WRiting for Social Media

Overview

• Branding basics
• Developing a voice
• Style guides
• Creative briefs
• Storytelling technique: open loops

BRANDING

Branding

• Feeling: the gut-feeling your audience has when your brand comes up
• Promise: the vow a brand makes to its audience
• Relationship: the quality of ongoing interactions between a brand and its audience

Target
Walmart
Costco

Fruit of the Loom
Calvin Klein
Victoria's Secret

VOICE

The cocktail party question:

who are you?

Voice describes your brand's personality. It is consistent and unchanging.

Tone is the emotional inflection applied to your voice. It adjusts to what is suitable for a particular piece or message.

Developing voice

• Review mission and values
• Audit messaging
• Survey and research audiences
• Create brand voice and style guidelines
• Enforce consistency

Example

• Let's say your brand voice is "Quirky"
• That means that you aren't afraid to challenge the status quo.
• Apply quirk by using unexpected examples and expressing a point of view.
• Avoid slang, overplayed examples, or obscure references.

Example

• Let's say your brand voice is "Passionate"
• That means that you want to change the world.
• Apply passion by using strong verbs and championing progress.
• Avoid wishy-washy and passive language.

Example

• Let's say your brand voice is "Professional"
• That means that you want to be seen as a trustworthy authority.
• Apply professionalism by being honest and direct. Show thought leadership.
• Avoid casual language and jargon.

How would you describe this brand?

How would you describe this brand?

How would you describe this brand?

Let's play a game

Shh...The pancake is sleeping.

Nothing can stop what we can do together. You can't stop sport.

This is what Magic Mike sounds like without music.
You're welcome.

STYLE

Style Guides

• Defines the brand visually
• Provides guidance on tone, content, formatting, etc.
• Helps guide new asset creation
• Most brands develop their own
• AP Style

Creative Briefs

• Strategic tools to get everyone on the same page
• Includes campaign goals, specifics, timelines, budgets, contacts, etc.
• Essential for starting a project

Any questions

Open Loops

Open Loops

• Open a story in your copy but don't close it.
• Our brains are hardwired to seek out the information we desire.
• We actually feel anxiety when there's a gap between what we know and what we want to know!

This technique can be overused

Open Loops

• Open with a dramatic scene or image
• Set up an intriguing situation
• Ask a question that leaves the reader wanting to know more
• Present information that needs context (e.g. quote, statistic, etc.)

Any questions?