Why are social media posts like the cobbler’s children?

Finding good writing on social media can be like finding the proverbial unicorn.

A guest blog by Joe Diorio

The end of 2019 represents not only the end of another year, but the end of a decade.

That’s prompting no shortage of #grateful type posts on social media. Sadly, there is more than a bit of repetition to all of them, since the posts all start out the same way.

“So grateful for …”
“So happy to see …”
“What a year this has been …”

The problem with this is that if everything reads the same, then nothing may be read at all. The scan and skip nature of reading online material makes it way too easy to gloss over these posts.

It’s not just end-of-year messages, either. After IABC Nashville presented its annual Music City Gold Pen Awards, the avalanche of social media messages about the awards mentioned a lot except what was done to win the awards. Here’s a sample of what showed up in my various social media news feeds:

“Congrats to all of today’s award recipients!”
“We are thrilled to announce …”
“Wow, we are in awe …”
“So proud of you …”

At the risk of making everyone hate me, we are communicators, right? Then why are our social media posts so – what’s the word? – dull? Repetitive? Uncreative?

OK, everyone put down the torches and blunt objects and please read on before sending me a variation of a “WELL, YOU TRY IT” email. Don’t kill the messenger (a variation of that phrase can be traced all the way back to Sophocles in 442 B.C., but I digress). We all know the demand for quick and up-to-the-nanosecond communications is leaving good writing in its wake.

Dull writing is the proverbial kiss of death for marketing communication professionals. A decade after Nicholas Carr asked in The Atlantic asking “Is Google making us stupid?” we seem to be forgetting that the single most important job for us is to communicate.

We get it that you are proud, happy, and thrilled to have won, but go a step further and tell us why. Rather than saying “we are thrilled to announce” how about:

  • “Teamwork and a dedication to the goal of increasing widget sales by 10 percent resulted in our being recognized with a Music City Gold Pen Award.”
  • “A team from our agency and our client who believed we could pull off an event that
    heretofore never took place in Nashville was honored…”
  • “We taught consumers something they never knew before …”

In other words, use social media to tell your followers what you did, how you did it, and why you did it. We all have scores of social media accounts we follow. Identify those nuggets of wisdom that made your communication effort an award winner and lead with that. And along the way omit the needless and, sadly, self-serving words. Everyone should plan their social media posts about their awards as carefully as they plan the communication activities that garnered them said awards.

In 2009 I had the privilege of meeting Ted Sorensen, who wrote so eloquently while chronicling the presidency of John F. Kennedy. He explained the need to communicate clearly and effectively with a brilliant shaggy dog story.

He said a salesman was setting up shop to sell seafood. First pass at a sign: “Fresh Seafood, Fish for Sale.” Well, he thought, who would sell stale fish? So he shortened the sign: “Seafood, Fish for Sale.” Heck, fish ARE seafood, so the word “fish” was dropped. But if he’s selling seafood in a store, then why say it’s “for sale”? The final sign, eloquently and to the point, read, simply, “Seafood.”

And, by the way, I’m confident he was proud, excited, and humbled by the chance to open his store.

Happy new year, and let’s write carefully out there, people. 

Joe Diorio is a Nashville IABC member and a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader. You can sign up for his newsletter, “A Few Words About Words,” by visiting his website

Would you like to be a guest blogger?
Email us at iabcnashvilletn@gmail.com

From keywords to intent: Energize your content strategy for 2019

Mark your calendar for our next professional development luncheon Wednesday, February 20, and join us for an in-depth panel discussion that will energize your 2019 content strategy. This is an event you do not want to miss! 

Whether you’re building your first strategy or you’ve been using the same approach for a while, it never hurts to revisit your content strategy plan — to make sure it’s innovative, strong, and intentional.

Come hear from Nashville’s top content strategists as they share with you their insights on how to maximize your brand’s content strategy in the new year! They’ll deliver their recent findings on the latest trends, winning tools, and their own stories of how to build a successful strategy that’s unique to your brand.

Reserve your spot today for this “must see” event

Event schedule:

11:30am-12pm – Networking
12:00pm-1pm – Panel Discussion and lunch

Meet our expert panelists and moderator:

Laura Creekmore
Director of Taxonomy and Content Strategy at Syndigo

Laura Creekmore has been making tech and content hold hands and play nice for more than 20 years. She is director of taxonomy and content strategy for Syndigo, a platform for suppliers and retailers to organize and share product content. For 10 years, she ran Creek Content, a consultancy focused on communications and content strategy for organizations in complex fields like health care and financial services, and before that led digital media at content marketing firm Hammock Inc. and co-created Smallbusiness.com. She has taught content strategy as an adjunct faculty member at Kent State University.

Laura graduated from Vanderbilt University and has a master’s in information science from the University of Tennessee. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Nashville, and a member of the board of directors for the Association of Junior Leagues International, the Oasis Center, and the Tennessee Justice Center. She is past chair of the board of Nashville Cable, and a past president of the Junior League of Nashville. She speaks and presents workshops on content strategy, content marketing, breaking through a cluttered media landscape, connecting with your audience, public speaking, and nonprofit governance issues.

Cynthia Floyd Manley
Director, Content Marketing and Social Engagement at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Cynthia Floyd Manley directs content marketing and social media strategy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, one of the largest academic medical centers in the Southeast. She leads an award-winning social media program for the Vanderbilt Health and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital brands, along with My Southern Health, a consumer health content site.

Manley began her career as a newspaper reporter and editor and is still considers herself a “journalist at heart.” She has served in a variety of roles at VUMC, including public information officer, publications editor, and marketing manager, as well as communications officer for Vanderbilt’s National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center.

She serves as an external advisor to the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network, is a member of SocialMedia.org and SocialMedia.org/Health and is active in the Association of American Medical College’s Group on Institutional Advancement.

Jesse Spear
Media & Content Marketing Strategist at redpepper

Jesse Spear is the Media & Content Marketing Strategist at redpepper — a creative agency in Germantown known for its work with Cracker Barrel, Slack, and Mars.

After growing up on Long Island, NY, she made her way south, earning her B.A. in both Media Studies and Spanish from the University of Virginia, then receiving her Master’s in Marketing from Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. During her year at Vanderbilt, she realized her affinity for Nashville, agency life, and BBQ nachos.

At redpepper, she’s responsible for the agency’s internal content strategy. Jesse has made subject-matter expertise a strong pillar of redpepper’s content portfolio. Her efforts have led to a 219% increase in blog traffic, the implementation of a unique content calendar structure, and fine-tuned targeting tactics. As a newcomer to Nashville’s agency scene, she offers a fresh perspective on the importance of a creative, cross-platform content strategy.

Moderator Sarah “Birdie” Loeffler
Content Strategist at NDC, Inc.
IABC Nashville President

Sarah “Birdie” Loeffler is the Content Strategist at NDC, Inc. and has been a dedicated member of IABC since 2014. In 2018, she received the President’s Award for exceptional contributions by a chapter member to the health and growth of the chapter.

Birdie has a technical writing background and specializes in translating technical information into easily accessible and creative language for marketing purposes. At NDC, she oversees the marketing content strategy to provide a personalized experience between the NDC brand and their customers.

Reserve your spot today for this “must see” event

 

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