Monday, September 20, 2010

The Research Report: Social Media Style

Of course research is important, but if we do not provide the results to anyone, than what purpose did the research serve? So how does one go about writing a research report? When discussing research in social media in particular, it is important to remember the principle rules of research report writing.

The first biggest concern I have when using social media in research and as a professional tool is the difference in the written language. Social media is a casual world, where proper spelling and grammar are not considered priority when posting something. However, when using social media for professional purposes, such as in public relations, it should become priority even if it is not the norm. When transferring research from the social media outlet to a research report, one must keep in mind that in order for your research to be taken seriously, you need to write in a serious manner. Although you may get caught up in the casualness of social media, it's important to realize that the way you present your research results will impact how the results are received. If you are hired to be a Social Media Manager for a company or organization, and you are asked to provide the results of certain new programs you've put into place in a social media outlet and you present your work with terms such as "u" instead of "you" your work will not be taken seriously. Although it is acceptable in social media outlets to write like such, when using it for professional matters, it should become a habit to treat your writing there like you want your writing of your research report to look. This will help ease the transition from social media results to research report writing.

Another thing to take into consideration is the language of social media itself. With outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, we have terms such as "like or dislike," "write on wall," "tweets," "@ people," and "tweeple." There is obviously no way to replace these terms with more formal terms when presenting your research results, however not everyone is keen on social media. Not everyone is familiar with the terms used on social media sites, therefore when presenting research you should not assume your audience understands what you mean. This is also true of research lingo as well, but here I am focusing on the social media lingo. Make sure when using such terms, you explain their significance and meaning to make sure you are understood.

Social media can be very fun, but when using it for a public relations purpose, you should always remain professional!

No comments:

Post a Comment