Got You Attention?

I was recently asked, what I do to ensure content is tweet-worthy and captures people's attention. While there is no way to guarantee a piece of content will grab your audience's attention, here are some things that I think are important to write engaging content, for Twitter, other social media, the web, and other channels.

Plain language is important. If people don’t understand what you’re trying to tell them, it definitely won’t get their attention. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s important to emphasize. All social media posts and marketing content should be written in simple, plain language that is easy for your audience to understand. Avoid uncommon terms, acronyms, complex sentences, etc.

Tell them why it matters to them. In other words, the social media post or marketing content should not be about your organization's announcement, it should be about how that announcement will impact the individual reading about it. You want to tell the reader why they should care and how it will make their life better. (For example, instead of saying “Our agency is announcing new cleanliness standards for chocolate manufacturers,” you could say, “We’re making the chocolate safer and better for you.”)

Write in a first person voice and be conversational for social media. Tweets and social media posts should be written to sound like you’re sitting across a coffee table from the reader having a conversation. This helps make your organization sound more human and approachable.

Don’t be afraid to be creative and push the envelope. I know this can be challenging in communicators and marketers working in the government, or other conservative organizations, but little creativity can make a big difference.

A Perfect Story

Getting storytelling right is hard. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box to tell the perfect story.

Acorn from Madeline Sharafian on Vimeo.

Social Media Done Right

What is the right way to use social media as a brand? I don't think there is a one size fits all answer to that question. However, I think there are some key elements that are necessary for successful social media campaigns and long term community building.

• Provide information that is meaningful and valuable to your audience.
• Engage with your audience in real-time about relevant topics and information.

Sounds simple, right?

It's easier in theory than in practice. And, in government, it can be particularly challenging.

Today, I saw a great example of social media really done right by a government agency. This afternoon, a bear ventured onto the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. (For those unfamiliar with the Washington, DC metro area, Bethesda is a suburb just north of the city - and definitely not a place that bears frequently visit.) Within a short period of time, this was all over the news, and the bear had a couple Twitter accounts, including @NIH_Bear.

Throughout the afternoon the authorities, include the Maryland Natural Resources Police (@MDNRPolice on Twitter) worked to get the bear captured and relocated to a more rural, wildlife-friendly location. During that time, @MDNRPolice had an ongoing conversation with the crazy @NIH_Bear Twitter user. The conversation was quick, funny, and smart. It was great to see a government agency engaging with their community in real-time in a relevant way.

Hey, @NIH_Bear we love you & so does @MDDNRWildlife We're waiting to take you to a woods you can call your own pic.twitter.com/BWvNpZ9ics
— MD NRP (@MDNRPolice) June 19, 2014

Biologists have caught @NIH_Bear Bruin being loaded into an @MDNRPolice vehicle % will be released at an isolated, publicly owned tract.
— MD NRP (@MDNRPolice) June 19, 2014

@NIH_Bear It's a really nice home you're getting. Been there. Great views.
— MD NRP (@MDNRPolice) June 19, 2014

And, they took the opportunity to teach people a little bit of information about their state's work to preserve wildlife:

@NIH_Bear Better than that! Really. Enjoy. And thank @MDDNRWildlife Biologist Harry Spiker who helped bring bears back from extinction in MD
— MD NRP (@MDNRPolice) June 19, 2014

This is a great example of social media done right.

I gave them kudos on Twitter and they had the best response:

@JAOrquina @NIH_Bear We are a modern agency. All critters, two- and four-legged, are entitled to a reply.
— MD NRP (@MDNRPolice) June 19, 2014

Time to Start Posting Again...

I have been neglecting this blog as of late, but have been wanting to resume posting. Today, I finally became motivated - and inspired to start posting again.

We're Trying Something New at EPA - Thunderclap!

Have you heard of Thunderclap before? It's a crowd-speaking platform that allows people to be heard by all saying the same thing at the same time.

At EPA, we're giving it a try this week to help raise awareness about Children's Health. Join our Thunderclap and help us spread the word. Thanks!

Playing with Infographics and Social Data

Confession: I love infographics. I recently discovered Visual.ly and have been experimenting with creating infographics of social data and my resume. Here is one of my creations:

create infographics with visual.ly

My Morning Commute Slideshow

Some photos from my morning commute...