Colleen Tully likes to talk about beehives. Not the usual topic one would expect during a workshop on “How to Please Both People and Robots with Your Digital Content.” But the senior editor of Fresh Juice and former web food editor at Canadian Living effectively pulled it off yesterday at the University of  Guelph’s Third Annual Writers Workshop.

In comparing the social media community to beehives, Tully outlined the pitfalls that could be encountered by bloggers, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest users. We cannot and should not underestimate the intelligence of bees. The bees  know when we’re being greedy and will react accordingly if we annoy them.

So, how do we please our hive and get noticed in the digital arena?

Consider Tully’s suggestions…

1. Write concise digital content for easily distracted people who need to be entertained.

2. Your title will be vacuumed into other platforms. Make it count!

3. Break up copy into sub-headings, short paragraphs and lists.

4. Do not steal artwork for publication. Use Instagram or your own photographs.

5. Pick the social media platform you like and understand the rest.

6. Use conversations starters to generate more interaction on Facebook and Twitter.

7. Put space and time between each content share. Everyone hates a spammer.

8. Don’t push your content and walk away. Instead, share ideas from other sources, even your competitors.

9. Package content with timelessness, seasonality and trends in mind.

10. Keep in mind that social media is not the ugly stepsister to a website or print publication.