We saw a great article in Copyblogger the other day about how to write an effective social media release. The author explains that most social media releases fall flat because they fail to tell their story in a way that provides value to their audience. The biggest three mistakes that brands make, according to the article:

1. They have the wrong singular focus, which is on the company issuing the release.
2. They are full of marketing-speak that inherently engenders mistrust in the eyes of the social media audience.
3. They don’t have a specific audience in mind, and are written broadly and presented blandly.

Luckily, the author doesn’t stop with what’s wrong. He offers the following 5 strategies to help you put your readers first and write a release that delivers real value (and therefore, real returns for your brand):

1. The headline is optimized for all three kinds of readers.
2. The post is perfect for diagonal readers.
3. The text formatting is attractive, unlike the bland press releases everywhere else.
4. It’s to the point. There are no words wasted.
5. It creates value by including a step-by-step methodology for others to follow.

Do you follow the strategies listed above? What else would you add to this list?