An editorial style guide is a copyeditor’s authoritative manual, a set of writing principles that provide order in a world where one sentence can be written different ways and in different tones. Style guides help companies maintain writing consistency, reinforce their brand identity, build the trust of the audience, and empower their communicators to internalize the house style. But a single house style guide isn’t the only option for companies to improve their communication; companies can also create more specific style guides to keep different creative teams on the same page.
Recently, I had the opportunity to help update a company’s editorial style guide. Now, when I say “editorial style guide” here, I mean the more general, comprehensive document that determines editorial decisions for the company. An editorial style guide is fundamental to communications teams and can provide the framework for additional guides tailored to specific media channels, like social media and the web. But we’ll talk about that next.
Updating the editorial style guide was a major undertaking that involved reviewing every existing editorial rule, evaluating the need for new editorial rules, and reorganizing the sections to make the guide more user-friendly. While the guide was based on the AP Stylebook, exceptions included using the serial comma, using em and en dashes, and establishing footnote and endnote styles. A bonus of this effort was developing guidance on inclusive writing, a section that will be regularly reviewed to stay up to date with current trends.
While the general style guide provided the core principles for the company’s communications, my colleagues and I realized that we needed to address nuances in writing for media channels, as best practices for each channel may overrule certain standards in the main guide. Below are some tips for developing guides for social media and for web writing.
In the age of the endless scroll, social media posts must be both attention-grabbing and substantive. An effective social media style guide can help with that. In addition to promoting consistency, it can establish the voice and tone of the company’s social media personality and provide writing guidelines for categories such as specific social media channels, organic and paid posts, and image copy.
Consistency is key in building brand recognition, and there are several details to consider regarding consistency in social media copy. If a Twitter campaign will include both a URL and a hashtag at the end of each post, in what order should they appear? If the campaign will be using images containing copy, should the writer use title case, sentence case, or all caps? Will punctuation be used? A company’s social media style guide can answer all these questions and more. And if the answer is “It depends on context,” the guide can provide direction for each scenario.
A social media guide can also steer writers through differences across channels. For instance, while Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter allow embedded links in posts, organic Instagram posts don’t allow embedded or hyperlinked URLs in captions. Thus, if a writer wants to drive an audience to a website, the writer should add “link in bio” language in the Instagram caption and include the link in the account’s bio. Each social media platform has its own editorial nuances like this, and a social media guide can address each of them.
Web writing is another format that can benefit from a style guide with clear instructions. Keeping the writing style uniform and accessible across web pages will ensure a positive experience for the visitor. To keep web pages consistent, a web style guide may include direction on how the following should be written on a web page: copy in hero images, headlines, subheads, field labels, and URLs. It can also offer guidance on writing for accessibility. For example, a web style guide can cover how to write more descriptive calls to action and how to choose meaningful text to hyperlink.
As shared living documents, style guides can help companies maintain consistent messaging and protect their brand identity across all published material. In the case of the company I worked with, style guides facilitated cross-team collaboration and provided a foundation on which creative ideas could develop.
Style Guides for Media Channels was originally published in Tracking Changes (Winter 2021 edition). Members receive a PDF of the quarterly Tracking Changes newsletter by email.
Header image by Dole 777 on Unsplash.
