Why you should sweat the little things

We have all seen it, an interesting story with a glaring error that detracts from the message. Words matter. Language and tone matter.

Errors in content not only distract the reader, they can also damage a brand by making the writer seem unprofessional.

There is a good reason why media outlets employ sub-editors. Not only do they work on design, a good sub-editor is also the grammar and style police.

Some errors are bound to happen you may say, we are only human after all. However, as marketeers it is our place to do all we can to make sure that there are a few hiccups as possible. It is part of our role as guardians of brand.

Don’t rush content out before it has been properly proofread.

Generally asking another member of the team who hasn’t been involved in its production, or an external professional, to look over your content before distributing is a wise move. But what common errors should they be watching out for?

A few common errors to hunt for

Consistency of tense – pick a tense and stick to it. I guide clients towards simple past or simple present tense wherever possible.

Company names – check organisations websites for their correct spelling, word spacing, and capitalisation.

Figures and dates – be consistent in how you present figures and dates throughout all of your communications. If you are not sure of the correct style consult your brand style guide (if you don’t have one of these already, I strongly advise you develop one).

Punctuation and grammar – capitalisation, sentence structure, and punctuation can often go array during the editing process. Read all content out loud to make sure all is as it should be. If it doesn’t sound 100% clear when spoken, then it needs to be revisited.

Spelling – make sure you are using the correct regionalisation. Generally, if you are writing in English for a non-US audience then it is best to stick to plain English.

Style and language – all your marketing content needs to be consistent in terms of the style and language you use. Where there are multiple writers working on a piece of content it can be particularly jarring where no clear brand style is in place. This is something else that a good brand style guide can help you prevent and can be useful during the editing process.