acitvity:

Now that you have analyzed the social media presence(s) for a company/organization, you will

create a detailed outline of a social media style guide for a fictional company (more on that
below). If you are familiar with any of the academic citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.),
then you are familiar with style guides. A style guide is essentially a rule book for how to
compose in a particular medium for a specific audience and purpose in order to maintain
consistency in tone and message for a brand. They can, and often do, include big abstract ideas
like what the mission is for the organization as well as precise instructions like what words are
capitalized or what color scheme is allowed. At the very least, style guides give instructions on
both content (what the message is) and form (how that message should look) to standardize an
organization’s documentation or content.
This activity is meant to get you started writing the social media style and content guide
assignment, so think of it as an abbreviated first draft. Here are the case details for the
assignment: You’ve just been hired to manage the social media presence of a regional chain of
popular bakeries in the Southeast. The chain already has a social media presence on Facebook
and Instagram but has only been posting sporadically and without a specific purpose. Your new
boss has tasked you with adding a company Twitter account to their social media repertoire and
drafting a style guide that would ensure their online presence across all three social media
platforms is both coherent and consistent. Among the things your boss wants included in the
style guide are spelling and formatting standards and color scheme as well as a clear message
with a consistent tone and purpose. Your job is to draft a social media style guide that
addresses these areas in a concise and readable format.
Your first step is to outline what you believe should be covered in the style guide based on the
case details and how it should look on the page. What you turn in should be around 1 – 1½
pages long, should include sections and appropriate headings, and be as specific as possible
for an early draft. You have some freedom to choose what kind of bakery you’re creating this
for, i.e. it can be an upscale French style or a family friendly place or it can cater to people who
have the munchies at 1am or any number of other possibilities.
Remember that the style guide should be well organized and needs to include both content
AND form, meaning you should determine what the bakery’s overall message is and how it
should look on each platform. Although companies can and often do crosspost their content
onto multiple platforms, it’s not always the best strategy depending upon the platform. So
determine what the message is and then consider what that message looks and sounds like in
280 characters (Twitter), and what that same message looks and sounds like when it requires a
photo (Instagram), and what that same message looks and sounds like to the demographic who
uses Facebook.