I touched on Branding and Spaces last time round. And I will come back to Spaces in due course. Thinking about it, I barely touched on all of the aspects of Spaces I wanted to. There is a lot to Spaces and I will drill down into them in more detail. However, today I want to talk about written communication, and some of the things I do that have helped me build a brand image. My images today, some screenshots of some Tweets and pictures of Devon.
Twitter is a platform built on written content. When it started, and far before I ever used it, it was short format only. 140 characters. It was always designed to capture the moment. To give people a snapshot, either of what is going on in their business/life or in regards to their opinion. Even since it was increased to 280 characters the content, or structure, hasn't massively changed.
I think it is easy to forget that Twitter was designed to be a snapshot or in the moment. People want to be able to digest information quickly and easily, and to be able to have their own opinion in response. Threads, long form tweets (now available) and videos can lose this at times. And it's something I have been guilty of in the past.
There are a million different ways to convey the content, or information, you want to. And there are various writing styles. Then you have poetry or rhymes. And don't forget about images and/or videos. With all these different communication styles, based on the written or spoken word. How do you decide how to deliver your content?
That's for us all to work out. What our individual style is. I wrote about branding a couple of weeks ago (you can read more here)and as part of that I talked about understanding your values and why that is so important. I also mentioned that one of the ways to do this, is to assess the values of the people you choose to spend your time with. We are very often attracted to like minded individuals. The people you choose to spend your time with, will likely mirror your drivers, ethics, morals and values.
As you understand what your brand looks like it will help you settle on and then develop a communication style. It may be your natural communication style, or you may choose a specific style, both will develop over time. The more we do something the better we get, normally. And the more we interact with people doing the same thing (anyone on Twitter), the more inspiration and input we have, the more ideas we can pull together to formulate our own individual best practice.
Some popular communication styles on Twitter are factual/informative (descriptive/objective), controversial (creative/subjective) and personal/personable (creative/subjective). I think the best content creators react to their audiences and adapt their styles as required. For me, Social Media requires this, because is is so in the moment, so relevant to now. Without digging too much into writing styles, I guess I have gone for a more personal style whilst amalgamating lots of other styles alongside that personability.
Why did I choose this style? I guess you could say this style chose me. When I started to push my Twitter account I thought it was incredibly important to be real, to be as close to myself as I possibly could be without offending people and to treat people like people. A few people have met me in real life now (and more on calls) and I am the same, just maybe have a 'little' more colourful language away from Twitter. This was a deliberate choice, for lots of reasons. The main one is about inclusivity.
For me, using derogatory, expletive or inflammatory language does not promote inclusivity. It does not promote any level of professionalism. And most importantly using that type of language will push more people away from this space than it will attract (especially parents and children). Since I started building my Twitter account I have become more respected within the NFT scene and a community leader. I am glad that I choose not to fill my Twitter account with my more colourful language.
My style choose me. What do I mean by that? Knowing the above before I started and knowing what I wanted from this space. I knew I needed to be genuine and real. And what better way to do that than by being true to myself (colourful language aside). I aim to do this by showing my personality where ever possible, by expressing my emotions and feelings, and by aiming to offer input, never trying someone what to do. I support others and use my platform to lift those around me.
How do you wrap your brand into your writing style? The easiest way is by using emoji's, GIF's and tags. By having a library of these that you use regularly you create a visual representation to go alongside your brand. I have that library of these things and a few phrases that I repeat regularly. I aim to use emoji's that represent me, I think I do. One phrase that has been on my account since day 1 of this journey is 'Big dreams start with little steps'. Branding goes deeper than this of course, but a lot of people will do the above naturally. Having a focus with it creates consistency and a visible representation of your brand on Twitter.
I am determined to talk about style in more depth! At least my style. I try to mix personal, personable and professional with information, mindfulness and support. Beyond this I focus on being in the moment, encouraging conversation and debate, and replying to the replies to my Tweets (managing DM's is impossible now, don't let that stop you trying or chasing me). I am not ashamed to use my Twitter account to support others with RT's. I am also aware that replies will be even more important and am doing more to reply on other peoples Tweets.
I think having a regular Tweet format is important. Not a template as such (although it could be called that). I also know it is important to break information up. Go back to my point about Twitter being in the moment, people want it short and snappy. I think you can still to that with more info by breaking up Tweets. Use emoji's or be 'more professional' and use bullet points or paragraph breaks... The options are endless and you will figure out your style. Images help as well. They attract peoples eyes for a moment and that gives your content a higher chance of being read.
If you Tweet something regularly then you should have a template. I am thinking if you host regular giveaways for example. All of my giveaway Tweets have the same emoji's, format and requirements. In terms of creating brand recognition and in regards to your experience on my Twitter account, consistency is vitally important. I cannot stress this enough. I have skirted around this without saying it in this blog. If you leave with one takeaway today, make it this one. Consistency is vitally important. It creates brand recognition.
The last couple of things for today. These have been important for me considering I use my Twitter account to support others. I lose my Tweets. To help with this I do a couple of things. I keep my Tweets in my bookmarks and I use my pinned Tweet to do what I can to get important things seen. Usually my information tweets. That would normally be a thread, a long form tweet, a giveaway or a Tweet with a link.
I will often RT one of my Tweets before I go to bed, this makes sure that if someone visits my account, the first three things people see on my Twitter account/feed/page are my profile/bio, my pinned Tweet and then another Tweet I want seen. Another things I will do is half recycle tweets. I don't search for old one's, but I am never ashamed to repeat a message and you shouldn't be either.
Read the first part of this mini series on my Twitter journey here - 0-30,000 Twitter Followers in 18 months - Issue 35
I have made the form for my 30K giveaway celebration. This will be emailed out to my NFT holders soon, hopefully today. It is a limited first come first serve type of thing, and I am excited to support some friends. It may still take a moment to execute so have patience and Cynthia will be headlining with the incredible funky heart she made above.
Thank you for reading today, and feel free to try out the share button below! Please bear in mind I am sharing my experience and what works for me may not work for you. It doesn't always work for me! Consistency, thinking about your values and images (inc emoji's/GIF's) are important but not everything. Enjoy your weekend, I will catch you next Friday.
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