Do Spelling, Grammar & Punctuation Matter in Your Digital Content?
Why you need to be ‘well-dressed’ online
In a world which revolves so much more around written communication, it’s ironic so many of us seem to consider it less important to be correct.
If you’re not sure where an apostrophe should go, don’t worry; just leave it out or stick it where it looks nice.
Maybe you’re unsure when you should use capital letters? No problem – just cap up every noun to be on the safe side. Is it ‘definitely’ or ‘defiantly’? Who cares, really? Everyone gets what you mean, whatever you decide to go with will be fine.
But as wordsmiths, we’re as baffled by this lackadaisical approach to language as any mathematician would be if they were told that saying 2 + 2 = 5 was ‘near enough’.
It isn’t, of course. It’s wrong. So when it comes to words, grammar or punctuation, why should we accept standards that are in some way inferior to numbers?
Fired or hired?
The answer – or at least part of it – lies in popular culture. When you have public figures with the stature of The Apprentice star and business guru Lord Sugar railing against the pedants and grammar police who pull him up on his language both on television and Twitter, it’s bound to catch on.
But while some will thank him for the excuse not to bother with the intricacies of language, what’s forgotten is that not much of Lord Sugar’s business communications will be self-penned. He has people to do things like draw up complex contracts, where a comma in the wrong place could prove extremely expensive.
Of course, Lord Sugar has earned the right to respect in the boardroom; after all, his instinct for ‘following the money’ has taken him from East End barrow boy to a seat in the House of Lords. But, while he professes to care not a jot for spelling, we reckon it’d be a different story if sloppiness over a clause in a contract cost him a million or two. It can happen - and not just to multi-millionaires.
First impressions
Take your own company website, for example. Are you confident it’s free from errors?
It’s true an occasional typo probably won’t completely sabotage your attempts to be properly dressed online; it may even go unnoticed. But if there are too many it can give the impression of a devil-may-care attitude – which could cost you customers. After all, if you don’t care enough about getting it right in your own business, how can they be confident of the service they’ll receive?
If you were at a business networking event and a kind individual was to tell you a stray button was undone, there’s no doubt you would thank them and take a moment to correct your attire. So why do so many fail to address their online indiscretions – particularly when it will often be a first impression?
After all, who would you rather be in your written communications? Mr/Ms Professionalism or Mr/Ms Flies-or Blouse-Button-Undone?
If you’d prefer the former, feel free to give us a call. We’ll be happy to review your online communications and give you a complimentary assessment of how you’re coming across.
You might be word-perfect already but, if not, we’ll give you an idea of what it will take to put it right and give you a quote for the work involved.
Below are links to some partners we’ve worked with already; feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we can help you.