In an era of instant messaging, Helen Savage, established glazing industry copywriter, discusses whether grammar still matters.
Whether sharing your expertise via a company LinkedIn post, sending a message via WhatsApp, or drafting a blog for the business, communicating online can be seen as a more informal way to connect with your audience. We want our customers and prospects to see the real us, we want them to know we’re authentic. So, we can ease off the grammar checks, right? I don’t think so. I think grammar is always important.
We all make mistakes sometimes
Having worked in PR and marketing for over 20 years, I have come across plenty of people who are self-proclaimed grammar elitists. I’m not sure I can go quite that far but I do think it’s incredibly important when it comes to marketing a business in any format. Most of us don’t mind the odd mistake in a feature article, blog, or social media post. We understand that we’re all human. However, when a business is consistently putting material out with errors in, it begins to build a picture, and not a good one.
Your reputation is on the line
One of the benefits of business blogs, like feature articles in magazines, is that when they are done well, they can position you as an expert in your field. But would you consider someone a professional if their blog was riddled with spelling errors and misplaced punctuation? It doesn’t matter that you’re not in the business of writing, if the content you produce isn’t presented well, it won’t do your business justice.
Just as we think something is quality when we see well-designed websites and fresh-looking adverts or social media posts, the same is true of written copy. When we read well-written, engaging copy, we think the company using those words must be quality-focused, conscientious, and trustworthy. We are more likely to believe the words on the page too.
Achieving the best copy for your business
To make sure you keep the quality of your copy on track, revisit some of your old work. You’re more likely to spot mistakes when you’ve had a bit of distance from it – are there just a few dotted around or are there lots? If you notice more mistakes than you would like, it’s worth thinking about how this has happened. Was the work rushed? Did it go through an editing process? Was it checked by an online grammar tool? The latter should be used with caution and suggestions always checked by a human too, to make sure it all still makes sense.
Whatever form your editing takes, there should be a continuous process in place to check and check again, before copy that may do the business more harm than good, gets published.
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