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O P I N I O N
The wrong language
Social media isn’t nuclear physics, but you have to have the right voice for the right channel, otherwise you’re speaking Spanish in China.
W ould you walk up to someone at a cocktail party and say, “Attending a seminar on project management,” and then walk away? Probably not, but it’s a fairly common and acceptable statement for most AEC firms to post on social media with a picture. I’ve seen some pretty grievous breaches of marketing etiquette lately, and the only thing I’m certain of is that none of them were on purpose.
Christina Zweig Niehues
Marketing in the digital world can be tough. Every platform has its own set of rules and customs. It’s important to make sure you follow the norms of the platform you are speaking on, and most importantly, make sure you are speaking the same language as your clients. For example, if you are in China, you might not want to speak Spanish. Get the gist? “Marketing in the digital world can be tough. Every platform has its own set of rules and customs.” I did a humorous post on this last year for social media, and now it’s time for an update. Here are a few guidelines: ❚ ❚ Your website and any social media platforms owned
and operated by your firm are essentially a business storefront. Operate them as such. Set up your chan- nels with the appropriate information. A picture that is representative of your firm or logo, address, con- tact information (including phone number), hours, and website (for other channels), all need to be clear and available. If someone does try to get in contact with you, don’t make them hunt around to figure out how to best reach you. ❚ ❚ Remember the Five Ws (Who, What, When, Where, and Why). Most social media posts need to have at least two of these, preferably more. Advertisements need to have three or more! A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you still have to have some of the Ws. ❚ ❚ “Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.” If you’ve ever seen Mean Girls , you know exactly what I’m talking about. A character in the movie, Gretchen, keeps
See CHRISTINA ZWEIG NIEHUES, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER May 21, 2018, ISSUE 1249
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