#HireanEditor Campaign

Thanks for your participation!

For three weeks in October 2013 we piloted a social media campaign to promote hiring an editor. The details of that campaign follow on this page. Over the course of the campaign, we ran ads geared toward hiring managers in the finance and IT sectors and encouraged editors to take part in daily #hireaneditor discussions. We learned a lot about the editors in our network.

  • We work on projects as varied as crossword puzzles, federal government communications and speeches, and in industries as diverse as science, sports and international relations.
  • We are former lawyers, teachers, writers and reporters who found a niche in the magic that happens behind the scenes.
  • We are constantly learning to improve our skills and we are indebted to the mentors who helped us find our true calling.
  • We understand the challenges in creating the best communication possible. We strive to ensure that our clients and employers look great.

Read the Hire an Editor: 2013 Pilot Campaign Report (381.54 KB).

Thanks to all who took part in the daily discussions and pushed the #hireaneditor message forward. It was a treat to watch the clout (and Klout scores) of our active participants climb.

The supporting ad campaign directed at hiring managers will continue. In the meantime, you can do your part to raise the profile of the editing profession. Keep spreading the word about the importance of hiring editors. We encourage you to make the #hireaneditor hashtag your own.


#hireaneditor Campaign

As editors, we know how vital our role is in effective communication. This fall we’ll get the word out to hiring managers about the value editors add to their organizations. How can they prevent costly errors? What are the benefits of hiring an editor?

Let’s demonstrate our expertise. Let’s get hiring managers thinking about employing editors to fill the skill gaps in their organizations.

Let’s motivate them to add new editorial staff to their 2014 recruitment plans.

The campaign

In October we’re running a pilot social media campaign to promote hiring an editor. Together with a marketing and communications agency, we’ve developed a campaign that empowers you and your editing colleagues to promote the benefits of hiring professional editors.

This is an English-language pilot campaign aimed at promoting editorial services to hiring managers in the financial services and information technology industries. This targeted approach gives us the best bang for our buck and the opportunity to make the biggest impact.

The social media component of #hireaneditor is supported by an agency-managed online advertising campaign directed at hiring managers in finance and IT.

Objectives

  1. To encourage hiring managers in financial services and IT to add new editorial staff (both in-house and freelance) to their 2014 recruitment plans by promoting the value editors add to their organizations.
     
  2. To increase postings to the Editors Canada National Job Board by target employers.
     
  3. To drive more traffic to Editors Canada’s Online Directory of Editors.
     
  4. To enhance the status of the editing profession.
     
  5. To raise the profile of the Editors’ Association of Canada.
     
  6. To establish positive feedback from Editors Canada’s membership on the execution and results of the campaign.
     
  7. To establish a positive benchmark for executing marketing campaigns. If we’re successful, we’ll know we’re on the right track. We’ll know we need to put more resources into running larger-scale, fully bilingual campaigns in the future.

Method: Plug in and promote

1. Follow Editors Canada on social media. That’s our #hireaneditor home base.

Like us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.

2. Share and retweet.

Editors Canada will generate #hireaneditor discussion. Don’t sit on the sidelines and just “like” or “favorite” what you see. Spread the word and join the conversation!

3. Make the messages your own.

Here are several #hireaneditor messages we created for you to share with your network. Send them out as is, or tweak them to make them your own.

4. Take part in the discussions that arise.

Using your own social media channels, you’ll act as a #hireaneditor brand ambassador. By actively participating in the campaign, you’ll not only help to raise the profile of the editing profession, you’ll publicize your own qualifications as an editor.

5. Encourage your editing colleagues to join the campaign.

The bigger the campaign, the greater our reach will be.

Your participation is the key to the growth of the editing industry, whether you’re looking for work now or will be in the future.

Want to find more paid work for editors? Your participation is the key to making the campaign a success. By sending the key #hireaneditor messages through your network, you’ll help to show hiring managers the value and importance of the work editors do.

Every editor has a vested interest in this campaign—whether you’re looking for editing work now, will be in the future, or you’re winding down your career but still advocate for the editing profession. By actively participating, you will contribute to the growth of the editing industry.

Let’s show the world that quality matters.

#hireaneditor


Social Media Primer

We’ve provided this social media primer to get you started on the right foot. In this primer you’ll find helpful resources and sample Tweets.

Like us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.

Remember, feel free to Like, Share and Favorite, but don’t be shy to get active in these conversations on the platforms. Make them your own and compose your own messaging!

Platform Basics

We’ve chosen to focus our campaign efforts primarily on the LinkedIn and Twitter platforms. Listed below are a few basics for both platforms.

If you haven’t joined LinkedIn or Twitter yet, you can easily create profiles.

Create a LinkedIn profile.

Create a Twitter profile.

Once you’ve created your account(s), be sure to upload a picture and complete your profile with the necessary content.

LinkedIn

Basic Terminology

  1. Update: Status updates and content that you post
  2. Profile: Similar to a resumé, you add information about you, your job history and responsibilities
  3. Mention: Just like on Facebook and Twitter, you can mention others in your LinkedIn updates by typing their names in the ‘Share an update’ section on the home page
  4. Connect: An indication that you and another user professionally know each other
  5. Invitation: Invite someone you know to join your professional network and connect with you
  6. Network: Your connections which also includes the connections of your connections
  7. Groups: Can be public or private and can be created by an individual or company. It allows users to come together and talk about a specific subject on one page
  8. Endorse: A way to recognize a friend/colleague’s professional strengths and experience. This will be shown to anyone who views their profile

Twitter

Basic Terminology

  1. Tweet: A Tweet is a 140-character message posted via Twitter
  2. @Reply: A Tweet that begins with another user’s username and is in reply to one of their Tweets, like this: @editorscanada, I agree!
  3. Handle: A handle on Twitter is the name a user chooses to represent themselves with on the platform. The handle is used to mention @reply and selected for the accompanying URL e.g. Twitter.com/editorscanada
  4. Mention: A Tweet containing another user’s Twitter username, following the “@” symbol, like this: Hello @editorscanada!
  5. Retweet: A retweet is someone else’s Tweet that you chose to share with all of your followers
  6. Following: Following a user on Twitter means you are subscribing to the Tweets sent from the user’s account
  7. Timeline: Your timeline is a long stream showing all Tweets from those you have chosen to follow on Twitter. This will be the first thing you see when you log in
  8. Favorite: Favorites, represented by a small star icon next to a Tweet, are most commonly used when users like a Tweet
  9. Hashtag: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages

Being Social with Editors Canada

7 easy tips to kick-start your social media skills

Composing your message
  • When composing your message for Twitter or LinkedIn be aware of your overall key messages (found below)
  • Be aware of the platform’s character limit (Twitter’s limit is 140 characters including space and punctuation) and ensure your message falls within the limit
Engagement
  • Twitter and LinkedIn are a great place to engage—join a conversation by ‘@replying’ a fellow user and bringing your opinion to the chat
  • Answer a question or share information on LinkedIn groups to help your fellow editors
  • Post great industry news and share an update from your LinkedIn profile to inform your network about your awesome industry
  • If you enjoy a Tweet ‘Favorite’ it or ‘Retweet’ it (see terminology & resource centre for more information)
Timing and consistency
  • Proper social media etiquette means spacing out messaging so your audience doesn’t feel spammed
  • Best practice for LinkedIn means updating 3–4 times a week
  • Best practice for Twitter means Tweeting 2–3 times a day (not including ‘@replies’)
  • Take the time to craft your message and post in spaced out intervals
Call-to-action
  • If you would like your audience to act—tell them!
  • Include a call-to-action at the end of your message, e.g., ‘Read here’ or ‘Watch now’
Hashtags
  • Hashtags are used to group conversation on specific social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) and can be used anywhere in your Tweets
  • Clicking on a hashtag will reveal all other Tweets marked with the same hashtag
  • Only include hashtags that are relevant to your message
  • Remember that hashtags are deducted from your character limit
  • Best practice is to use 1–3 hashtags per Tweet
  • The campaign hashtag is #HireAnEditor, but feel free to use hashtags such as, #Editor and #Editing
Links/Pictures
  • Including links and pictures increases the engagement of your audience
  • Include links and pictures if it is relevant to your message
  • Remember your pictures and links are deducted from your character limit
Review
  • Be sure to read, re-read and make appropriate edits before posting your message online
  • Double check to ensure your links and pictures work before posting your message online

Key Messages to Communicate

  • Quality matters for communication pieces
  • Editors are sometimes the subject-matter experts. If they aren’t, they work with them
  • Editors Canada is the professional organization for editors in Canada

Sample Messaging on Twitter

Twitter is a great platform to start engaging online. We’ve put together some samples to get you started.

  1. Sample Tweet One: 5 reasons every organization needs editors. Read here: [LINK].
  2. Sample Tweet Two: Hiring an #Editor ensures quality communication. Make sure your message comes across clear & correct, hire an editor today.
  3. Sample Tweet Three: Did you know? Editors function in a variety of fields from IT to communications. Find out more here: [LINK]

Sample Web Pages for Linking

Resource Centre

A few helpful resources that will be of help for your social messaging:


Key Messaging

Your participation is the key to the success of the #hireaneditor campaign. By using your own social media channels, you’ll act as a #hireaneditor brand ambassador. And by actively participating in the campaign, you’ll not only help to raise the profile of the editing profession, you’ll publicize your own qualifications as an editor.

Ready to send out your own #hireaneditor messages? Here are some sample Tweets and status updates for you to share with your network. Send them out as is, or tweak them to make them your own

Five reasons

Five reasons every organization needs editors. http://www.editors.ca/hire/five_reasons #hireaneditor

More than books. Here are 5 reasons why EVERY organization needs editors. http://bit.ly/dYJb0m #hireaneditor

Editors can save you money

Producing effective communication takes time. #hireaneditor to find the right words for your message. http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Revising and reissuing documents wastes precious resources. Get it right the first time. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

An editor can save you money. Get your message right the first time, and within your budget. #hireaneditor http://bit.ly/10VD3xI

Revising and reissuing wastes precious resources. So does using a non-expert. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Use your resources wisely. Trust a professional to perfect your communication. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Communication matters/Find the right words

Trust the experts. #hireaneditor for your business writing needs. http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Create successful reports. #hireaneditor for your business needs. http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Finding the right words can be difficult. #hireaneditor to create the best communication possible. http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Editors transform your great writing into extraordinary communication. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Editors are subject matter experts

Improve your financial reports and industry studies. Use a subject matter expert. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

From finance to tech and publishing, editors are subject matter experts. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Want to write proposals and specs that get noticed? Trust a subject matter expert. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Create communication that gets noticed. Trust a subject matter expert. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Clarity

Clarity is key. Don’t risk confusing your stakeholders. Make an editor your first reader. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Clarity is key. Editors cut through the confusion and make your message clear. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Decrease risk. Trust a professional to perfect your message. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

We make you look good

We help you look good. Editors choose the right words and make you look professional. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Your image is important. Put out the best communication possible. #hireaneditor to avoid embarrassing errors. http://bit.ly/10VD3xI

We care how good you look. Behind every star is an editor. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

Your image is important. Trust a professional to perfect your writing. #hireaneditor http://www.editors.ca/hire/

#hireaneditor to put your best foot forward. Reach 1,500 professionals who care about your image. http://bit.ly/10VD3xI

Versatility

Versatility. From industry studies to news releases, editors perfect your communication. #hireaneditor

More than books. Corporate reports and grant proposals? Check. #hireaneditor for all of your communication needs. http://bit.ly/10VD3xI

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