Table of Contents

We use social media to build relationships with ReactiveUI users and share all the cool stuff we do. But it also creates opportunities to say the wrong thing, put off developers, and damage our brand. So we’re careful and deliberate in what we post to our social channels. This section lays out how we strike that delicate balance.

Basics

ReactiveUI has a presence on most major social media platforms. Here are our most active accounts and what we usually post on each:

  • Twitter: Product news, brand marketing, events, media mentions, evergreen content, "opportunities to contribute” posts
  • Facebook: Product news, brand marketing, events, media mentions, evergreen content, "opportunities to contribute” posts
  • YouTube: Events, evergreen content, recordings of our virtual meetups and office hours

Guidelines

Our writing for social media should generally follow the style points outlined in the Voice and tone and Grammar and mechanics sections. Here are some additional pointers, too.

Write short, but smart

Some social media platforms have a character limit; others don’t. But for the most part, we keep our social media copy short.

  • Twitter: 125 characters or less (this leaves room for a manual retweet and comments)
  • Facebook: No limit, but aim for 1-2 short sentences.

To write short, simplify your ideas or reduce the amount of information you’re sharing—but not by altering the spelling or punctuation of the words themselves. It’s fine to use the shorter version of some words, like “info” for “information.” But do not use numbers and letters in place of words, like "4" instead of "for" or "u" instead of "you."

Engagement

Do your best to adhere to ReactiveUI style guidelines when you’re using our social media channels to correspond with users. Use correct grammar and punctuation—and avoid excessive exclamation points.

When appropriate, you can tag the subject of your post on Twitter or Facebook. But avoid directly tweeting at or otherwise publicly tagging a post subject with messages like, "Hey, we wrote about you!" Never ask for retweets, likes, or favorites.

  • Yes: "We talked with @GeoffreyHuntley about building an reactive application. Blog
  • No: "Hey @GeoffreyHuntley, can you RT this post we wrote about you? Blog

Reply to people using your personal account (if you want to - otherwise use the offical account) when people engage with social media posts to help build momentum. Think of it as putting a few bucks in the tip jar to give people a little prompt. If they know you reply they more likely to respond.

Hashtags

We employ hashtags rarely and deliberately. We may use them to promote an event or connect with users at a conference. Do not use current event or trending hashtags to promote ReactiveUI.

Do not use social media to comment on trending topics or current events that are unrelated to ReactiveUI.

Be aware of what’s going on in the news when you're publishing social content for ReactiveUI. During major breaking news events, avoid social posts.