You know your company better than anyone. You’ve been through all the meetings and brainstorming sessions. The visual representation of your company is now down to a science.
Here is your logo. Here are the colors you utilize. Here is the font, to which all messaging must adhere. Here are the guidelines for any photo assets your marketing team creates.
You’ve done the work. Now it’s time to get the word out on social media where… uh-oh. Call another meeting, it turns out there are more branding issues to discuss.
Your Social Media Voice
Since you likely won’t be writing all your social media posts yourself, it is very important you develop a strong guide for those who do. The branding specifics mentioned above are of course very important, but when it comes to social media communication, the specifics become even more granular. Let’s look at some easy to overlook decisions you’ll need to make ahead of time:
To Emoji Or Not To Emoji, That Is The Question
People love emojis, and social media feeds are filled with them. They have the power to visually represent an idea much faster than the written word. Additionally, they are – let’s face it – very cute and fun.
But are they right for you? For many companies, the answer is an obvious yes. For some, however, their playful tone might not be appropriate. Furthermore, it’s possible they can undermine professionalism.
It all depends on what you’re going for. A company focused on serious issues should probably stay away. A company that wants to promote a formal image might consider staying away as well.
On top of that, you may like some emojis more than others. Perhaps a designated list of approved emojis could be developed. But which ones? If a thumbs-up emoji is called for, what color should its skin tone be? These are important questions to consider before they catch you off guard.
#Hashtags
Hashtags allow viewers to search social media platforms by subject. They can also help organize types of posts by group. All-in-all, they offer a useful social media tool all companies should utilize.
But how many hashtags should you include on each post? Enough to get the job done? Or enough to make sure the post populates every possible search imaginable. There is such a thing as too many hashtags, and too few. You should decide ahead of time what number you’re comfortable using.
Another question to consider: capitalization. Your hashtag should be a string of words unbroken by spaces. Do you capitalize the first word, each new word in the hashtag, no words at all? You’ll have to decide for yourself!
It’s Just A Formality
You need to know how formal you want your voice to be, beyond whether or not to use emojis. For instance, will you utilize contractions? Most companies probably will, simply so they don’t sound like robots, but what about when it comes to folksy terms such as “ain't” and “y’all”? Will you include those as well?
What about humor? Will you include funny memes that speak to your purpose? What about puns, a form of humor some love and others detest? It’s easier to make clear upfront whether communication like this should be encouraged, tolerated, or denied, letting your social media writer know right away whether they should explore other types of posts.