The Importance of Social Media Vernacular

Posted by Gino Cosme

May 7, 2008

American copywriter George Gribbin once said “I think central to good writing of advertising, or anything else, is a person who has developed an understanding of people, an insight into them, a sympathy toward them. I think that that develops more sharply when the writer has not had an easy adjustment to living. So that they have themselves felt the need for understanding, the need for sympathy, and can therefore see that need in other people.”

This is so true of social media copywriting. You see, while I am certainly a believer in having the skill set to write for the Web (i.e. following the mantra that offline and online copy need a completely different approach), social media deserves a respect for the diverse social media community. And equally as important, it requires a respect for a client, their company and the associated brand voice.

You see, while it is important for a blog’s tone to appear human and authentic, it’s equally as important to realise that brands have succeeded over the years not only on service and quality, but on the personality and ethos they depict. Each company, each client and each user needs to be approached with a clean “canvas”.

It’s for this reason that agencies and blog writers must get into the headspace of both the client and the community. They must gear themselves with the skill to shape their social media voices to both the companies they represent and the people the company wants to communicate with while remaining engaged in a conversation with people through real human emotion.

Here’s to getting social media vernacular right!