Social media communication is an important part of any strategic communication thinking. We have varied reasons for which we use social media, but for anyone who wishes to use this platform to engage meaningfully, there are a few things I think must be reflected upon. I shall be brief as much as possible, but to endeavour also to make each point as clear as possible.
1. Relevance of the post. A public post must be relevant to your followers to attract their attention and reaction. Relevance of a post, must look at “why this post”? Is it something of interest to the public, and why must the people even care about what you are posting about? If you are able to answer this question as candid as possible, you can proceed to satisfy yourself of the need to make the post.
2. Interval between your intended post and the previous. Interval between posts is very important. Don’t forget, you are not the only one in this space. As a result, there must be a certain time interval between your posts. If you post too frequent, you become quite boring, except you are able to generate exceptionally interesting posts of immense interest to your followers. Otherwise, be able to leave a good time interval between your public posts. However, there are exceptions to this opinion. Where you are making commentary on a fleeting issue such as commenting on a public hearing, a presentation, or anything of the sort which is temporary, your followers would appreciate your constant posts on the subject matter. Without such instances, be careful to observe some meaningful intervals within your posts.
3. Time of day. The time of the day is very important for certain posts. You must be able to measure the time of the day and then be able to tell what would be of specific interest at that time of the day. Because you post and expect your posts to generate conversations around them, you need to assess the mood of the day and be able to communicate within that context for maximum effect.
4. Length of text. The length of text matters in your communication. The shorter, the better. Unless there is so compelling reason for you to post a longer text, keep it as short as possible. There remain an exception to this opinion as well. For those who love to write and publish articles, they understand that articles are crafted to address specific issues and contain the opinions of the author. As a result, articles fall in different category, and for that matter, have specific readers who would always spend time to read them. Outside this group, public posts must be direct and straight to the point as much as possible, being mindful of the fact that there are other posts that struggle for the attention of the same audience.
5. Language to use. Language is what we use to communicate. Your choice of language must be in tune with your followers. By language, reference is not mainly on dialect. Reference here is to the choice of words. You must always respect the people who follow and read from you, and so, you must always be measured not to write content that demean the intelligence of the people who follow and comment on your post. After all, once they stop commenting on your posts, your relevance in this space is of less significance.
6. Clarity of message. Flowing from the use of language and choice of words, your message must be unambiguously crafted in order to ensure that it carries the very meaning you intend it to carry. This is mostly measured when you attempt to comment on a controversial matter of public interest. A clear message is difficult to misinterpret, and as a result, you need to always ensure you meet this basic requirement.
7. Your level of engagement. Here, reference is on your ability to sustain conversation between the various opinions that are shared on your public posts. What distinguishes social media from traditional media is its interactive features. So when people moved from traditional use of media to an interactive platform and spend their time commenting on your public posts, the least you can do is to appreciate their comments and engage them. It is a mark of disrespect to ignore opinions shared on your posts at the comment section while all you do is to only make posts and walk away. If you fail to use the interactive features of social media, it’s just a matter of time that your followers would become inactive and less engaging under your posts.
I thank you for making time to read this
By Stephen Kwabena Atuh (ASK)