For example, according to the study, social media users care less about mainstream news and hard-hitting journalism (even though both are present) and prefer content from disparate, sometimes unverified, and sometimes extreme (even conspiracy-theorist) sources that generally appeal to their baser instincts or guilty pleasures (i.e. Paris Hilton).
This is largely true. I know it from my own experience. But the next paragraph is even more telling:
While I don’t suggest you dumb down your content for social media, I do recommend that if you’re writing specifically with the social media audience in mind, understand the mentality and what they’re looking to get from Digg, Netscape, Reddit, StumbleUpon, etc, and appeal to that desire.
I’ve always thought that was what real copywriting was about anyway. It’s even more so for social marketing writing. I think you have to connect with your audience and if that means popping a one-liner about Britney Spears’ losing custody of her child, or flashing the world her family jewels, and crossing that with a remark about Donny Osmond’s receding hair line (does he have a receding hair line?) then that’s what you have to do. It isn’t cheap or dirty – well, maybe it is, but you’re writing for a cheap and dirty audience (well, maybe not). At any rate, whether it’s cheap or dirty or cheap and dirty, the rule of thumb is to connect with your audience. Do they like chocolate covered Easter bunnies shaped like Shania Twain? Then talk about it. Just be sure to tie it in to your real subject.
