A Writing Problem in the Social Development Field

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐆𝐎𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦.

Well, it’s a writing problem.

Maybe it's just human nature to start a conversation by introducing ourselves first. The idea of immediately jumping straight into a topic to someone is frowned upon.

But that's not the case on social platforms such as LinkedIn.

Despite only 1% of LinkedIn users contribute content, the platform feels like it's brimming with information.

Your post is only one scroll away from being dismissed if you don't get to your point fast.

The hard truth: No one cares about your organisation unless you're posting a job vacancy or funding opportunity.

And if your posts are neither of the above, readers care more about the issue you’re tackling or bringing forward.

So the problem of always starting a post with "Today [insert organisation name] attended a conference where 2000 people attended…" keeps readers far away from the key message that’s buried in the 5th out of 10 paragraphs.

The fix?

In business to business (B2B) writing, we often start our sales content with a pain point to capture readers' attention quickly. This approach is also applicable to the social development sector as well.

Start your first paragraph by posing the issue or topic you’d like to discuss - set the context. Some statistics would be useful too. Once the scene is set, tell the audience how you or your organisation is addressing the issue, whether it's through attending workshops or participating in panels.

By framing your post in such a way, it also encourages others to participate in the conversation because the topic of discussion is clear.

Tired of posting content with no outcomes? Let’s talk.