By Alison Votaw

Have you ever posted something on social media, only to realize hours later your well-meaning post suffered from an EPIC grammatical fail? Did your post about Facebook become a post about Faebook? Has your online deal become an onlne del?

At Providence, we devised a foolproof plan to avoid making grammar mistakes on social media, and we’re here to share that plan with you. If you follow these 4 ways to avoid embarrassing grammatical mistakes on social media, you’ll have a far better chance of catching errors and you’ll look more credible in the process.

1. Decide on a style of writing

To use the Oxford comma or to not use it? That is the question.

Flashbacks to college may come your way when you think about Associated Press versus the Chicago Manual of Style.  You may not be a journalist or a published author but having a style of writing will ultimately help your organization be consistent.

At Providence, we swear by the AP Stylebook. It provides consistent guidelines for all our writing and has greatly helped smooth over the great, ongoing Oxford comma debate. As a bonus, it is used by most major news outlets as their style of choice, so using it adds credibility to our writing in our public and government affairs work. It’s up to your organization, though, to choose the right style for your writing.

2. The TRIPLE check

A double-check isn’t enough. There’s a saying that says, ‘if you make a mistake you were most likely rushing’ and it couldn’t be truer than when it comes to grammatical mistakes on social media posts. Read the post twice and then have someone else read it a third a time. A new set of eyes can see something you didn’t. Follow this plan and it will save you time and embarrassment.

3. Create a plan for events

Before you head out to an event, take a few minutes to write out some sample posts and have them reviewed by your team before you leave. Not only will this save you time out in the field, you can count on them being error-free. This also helps with finding social media tags for potential contacts at the event and will help ensure you make the connections that you went to the event for in the first place.

We create a social plan for every event our team attends, and it has been a game-changer for Providence!

4. Have a Standard Operating Procedure

A Standard Operating Procedure may seem like overkill for a simple social post, but if you’re ready to get rid of grammatical mistakes (and those painful comments pointing it out), then an SOP is just what you need. In your SOP include your preferred style of writing and a list of editors who can give the green light for posting. With an SOP, when an intern or new employee decides to post you can rest assured they know exactly what they need to do to be set up for a successful social post.

At Providence, we have 15+ years of experience in good writing standards and we know all the best practices for digital marketing. If you need help with your writing or guidance on how to help your organization put its best foot forward, contact us! Our team can help streamline and perfect your communications strategy and keep your published materials error-free!