more important in the future of marketing and advertising.

I recently stumbled on an eBook titled The 19 NEW rules of successful social media copywriting, written by Nicky Jameson, downloadable free of charge from her website It is interesting reading and a great guide.

In my view, though, her approach doesn't do far enough, and I discussed this with her on the net, Nicky is in Canada and true to the spirit of social media she engaged in the debate with me.

The point I raised was that her approach is still too persuasion-orientated: based on her considerable experience on writing response copy, she is always looking for an call to action. I argued that social media is not just selling; sometimes conversations are just building rapport. She is addressing this point in future writings.

We have no disagreement over her key point, however, and that is that social media is about relationships. To me, relationships are built out of developing an authentic personal voice that nurtures a relationship with the reader; out of the relationship develops the opportunity to nudge rather than convince the reader; and relationships develop over time.

Further essential reading for anyone venturing into understanding the social media is Brian Clark's blog, CopyBlogger.

Social media is such a new space that we don't know the rules but we can all agree that it's about content and that traditional approaches don't work - they aren't trusted.

Download the report - it's really worth reading - and let me know what you think; I am interested to learn from your views.