"Where the E-world meets the Real world"

Friday, July 1, 2011

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.
·          

  • 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