Five Ways That Bad Grammar Can Crush Your Brand- and How To Prevent It From Happening

As a young professional, you are constantly demonstrating the worth that you know you possess. That means presenting the best version of yourself, with authenticity, attention to detail, and creativity. I realized the true power of good grammar in the field, as a public relations and events specialist. For someone who spends her life liaising with high-level brand managers, C-suite executives, venues, and vendors, the way that you speak (pun intended) says a lot! 

So-  how does grammar impact perception? Think about your personal experiences: how often do you take a brand seriously after you notice a typo in their branding or an ill-placed comma where there should be none? It sounds silly, but the reality is that subconsciously, your brain is telling you that if they don’t pay attention to little details, how great can their product be?

Listen along with our founder here:

Whether you’re representing an entire brand or flying solo, here are five scenarios where grammar plays a huge role:

Your personal pages, statements, and profiles

It seems obvious, but the information on your public profile should be, well- correct! Digital platforms like personal websites, LinkedIn pages, Instagram, and more are our best tools for introducing ourselves to the world. Just like you need to update your resume and Facebook profile, it’s a good rule of thumb to update and proofread your social media and digital profiles for accuracy, grammar checks, and readability. 

Good grammar and concise copy are cornerstones of an effective personal brand, one that communicates clearly and drives your mission home without any hiccups.

Emails and professional messages

With social media, we share our messages with the masses, but what happens when we message directly with a person or group? Conveying your message directly and concisely is a surefire way to get the response you desire. We’re big fans of Gmail tools like Grammarly and Boomerang that help with the grammar and readability of your emails and ensure you’re getting the right message across. A typo or a missing subject can make the difference between an “accept” or “decline” response. 

Content creation and SEO

You’ve heard that content is king, but how effective is a king without the ability to command subjects? Content creation for social media and websites expands your audience and maintains your authority on a subject in the eyes of your readers as well as your search engine (hence, search engine optimization). But Google can’t track your keywords with missing letters, rendering your SEO efforts obsolete. Not to mention, your readership will quickly lose interest if your content doesn’t feel well-planned and proofread. It only takes a few moments to read aloud and spot an error to ensure your time spent creating content is well spent.  

For more on SEO, check out SEO blog post, and download our Beginner’s Guide to SEO content package to start planning your own masterful SEO strategy.

Graphic design

Graphic errors may just be the hardest to fix. The approval process can be tedious as you pass the same image back and forth until you feel cross-eyed. It’s easy to call it and hit “post” without last looks, trusting that your final editor caught any glaring errors. But once a post is live, once it’s been seen, liked, and commented on, it’s difficult to take it down with ease. And with a typo in your header image, product label, or promotional swag, there’s no option for Control-Alt-Delete. 

Hashtags and metadata

Just like grammar and spelling are crucial to your SEO and content writing efforts, the same goes for your strategic promotion. The snippet you include in your newsletter or meta description of your blog is equally as crucial to converting trusting users to your site and personal brand. Hashtags are just as susceptible to grammatical errors and can have drastic consequences when you find your post is lacking in reach. Double-checking your meta tags, SEO descriptions, hashtags, and alt text will ensure all the right people see your content as intended, error-free!

So, the pressure is on for you to represent yourself and your brand, to remain well-spoken so you can share your mission loud and proud! The good news is, it’s not that difficult to catch these errors before they go awry. We’ve got you covered with some of our best tips for “hacking” your digital grammar so you never miss a step (or a comma) again.

Proofread your work

Seems simple enough! I know, you’re exhausted having written that 15-page brief, your 5th blog post of the day, or seemingly sending emails since 6 am. But that last read-through can make the difference in your credibility, your response, and your clickthrough rate!

Find a trusted editor

If you feel your head might explode if you look at the same document for another minute, you can recruit a trusted friend or editor to give it one last read. This is a great way to get fresh eyes on style as well as any errors you might have missed. Don’t feel too bad when your friend catches a stray error on the first try! If you need to keep your docs top-secret, or you’re lacking in the editor department, try walking away from the project for a few hours and come back with fresh eyes of your own.

Read your work aloud before you publish

A time-tested trick from college days, reading aloud helps get the words off the page and into space where you can literally hear their meaning- and catch anything you didn’t mean to say! This is a great trick for condensing your work as well.

Download a digital grammar tool

Perhaps my favorite trick- let your computer work for you! There are tons of digital grammar tools, from the basics of Microsoft Word to more specialized tools like Grammarly. By using a word processing software that teaches you as you go, not only will you catch style and grammar errors, but you’ll find yourself becoming a better writer in the process.

It’s safe to say that grammar is one of the most underrated (and one of the most important!) tools at your disposal to assert credibility, gain the trusting followers you want, and continue sharing your personal brand with the world. For more on grammar and writing style in email, check out our Email Etiquette eBook.