Electronic Communication
Social media started as a means of enhancing people’s social lives, but it exceeded that purpose a long time ago. Virtually every business, healthcare service, and non-governmental organization has some sort of internet presence. These organizations use social media channels to communicate their brand or their values to the outside world. Even those few organizations that don’t run their own Twitter or Instagram account are sure to appear on other people’s review accounts or websites. Of course, our reliance on electronic communication doesn’t end there. Other channels of electronic communication–most notably email–are day-to-day facts of school, work, and personal life. This doesn’t mean that we can afford to take electronic communication for granted. Even the smallest text deserves the same kind of communication consideration that we give more formal, traditional kinds of writing and speaking.
Most students are familiar with email, or as it was once known, electronic mail. Email is the most popular form of written communication in the history of human civilization. It is extremely flexible in what it can do. It can be used to send short routine messages or lengthy formal messages. It can be used to deliver other kinds of documents, such as letters, reports, and memos, and it can be used to facilitate the scheduling of face-to-face meetings and events. Email is also flexible in how it can be accessed: computers, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, and other digital devices all allow you to send and receive messages. It is without question the most versatile communication channel in the workplace.
Because email is such a flexible and accessible technology, we must be mindful in how we use it. Professional emails should not look or sound like the texts we send our friends and family. As with more traditional forms of correspondence, our emails will be held to high standards for their vocabulary, organization, and appearance.
When a professional email is properly written, it gives the author credibility. The audience receiving it will be more likely to trust the information in the message and the person who sent it. When an email is overly casual or is filled with grammar mistakes, however, it distracts from the content of the message. It decreases the recipient’s respect for the person who wrote it and jeopardizes the integrity of the organization that the author represents. A well-written email makes a strong impression. A poorly written one could cost you a job, a contract, or your reputation.
Before hitting the Send button, put yourself in your reader’s position and assess whether you’ve achieved the purpose you set out to achieve in the first place. Evaluate also if you’ve struck the appropriate tone and formality. If you’re aware that your tone is too angry, for instance, cool down by focusing on other business for a while. After revising generally, always proofread an email. In any professional situation, but especially in important ones related to gaining and keeping employment, any typo or error related to spelling, grammar, or punctuation can cost you dearly. A poorly written email can come across as insulting because it effectively says to the recipient: “You weren’t important enough for me to take the time to ensure that this email was properly written.” Worse, poor writing can cause miscommunication if it places the burden of interpretation on the reader to figure out what the writer meant to say if that’s not clear. If the recipient acts on misinterpretations, and others base their actions on that action, you can soon find that even small errors can have damaging ripple effects that infuriate everyone involved.
Netiquette and Social Media
We create and curate personal profiles, post content and comments, and interact via social media as a regular part of both our personal and professional lives. How we conduct ourselves on the open internet can leave a lasting impression, one not so easily undone if it’s regrettable. The hilarious but compromising selfie you posted on Instagram five years ago is still there for your potential employer to find, judge for what it says about your professionalism, and speculate about what customers might think if they saw it too. That sarcastic reply to a public post on Facebook or Twitter in a heated moment a decade ago can come back to haunt you. We’re all learning as we go in this new media environment, but any mistakes we make along the way, no matter how much we’ve matured since, are still there for all to see and can have lasting impacts on our careers.
Legal Responsibilities
Your writing says something powerful about your personal credibility. It also says something about the credibility of any organization with which you’re affiliated. At work, what you write and how you write can be part of your company’s success, but it can also expose it to unintended consequences and legal responsibility. When you write, keep in mind that your words will keep on existing long after you have moved on to other projects. They can become an issue if they exaggerate, state false claims, or defame a person or legal entity such as a competing company. Another issue is plagiarism, or using someone else’s ideas or writing without giving credit to the source. Whether the material is taken from a printed book, a website, or a blog, plagiarism is a violation of copyright law and may also violate your school’s or your company’s policies. Industry standards often have legal aspects that must be respected and cannot be ignored.
Using Social Media Professionally
Review sites, blogs, tweets, and online community forums are some of the continually developing means of social media being harnessed by business and industry to reach customers and other stakeholders. People’s comfort in the online environment forces businesses to market and interact in this environment or risk a massive loss in sales and interest. Though most users learn how to use social media as an extension or facilitator of their social lives, using the same platforms for professional reasons requires some change in behavior.
Recognize that every modern business or organization should have a social media presence on the sites they expect their customer base to frequent, especially popular sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Messaging here must be consistent across the platforms when alerting the customer base of important information such as special events, deals, and other news.
Next, follow expert advice on how to properly take advantage of social media in detail to promote your operation and reach people. Large companies will dedicate personnel to running their social media presence, but small businesses can do much of it themselves if they follow some decent online advice. Also, know that social media is a constantly evolving environment. Stay on trend by continually searching out and implementing the latest advice similar to the above.
Finally, always consider how the sites you access and what you post represent you and your employer, even if you think others don’t know where you work or who you are. Internet service providers (ISPs) are required by law to archive information concerning the use and traffic of information that can become available under subpoena. Any move you make leaves digital footprints, so you will have to answer for any misstep that brings shame upon you or your company.
