If your social media content isn't getting the traction you want, it may be your fault.

Photo by courtneyk   [Originally published on LinkedIn]

Typos. Bad grammar. Missing words. Double words. Cringeworthy content. In social media posts, these are more than unforced errors. They are distractions that derail your message, cheapen your brand, and reflect badly on the writer and on your organization. And they are entirely preventable.

     Facebook, until recently, was full of funny grammar police memes. One reason these resonated, no matter what side of the argument you were on, is the truth underneath. The best jokes come with a dose of reality.
     My personal reality is I don’t consider myself a good writer. I'm more of a visual communicator. However, a background in advertising has taught me the value and importance of the written word. Strung together correctly, a well-crafted phrase or an intriguing sentence can be a powerful thing — if it’s grammatically correct.
     My friends and colleagues know I consume a lot of content. I admit I am that annoying person who shares articles that match the interests of my friends and colleagues. On a daily basis, I run through everything from books to major newspaper articles to social media posts to opinion pieces. It keeps me informed for work, ready for conversations, and even helps feed my pop culture obsession.
     What is currently making me extremely twitchy, though, is landing on a sentence with a typo — or worse — a missing word. My brain stumbles in trying to correct it. Then I find myself silently screaming "spellcheck, people!" And "where the hell is the proofreader?" If I'm interested in the subject, I may push on and continue reading. If there are more errors, I, like most readers, could quickly lose interest and abandon the post, article, or native advertising.
     I may have unconsciously inherited this hyper-awareness from my uncle Jim, a very well-respected New York ad agency creative director. When he retired, his happy place was reading the morning paper with a red pen in his hand. Yet I am not alone in my reactions. Many comment strings have more complaints about the spelling and grammar than discussions of the post’s subject. It’s easy to dismiss the “grammar police,” but you shouldn’t. For every person who writes about their frustration, there are many more who are thinking it, and none of it reflects well on you. In fact, if you’re getting these comments, you should be grateful. It’s an early warning to clean up your act.

I understand that demand for more and more content is pushing non-professional writers into the system. Yet what happens when voracious demand crashes into ignoring simple quality standards? The system cracks and breaks. The lingering impression with readers and potential customers is that your company or brand might be sloppy, unprofessional, or even uncaring.

Agency CEO Michelle LaPointe recounts that she once spent weeks talking with a potential technology partner, only to sever the relationship when she read the company's blog. Executive A and Executive B took turns writing posts but never read each other's. Unbeknown to Executive A, Executive B's case studies were peppered with complaints about their own clients.

By not implementing simple quality assurance steps for web content, a business is hurting the brand and company reputation.The best marketing agencies have copywriting QA standard practices. Here are a few that actually work:

1. Cross-train every team member as a proofreader. Every competent writer can also edit. If they believe it's finished, require them to read their content backward, in sentence blocks. It's surprising what you catch when you change up how your brain perceives paragraphs of text. Then, with practice, they will learn to edit it again. Make this a departmental standard.
2. If it's a critical item, with a fast turnaround, make sure someone reliable reads it before publishing.  The person doesn’t even have to be on your team. A fresh eye will catch errors and politically incorrect items. That might just save your butt from a social media faux pas or lost customer.
3. Consider looking at your junior admin or intern staff for valuable proofing and editing help. There is probably a star or two hidden in the shadows, relegated to data entry tasks. Seriously, find the people who got A's in high-school English. Let them loose on an article or post before it goes live. They will feel more valued. And you might discover a future social-media writing star.
4. Encourage all of your writers to add the Grammarly free browser extension or install the app. (Consider this for any team member - including executives - who have public or client-facing communications). For volume content creators, there are useful add-ons with an upgraded subscription. Better writing adds value throughout the organization, whether it's a blog post, a presentation, proposal, or email.
5. Distribute copies of "The Elements of Style" (also known as "Strunk and White" in professional copywriter shorthand) and require that your writers use it until the basics stick. (Yes, it's okay to ask the communications major in PR to bring their dog-eared copy into work for training assistance. Ask them to share tips about industry-specific writing in a team session. Consider recording it as an internal company webinar resource)

Even a novice writer can quickly learn the basics if given useful tools and direction. Plus, with required checks and balances, an informed team might inadvertently stop a social media firestorm before it starts.

 [Author's note: this article was reviewed and edited by writers Michelle LaPointe and Ann V. Baker so I could follow my own advice.]
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