Communications/Social Media
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Mozilla | |
| Owner: Erica Sackin, Communications Director, Rebeccah Mullen, Social Media Manager | Updated: 2013-12-13 | |
| An Overview of Voice and Content Types for Mozilla & Webmaker Social Media Channels | ||
Mozillian Voice
Mozillians live all over the world. We have different roles. We do different jobs (often several at once). But one thing we have in common is that we're a group of human beings building products and technologies for other human beings.
Whenever a user — or anyone else, for that matter — reads a piece of Mozilla communication, they should feel like there's a person on the other end who recognizes that they are the same. They should feel like we care about them and how they spend their time online. That's not a gimmick or a piece of marketing, either. It's one of the principles Mozilla was founded on.
So what does that mean, practically speaking? It means that, yes, sometimes we'll use colloquial or conversational language. We'll use contractions and speak to people in a familiar way (sorry, couldn't think of another word that started with a C). We'll use humor to make people feel good. Or be serious when the situation warrants.
We should not, however, talk down to people or use overly technical language. It's OK to be clever, but not just for its own sake (or because we're too in love with our own words). We should avoid snark and cynicism. And we should never make people feel like we're smarter or better than they are. We should speak on their level, while being friendly and inclusive.
The point is, we never want our users to forget that there are real live people behind our products and our words. And when writing, we can't forget that, either. As our Brand Platform states, we should be unconventional, engaging, honest, smart and confident. If you remember that, you should be in good shape.
If you're a real stickler for detail, read all about our copy rules. Or find out how this affects translated copy in our localization section.
- source: Copy Tone for Mozilla
Target Audience
Primary Audience: Supporters of the Mozilla Mission, and to a great degree, people invested in Open Source, Open Web and issues concerning privacy, transparency and equal rights for web users on a global scale.
Secondary Audience: Users of our products, technologists, developers, teachers and students of digital literacy, and web enthusiasts of all kinds.
Publishing Schedule
Current:
- 5 posts per day, 7 days per week (+3 items if Campaign running)
- 3-6 RT, @replies or MT per day
- Favoriting during Campaigns (as many as possible)
Producer: Rebeccah
Channel Growth & Forward Goals
2013 Action Plan:
- build out a communications tool to promote Mozilla-wide initiatives and products, with an emphasis on bringing our Manifesto, Mission and History to the foreground
- clarify voice, bring out personality and positivity to refresh channel
- supports more diverse initiatives and products developments
- provide better support and exposure for Mozillian blogs, demos & activities
- supports global events where possible
- double audience, focusing on building 'Supporter' base
Next steps:
- x5 audience by end of 2014
- account verification
- create consistency of content by building accessible internal calendar that encompasses news & updates, social conversation, outreach, networking & content discovery
- acquire 'people' resources (timeshare Graphic Designer & Copywriter for Social Share content)
- improve infrastructure (location on Mozilla.org footer, begin utilizing advertising & marketing tools, etc)
- build internal network to improve content discovery and inputs, ensure people and projects across the organization are supported and celebrated
- build out team to include two #l10n contributors, plus train and support Campaign Leaders
Webmaker Voice
The words we use should express that there are — and always will be — very nice human beings behind Webmaker.
The people that choose to spend their time online using Webmaker technologies need to be respected. This means never using language to make people feel like we’re smarter than they are, even if they are brand-new to webmaking. Avoid using complicated words or abbreviations that people might not understand. When in doubt, use simple language and spell things out. Remember that many Webmaker users speak English as a second language.
The people who build Webmaker products sometimes get lost behind fancy names like coder, developer, designer or marketer. This strips the soul from what we create! Please refer to actual people or teams when talking about Webmaker. This helps people to feel comfortable approaching us.
- source: Webmaker Style Guide
Target Audiences
Primary audience: Mentors Makers seeking to help others express themselves using the web.
Secondary audience: Makers seeking inspiration, tools, community and mentorship in order to express themselves online.
Other Channels
- Currently not in use, excepting occasional support projects for Ignite, Webmaker Promo, Hangout Recordings
- Formerly updated weekly with Webmaker Community Call
- Currently not regularly updated, used for MozFest Gallery & Favorites aggregation
Resources
Contribute
- tbd Sydney
Calendar
- tbd Erica