Are you a social media manager responsible for your social media posts?

Do you have an English diploma? Literature? Journalism?

Number?

Do not be sad.

Her. Not. Necessary.

You can edit (and write) whatever you need for your posts, your business, your fans and followers.

Just like you.

As you know, the word (good or bad) can unleash itself in flurry and anger online. Better to check your keyboard to check your message, improve what is said around your social posts on the Internet.

Otherwise, you and your business’ reputation may be damaged. You spent years building this. The last thing you want is for it to roll down.

Even a misunderstanding can mess things up. Here’s one…

JAPADOG operates food trucks and restaurants. Duties: “Make the world happy and alive through hot dogs!”

However, the fans were not very happy to see this post.

JAPADOG stepped in as commentators and eaters began to mourn the closure of shops and cars.

they were just closing for the day. Oh.

A cute, harmless mistake? Maybe this time. Maybe not next time. And it could have been easily avoided.

A little goes a long way. This article is about that. Simple tips for making editing for your social, publishing routine quick and painless.

8 quick editing tips for social media managers

1. Draw another pair of eyes on it

Could JAPADOG avoid embarrassment if they asked someone to prove the post first?

It’s hard to say for sure.

But when you ask for help, your odds of clarity increase dramatically.

It’s an easy question, it only takes a minute or three for the other person. Ask someone else to review your post and tweets before you post them.

Are you a one-man show? Good. Ask a friend or relative for a favor. Don’t do the “I don’t want to bother anyone” or “I can handle this myself” thing. What are friends for, right?

Maybe you are part of a small team? Let others know you have a few posts to post. In fact, make this a routine for anyone who has something to say on social media.

2. Use humor. Maybe.

Done right… social media + some humor = fun fans.

Not so true… you can break, upset, and suspend the reader’s trust in your brand.

Sometimes you need to be clear, not smart.

Anyone in customer service will tell you that the people on the refund line are a tough crowd.

And I don’t need to remind you to make jokes about ethnicity, gender, economic status, or other personal issues. Wait, I reminded you.

Too bad for Dave & Buster’s sports bar. They have now deleted this notorious tweet, but it was too late. Damage control.

12 Quick Editing Tips for Social Media 2
Photo from Twitter via AdAge

On the happy side… here’s a good example of real humor.

When sharing a post, it’s worth asking yourself: “Does this make the reader want to follow us?”

Consider your audience carefully and thoughtfully. So you can find a way to add advantage to your posts and brand.

Everyone wants to enjoy the giggle, this is a great way to spread the news.

But not if not at someone’s expense.

3. Rewrite the ambiguous

JAPADOG has learned the hard way how uncertainty creates confusion.

before hitting Publish button… ask yourself if anything you type seems ‘off’ or unclear.

Read it aloud too. This will engage your brain and logic more. Don’t be shy, no one is listening – except you and your brain.

Here is a good example of uncertainty.

“Biweekly.”

E.g…

“We will meet every two weeks to review and refine our submission schedule.”

Hmmmm… so are you all going to meet up twice a week? Or once every two weeks?

So to be clear… “We will meet twice a week…” or, “We will meet every two weeks…”

Understood? Of course. Further.

4. Use tools and technology

As the editor-in-chief of your social media… You have something to say, don’t you?

Of course, great writing can take talent and innate creativity. However, it is not necessary to inform, entertain or persuade the reader to take action on your posts.

Here are some great writing tips and tools to help you with all that.

Specifically (drum roll please)… The Hemingway App.

Hemingway App for writing and editing

The Hemingway app will make you a better writer. Period.

Remove the jargon. Shorten sentences. Remove unnecessary envelopes. Stop with superlative adjectives. Write in an active voice, not a passive voice.

All this disappears when you type it like Ernest did.

5. Learn from others

In my not-so-humble view… every social media manager should improve their vocabulary.

I referred you to some tips and tools above.

Now. For simpler writing tips, I refer you to 17 great writers on Twitter.

Follow a few. It only takes a few minutes a week to learn little tricks that can have big results.

Here’s one.

Learn a load through his Twitter feed, blog posts and podcasts. Jeff shows you how he does it so you can too.

6. Create content your readers care about

Certainly…

Write clear and concise content.

Use humor when it makes sense.

Find someone to prove their word.

All these and more are good practices.

But what’s the point of preparing and editing if your content isn’t worth reading?

Part of your job as an editor is to learn what inspires your audience. So you can give them more than they want.

We write all this all the time. Here are a few pieces that will help you and your team deliver more than what works:

  • Find out what your competitors are offering
  • Build a minimal social strategy
  • Write compelling calls to action
  • Measure what works and what doesn’t
  • Build your brand voice
  • Why and how are hashtags used?

Nice little package, huh? So if you read some (or all) of these apps and integrate them into your social media DNA.

7. Consult your style guide

What, a style guide?

Why?

  • To inject personality into your brand
  • To show the right path on all your social accounts
  • To write with a consistent voice and tone
  • To quickly onboard new authors

Now, you might think, “but we are a smaller company”.

So what. The style guide is a great resource to create, own, and reference.

And it is not difficult to create.

Learn how to create your style guide.

Among the things worth knowing…

  • State your goals
  • Define your audience
  • Collect all your social accounts
  • Enhance your voice
  • use the right words
  • Decide what (and when) to post
  • Know how everything should look

You got this job…

Refine your guide as you go, mature your style as you grow.

8. Tell a story (no, really)

What a trite statement. We hear it all the time for copywriting and marketing.

But what does it really mean? How does it help? How do you say?

I’m a superfan of Donald Miller’s Story Brand framework and his book, Building a Story Brand, for enhancing a business’s message.

I use it to write pages, emails, posts, offers and just about anything else to entice readers to take action.

Writers of movie scripts do the same to grab and hold the audience’s attention. They have been doing this since the beginning of time. Same for books.

Most stories go like this…

  • there is a character
  • there is a bad guy
  • The villain is causing a problem for the character
  • The problem affects the character externally and internally.
  • Character meets a guide
  • Guide shows empathy
  • Guide shows wisdom
  • The guide gives them a plan
  • The guide urges them to take action
  • The story (or episode or scene) ends successfully
  • The character now knows how to avoid future failures
  • And transforms from old self to new self

Keep this in mind the next time you watch Star Wars or any other movie.

For your message, this means…

  • Make your client a hero like Luke Skywalker
  • Position your brand as a guide like Yoda
  • Frame the beginning of your message around a problem to show empathy
  • Show me how you solved these troubles
  • Make a plan for the next steps the reader should take
  • Show how the reader feels before they meet
  • Show them how they will feel after working with you

Too many businesses are writing about them. They are trying to position themselves as heroes. Talking about how great they are, how great their product is, and all that stuff.

Flip the switch, write from the reader’s perspective. Go from ‘we’ and ‘us’ to ‘you’ and ‘your’. Clearly describe a problem they are experiencing. The brain wants to go to problem solving.

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This creates intrigue and drama. Readers want drama. Readers want clarity.

I use this approach for all my clients. You can also start with your shares and posts.

What problems do you solve for your customers and fans? Read the book. It will help you get clear about your business so you can write (and talk) about it. Including your posts.

Write, edit, publish and schedule posts to all your social media channels using Moyens I/O. You can create and share content, engage with audiences, monitor relevant conversations and competitors, measure results, and much more, all from a single dashboard. Try it for free today!