Genre
The primary genre of technical writing used during my internship was writing for social media. This genre of writing is considered a form of technical writing because 1) it must consider the audience, 2) it is a type of rhetoric, and 3) it often influences its readers to take some kind of action. Writing for social media also often informs its audience, whether this information is about a larger issue or something as simple as a restaurant’s menu changes. Writing for social media does not appear technical at first glance because it is easy and generally must fun to read. Because of this, some may not hold this kind of writing on the same scale as a user’s manual. Yet, both genres have similar goals: to encourage an audience to read it, to inform them of something, to gain the reader’s trust, and to encourage the audience to complete some kind of action.How to Write for Social Media
To write or design for social media, the writer must
understand his or her audience and their reading preference and expectations. The
writer must consider the medium in which the message will be read. Often, the
writer has to consider the pre-established ‘culture’ that the social media
website has set up. Next, the writer must consider possible limitations on a
message’s structure. Is there a character limit? Does the platform only support
certain kinds of media? Next, the writer must consider the audience. What will
the reader want to see or experience? Will they be more responsive to a
specific kind of writing or lingo? What is the audience interested in? Are they
hungry for controversy and drama, or are they put off by it? Do they prefer
things that go viral, or are they more interested in the unfamiliar and new?
After all of these elements are considered, the writer must then write the
copy, making sure to stick to the requirements of the genre that were just
determined. Because even though writing for social media is a genre, the
requirements will change from platform to platform. At least, a successful
social media writer will understand this. An excerpt from Rhetorical Genre
Studies puts this into excellent words. Subgenres within writing for social
media are always changing “because as their conditions of use change—for example
because of changes in material conditions, changes in community membership,
changes in technology, changes in disciplinary purposes, values, and what
Charles Bazerman describes as systems of accountability—genres must change
along with them or risk becoming obsolete” (Bawarshi and Reiff). As the
platforms for social media change, so do the audiences. For example, Facebook
may have people of all generations, races, ethnicities, education levels, and
interests using it because it is such a common and necessary social media
platform at this time. However, for a platform such as Tumblr, the audience is
very different. The primary audience for this platform is the 18-24 age range,
plus social activists and general bloggers about specific topics. The overall
genre of social media writing must change between the two platforms in order to
be successful.
In the Workplace
This type of writing is more and more commonly being used in
a wide range of workplaces. Almost every business these days is expected to
have a page on almost every heavily-trafficked social media platform. As any businessperson,
I can apply this genre to further my business and to better interact with my
customers. For the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program, the majority of
the people following the page are employees at SEK-CAP and community members
who support the efforts of SEK-CAP. The things SEK-CAP posts on their Facebook
page are mostly important events that are happening within the organization.
However, it is just as important that the viewers be well informed about what
new things are happening around the country or state as what is happening
locally. Thus, posting articles and commentary about these topics are important
to the overall purpose and rhetoric of the Facebook page. The writer’s job,
then, is not only to find relevant topics but also to write the commentary.
That commentary has to convince the page’s followers to read the article.
In another context, outside of SEK-CAP’s business, being
able to write effectively for social media could mean the difference between a
successful business and an average one. For most businesses that started for
profits, social media is where coupons and other deals are posted for customers
and clients. Social media is also a place where customers and clients can give
feedback to the business and where disputes can be settled. To be an effective
writer for this situation, the writer must remove him or herself completely and
become the voice of the business, and for a national or international business,
that can be extremely difficult and touchy.
An article on TechCrunch describes the various ways that
other small businesses use social media writing within the workplace. One
example would be an international business, such as Starbucks. Starbucks posts
promotional elements onto their page, such as a free pastry with the purchase
of a coffee. This brings in more business, bringing in people who normally
would not come in who just want to get a free pastry. Another way Starbucks
uses writing for social media is to interact with customers talking about the
brand. This gives Starbucks sufficient feedback about what they are doing right
so that they can take their business to the next level. All of this online
interaction takes a special kind of writing, one that draws people in, that
interests them, that has a consistent personality across all mediums, and that
does not offend. It is very easy to offend customers these days, especially via
social media. One wrong word loses you thousands if not millions of customers.
In My Professional Context
Writing for social media is a very specific kind of
technical writing genre. It works within my specific professional context by
spreading information and setting out a call for certain actions that the
workplace deems necessary. This genre also works within this professional
context by spreading knowledge about SEK-CAP throughout the community and
making the community aware of its existence and all that is done. After all,
the community cannot appreciate all the hard work that SEK-CAP does without
knowing what it is that it does. The genre of social media writing must be
interesting enough that the audience will pick it out from countless other
pieces of social media writing (thus, one aspect of this genre is that it is
competitive against other pieces of the same genre), and yet informative enough
that the audience will come away changed in some way.
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