Social Media

Social Media | The Symptoms

Have you ever suffered from "Twitter Finger" or "Facebook Fail"?

Simple mistakes can have enormous consequences.

You've posted to social media and then your phone starts going crazy with contacts criticising your post or pointing out the spelling errors...

Social Media | The Diagnosis

Background - Social Media Posts preparation

In the fast-moving world of Facebook social media, Instagram influencer marketing or opinion forming Tweets, it might seem anachronistic to need the Language Doctor. But accidents do happen ("Covfefe" anyone?) and perhaps in the modern merry-go-round of instantaneous communication it is sometimes better to pause, take a breath and respond with a cool head.

Unlike other forms of communication and documentation found in these pages though, Social Media does require speed (but not haste) and a thorough understanding of the audience and the message. Often the language used will be brief, truncated and very much to the point. Even more reason that it needs to be precise and targeted.

The Language Doctor can assist you with your Social Media posts:

Proofread and edit your posts
Suggest alternative wording that is more nuanced, idiomatic (depending on the audience) and direct.

Language Verification

The first step in the process is Language Verification. This can include:

Proofreading
Editing (where appropriate)
Disambiguation (making the language more precise)
Eliminating SwEnglishness
Checking appropriate use of jargon (will the audience understand?)
Focus on register (level of formality) and appropriacy of language.

Sounding Board

Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) can be quite stressful. Why am I writng this? Who is going to read it? Can I accurately set down what I mean to say?

A consultation with the Language Doctor can often help you in making a start, setting a direction and feeling confident in what you are writing.

Social Media | The Treatment

Background - Social Media posts

When you contact the Language Doctor please write a brief description of the purpose and mechanics of the document. This should include:

Time by which the post is required
Type of platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Slack etc)
Audience - Internal (colleagues, co-workers), External (general public, customers, shareholders etc)
Overall purpose of the document (e.g., Commentary, Selling, Marketing, Part of an ongoing campaign etc)

Contacting the Language Doctor

Beacuase of the nature of Social Media posts (and the need for speed), Language Doctor services in this area are more appropriate in the setting of a RETAINER whereby communication channels (for example, SMS, WhatsApp etc) will have previously been agreed upon between you and the Language Doctor. That is to not say that an AD HOC basis is unworkable...

If you are new to the Language Doctor, please make contact, in the first instance, via the chat button in the bottom right hand corner of this web site.
If you are a returning customer on the AD HOC basis, please make contact via the following email: ld@languagedoctor.atlassian.net
If you are a returning customer on the RETAINER basis, please send an email to the email specified in your agreement. (If you are unsure about this, please use the chat button belowand ask for clarification.)

Video conferencing

For video consultations we use Microsoft Teams

Process - AD HOC basis

Once you have made contact regarding your assignment, the Language Doctor will respond as soon as possible.

Process - RETAINER basis

Once you have made contact regarding your assignment, the Language Doctor will respond within the timeframe detailed in your Service Level Agreement (SLA).