Writing Persuasive Messages for Social Media

By: Jorge Luis Gamboa

The introduction of social media into the workplace has greatly changed communication in the workplace. Sites like Twitter and Facebook have permitted companies to reach an unprecedented number of consumers; this was unachievable some years ago. According to Ott, who conducted a study on 1000 business professionals, "more than two-thirds (63.8%) of top management, and almost three-quarters of marketing (73.9%) and sales (74.2%) respondents check LinkedIn regularly, indicating that social media is an increasingly important and regular part of business networking for these groups." Companies, among many other uses, are now using sites like these to persuade consumers into buying their products. Communicating through social media in the workplace can be a very important tool in reaching and persuading your intended audience. However, if one wants to be persuasive, on must be able to know how to communicate messages effectively through social media.

In today’s global social media environment, a business entity cannot rely solely on promotional marketing messages to attract consumers or try to persuade them. These conventional techniques may not be as effective as other methods that can be employed in social media communication. A business must be able to provide potential customers with an environment that facilitates interactive participation with other members of the social media. Thus, professionals must adapt their approach in order to transmit persuasive messages effectively through social media. The following guidelines should be followed in order to write effective persuasive messages for social media.

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• Facilitate community building: Customers, or members of your audience, should be able to interact with each other in the social media; this can include allowing members to comment on posts and send messages to each other. This sense of community building allows for members of the social media to interact with each other and exchange ideas about products, etc.

• ·         Promote conversation within community: Provide information about services or products and allow and facilitate conversation between individuals. Buyers should be able to comment about the quality of services or products; this exchange is beneficial.

• ·         Support your supporters: Identify people that are promoting you or supporting you and encourage them to continue with their support. This is a very good way of spreading your message across because your supporters will tell others about you.

• ·         Speak directly to audience: Although using the news media to communicate your message is always beneficial, you shouldn’t rely solely on this. You should also communicate your messages directly to your audience by using blogs or other social media.

• ·         AIDA model: The AIDA model can be very beneficial in helping you get your message across effectively, particularly in conventional advertising.

In following these guidelines, you will create a social media environment that will enable you to communicate your persuasive messages effectively to your intended audience.

Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants is always here to help.

Sources: 

"How Social Media Has Changed the Workplace" By Adrian Ott

http://www.fastcompany.com/1701850/how-social-media-has-changed-the-workplace-study

Writing Negative Messages- Adapting to Your Audience

By: Jorge Luis Gamboa

Communicating negative messages can be a very challenging task in the workplace. It is not easy to communicate to an employee that he doesn’t have a job anymore or that he is under-performing. Thus, it is very important to be as professional as possible, but perhaps the most important aspect of writing negative messages is adapting to your audience.  When writing a negative message, you should always take your audience into consideration; this will influence the way you write your message. While making sure you maintain your audience’s attention, you must also adapt your message to overcome any cultural differences and distinguish between external and internal audiences.

            Cultural differences and differences between external and internal audiences are very important factors to consider when writing negative messages. Failure to take these factors in consideration may result in a misinterpretation of your message, which may cause negative consequences for both parties.

Cultural Differences

            When writing a negative message, it is important to take into context the cultural differences that may exist between you and your audience. Different cultures have different ways of communicating negative messages and even though a method communicating a negative message in one culture may be acceptable, it may not be appropriate in another culture.

For example, according to Markel, “In the United States we use low-context communication. We emphasize directness, explicitness, and verbal expressiveness. In Asian culture, high-context is the norm.  It involves indirectness, implicitness and nonverbal expressions.” If you were working for an American company that is conducting business with an Asian counterpart, and you had to communicate a negative message to the Asian company, you would have to take into consideration the cultural differences that exist. If you were to send a written message using the direct, American method, the Asians may feel unappreciated or even insulted. Thus, you would have to adapt to your audience and write a message that is compatible with the Asian culture’s more indirect method.

In the worst of cases, failure to deal with cultural differences may result in your audience feeling insulted and this may damage business relationships.

External and Internal Audiences

            When writing a negative message, it is important to take into consideration if your message is being directed towards an external or internal audience. Given the nature of the message, these different audiences may react to the negative message in different way.

            For example, when notifying employees about a reduction in their salary due to rising costs, employees of the company will most likely react negatively towards this message. On the contrary, if owner’s of the company are notified about this reduction in salaries, they may react in approval because costs need to be cut. Thus, it is always important to analyze how your external or internal audience may react to the news.

            Also, when writing negative messages it is important to consider the nature of the audience in order to protect the confidentiality. If a negative message is sent inappropriately to an external audience, the information of the message may be disclosed by this audience and compromise your interests.

            When writing negative messages, perhaps the most important aspect is to adapt your message to your audience. In today’s global environment, factors such as cultural differences and differences between external and internal audiences need to be considered in order to communicate your message effectively.

 

Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants is always here to help.

         

Sources:

“Cultural Differences Impact Workplace Communication” by Paulette Markel
http://www.alliancetac.com/?PAGE_ID=2560

Communicating Routine Positive Messages

By: Jorge Luis Gamboa

Sending positive messages is a common routine in the workplace. Because of this, communicating positive messages to others can sometimes be overlooked as an informal task. However, when sending a positive message to someone it is important to follow certain guidelines in order to communicate your message effectively. By following these guidelines, you will also portray a good image of yourself to the reader.

Like most professional messages, a positive message should consist of an introduction, the body of the message, and a conclusion.

Introduction

According to Waldvogel, “the greeting is one means by which the writer constructs his or her social and professional identity and relationship with the addressee(s).” The introduction of your message should include the main idea of your message; in this section you want communicate the good news to your reader. You can be as direct as you want, since in most cases the reader is interested in what you have to say. Your introduction should be concise and free from any unnecessary information that will just prolong your message; limit yourself to communicating the most important point of the message.

For example, instead of writing:

The GMC summer internship program is among the most prestigious in the nation, each year we receive thousands of applications from around the country. Thus, it is with great pleasure that I can communicate to you that, due to your outstanding skill and experience, we have selected you to take part in our summer internship program.

You can write this:

Congratulations, you have been selected to participate in the GMC summer internship program.

The second introduction communicates the important positive message immediately; as opposed to the first example, which contains some unnecessary information.

Body

The next part of your message is the body of your message. In this section, you should explain the message you want to convey to your audience in more detail. This is the section in which you clarify everything and reinstate the positive news. Also, for this section you want to include positive comments that will keep the message in a positive tone for your audience. 

For example, if the audience is a customer who purchased from you, you should include comments such as: We assure you that our products are the best; we pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service.

Conclusion

This is the last part of your message and should express messages of appreciation and positive comments. According to Waldvogel, “a closing can help consolidate the relationship and establish a relational basis for future encounters.” In this section you want to give a good, final impression of yourself to your audience.

For example, if your audience is a customer, you may want to include comments such as: We look forward to providing you with the best service there is.

In this part, you should also include any follow-up actions the reader may have to take.

Communicating a positive message in the workplace can sometimes be disregarded as an informal task that is just part of the routine. However, if you want to portray a good, professional image of yourself to your audience, you should follow this quick guideline that will impress your audience and communicate your message across effectively.

Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants is always here to help.

Sources:

“Greetings and Closings in Workplace Email” by Joan Waldvogel

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00333.x/full

Designing and Delivering Oral and Online Presentations By: Nicole Neil

          Overcoming anxiety attacks before a presentation is to be given is often very difficult for people. The fear and anxiety that is associated with putting oneself in a position where they can be rejected willingly has never been easy for people, and talking to a group of individuals that we do not know increases that fear exponentially. Many people find that, prior to a presentation, they will suffer from dizziness, nausea, and other symptoms of panic and anxiety. Having some of the tools to help in effectively overcoming anxiety attacks will be very helpful when you are placed in this position and feel panic begin to build.
An individual who is well prepared for a presentation may find that they can’t remember the speech they had prepared when they are suffering a panic or anxiety attack. For many individuals, this disorder can have a significantly negative impact on their career and in their life in general.
Many people who are getting ready to do a presentation or meet a large group of people experience fear. While some individuals are able to use this fear effectively, others are immobilized by it. In many cases the fear is a result of the unknown. Not knowing the people or the reaction to a presentation can cause a lot of anxiety. One way to alleviate this fear is to spend some time meeting and networking with the group that you will be presenting to. Humanizing your audience will help you to feel more comfortable presenting information to them. In addition, getting a feel for the type of reception you will receive, their excitement or interest in your presentation, and their expectations will reduce the fear of rejection that many people experience when embarking on the unfamiliar.
          Creating an atmosphere will be very helpful in addressing anxiety when doing a presentation. Most people make the mistake of wearing tight fitting clothing or items they are very uncomfortable in. Discomfort often adds to anxiety and creates an extra level of worry when trying to concentrate on an effective presentation. Wearing clothing that you are familiar with and comfortable in will have a positive impact on your ability to present effectively. In preparing for your presentation, it is important to eat properly and get enough sleep. Hunger and lack of sleep are contributing factors to anxiety and can have a negative effect on presentations. By eating healthy foods and getting enough rest for several days prior to your presentation, you will be refreshed and able to concentrate on the task at hand. Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants is always here to help.

http://www.divinewriters.com/2010/05/dealing-with-anxiety-from-presenting/

Excellence in Business Communication/ John V. Thill, Courtland L. Bovee, 9th edition

Completing Reports and Proposals By: Nicole Neil

As for the organization of the content of a proposal, remember that it is essentially a sales, or promotional kind of thing. Here are the basic steps it goes through:

1. You introduce the proposal, telling the readers its purpose and contents.
2. You present the background—the problem, opportunity, or situation that brings about the proposed project. Get the reader concerned about the problem, excited about the opportunity, or interested in the situation in some way.
3. State what you propose to do about the problem, how you plan to help the readers take advantage of the opportunity, how you intend to help them with the situation.
4. Discuss the benefits of doing the proposed project, the advantages that come from approving it.
5. Describe exactly what the completed project would consist of, what it would look like, how it would work—describe the results of the project.
6. Discuss the method and theory or approach behind that method—enable readers to understand how you'll go about the proposed work.
7. Provide a schedule, including major milestones or checkpoints in the project.
8. Briefly list your qualifications for the project; provide a mini-resume of the background you have that makes you right for the project.
9. Now (and only now), list the costs of the project, the resources you'll need to do the project.
10. Conclude with a review of the benefits of doing the project, and urge the audience to get in touch or to accept the proposal.

There are different formats for a proposal:

Cover memo with separate proposal: In this format, you write a brief "cover" memo and attach the proposal proper after it. The cover memo briefly announces that a proposal follows and outlines the contents of it. In fact, the contents of the cover memo are pretty much the same as the introduction. The proposal proper that repeats much of what's in the cover memo. This is because the memo may get detached from the proposal or the reader may not even bother to look at the memo and just dive right into the proposal itself.

Business-letter proposal: In this format, you put the entire proposal within a standard business letter. You include headings and other special formatting elements as if it were a report.

Memo proposal: In this format, you put the entire proposal within a standard office memorandum. You include headings and other special formatting elements as if it were a report.

While trying to complete and finalize your report or proposal you may want to take these suggestions and apply them to your paper.

Break out the costs section into specifics; include hourly rates and other such details. Don't just hit them with a whopping big final cost.

For internal projects, don't omit the section on costs and qualifications: there will be costs, just not direct ones. For example, how much time will you need, will there be printing, binding costs? Include your qualifications—imagine your proposal will go to somebody in the organization who doesn't know you.

Be sure and address the proposal to the real or realistic audience—not your instructor. (You can use your instructor's name as the CEO or supervisor of the organization you are sending the proposal to.)

 Yes, some of your proposal readers may know the technical side of your project—but others may not. Challenge yourself to bring difficult technical concepts down to a level that nonspecialists can understand.

Be sure to include all the information listed in "Special assignment requirements." If it doesn't logically or naturally fit in the proposal itself, put it in a memo to your instructor.

Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants is always here to help...

http://www.prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/props.html#conclusions

Excellence in Business Communication/ John V. Thill, Courtland L. Bovee. 9th edition

Writing Reports and Proposals By: Nicole Neil

       To begin planning a proposal, remember the basic definition: a proposal is an offer or bid to do a certain project for someone. Proposals may contain other elements—technical background, recommendations, results of surveys, information about feasibility, and so on. But what makes a proposal a proposal is that it asks the audience to approve, fund, or grant permission to do the proposed project.
If you plan to be a consultant or run your own business, written proposals may be one of your most important tools for bringing in business. And, if you work for a government agency, nonprofit organization, or a large corporation, the proposal can be a valuable tool for initiating projects that benefit the organization or you the employee-proposer (and usually both).
       A proposal should contain information that would enable the audience of that proposal to decide whether to approve the project, to approve or hire you to do the work, or both. To write a successful proposal, put yourself in the place of your audience—the recipient of the proposal—and think about what sorts of information that person would need to feel confident having you do the project.

Internal, external. If you write a proposal to someone within your organization (a business, a government agency, etc.), it is an internal proposal. With internal proposals, you may not have to include certain sections (such as qualifications), or you may not have to include as much information in them. An external proposal is one written from one separate, independent organization or individual to another such entity. The typical example is the independent consultant proposing to do a project for another firm.

Solicited, unsolicited. If a proposal is solicited, the recipient of the proposal in some way requested the proposal. Typically, a company will send out requests for proposals  through the mail or publish them in some news source. But proposals can be solicited on a very local level: for example, you could be explaining to your boss what a great thing it would be to install a new technology in the office; your boss might get interested and ask you to write up a proposal that offered to do a formal study of the idea. Unsolicited proposals are those in which the recipient has not requested proposals. With unsolicited proposals, you sometimes must convince the recipient that a problem or need exists before you can begin the main part of the proposal.

When writing your reports or proposals you want to adapt to your audience, Long or complex reports demand a lot from your reader.

1. the introduction or the opening is the first section in any text or proposal ( your introduction needs to be put in your report , introduce the subject , preview main ideas, and establish the tone of the document.
2. The body presents , ananlyzes , and interprets the information gathered.
3. Lastly is the conclusion the close might be the only part of your report where some readers have time for, so make sure it makes sense, and it conveys the full entity of you message.
And as you close your report or proposal you want to do a revision checklist to make sure you:

Make sure you use the right format. Remember, the memo format is for internal proposals; the business-letter format is for proposals written from one external organization to another. (Whether you use a cover memo or cover letter is your choice.)

Write a good introduction—in it, state that this is a proposal, and provide an overview of the contents of the proposal.

Make sure to identify exactly what you are proposing to do.

Make sure that a report—a written document—is somehow involved in the project you are proposing to do. Remember that in this course we are trying to do two things: write a proposal and plan a term-report project.

Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants is always here to help.


http://www.prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/props.html#introduction

Excellence In Business Communication/ John v. Thill, Courtland L. Bovee. 9th edition

Writing for a Visual Audience

By: Elizabeth Borruel

According to multiple studies, there are several ways in which people perceive information.  To this day it remains a fact that 65% of the population are visual learners.  In the business world, the visual appearance of a written document sends a nonverbal message to our audience.  The design of our written message affects its readability and effectiveness.  When writing a message that will be delivered in a printed or electronic form we must consider the following:

• White Space: It is also called blank space and it is any space that doesn't contain any characters which include margins, paragraphs indents, space between columns (vertical space), space between paragraphs or lines of text (horizontal space), the space surrounding heading and images, etc.  White space provides visual contrast and resting points for our audience and it also increases the chances that your message will get read.

• Margins and justification: The space between and around text is defined by margins.  The way you arrange lines of text adds to the visual appearance of your message as well as the margin width.  Lines of text can be arranged in four different ways: (1) justified, or aligned vertically on the left and right side of the document.  (2) Aligned on the left margin only (3) Aligned on the right margin only, or (4) centered.

• Typefaces: This is just a fancy name for the letter font and size.  The choice of your font has a great impact on setting the tone for  your message.  Although many companies have strict guidelines about the company correspondence the general guidelines for typefaces are as follow.  Stick to one (maximum two) font type and size per document.  Times Roman and Arial are usually acceptable and easy to read.  Stick to 10 or 12 font size.  Generally headings can be written in a larger size.  Remember, simple is better.  Overusing typefaces may clutter a document and diminish its quality.

• Type Styles: These are modifiers to the existing typeface.  Type styles include, but are not limited to boldface, underlining, italic, color, etc.  Type Styles are meant to draw special attention to a specific word or section of your written message.  As mentioned before avoid using too many type styles as this may slow down the progress of your audience's reading through the message.

The visual appearance of your message is the first impression your audience will get.  Visual appearance combined with great content will improve the effectiveness of your message.  Hope you find this information helpful.  Have a great day at work and remember B.N.G. Consultants are always here to help.


Sources:
The Herald Journal:
http://www.herald-journal.com/archives/2008/columns/js091508.html
Pearson Prentice Hall:
http://www.phschool.com/eteach/social_studies/2003_05/essay.html
Excellence in Business Communication 9th Ed (Textbook by John V. Thill and Courtland L. Bovee)