I have heard both sides of the argument for proper grammar in social media posts.
Side 1:
If you are a professional, or want to be viewed as one, proper grammar in every aspect of your public persona is vital. How can people take you seriously if you can't present yourself as such?
Devil's advocate:
Social media is supposed to be about interacting in a more relaxed and social setting. People are meant to joke and play, and do things to show they're human. So making mistakes is part of that. Professionalism is reserved for work emails, meetings, and contracts.
Side 2:
People want the abbreviations, slang, and general goof-off in social media. Interacting with people as they would interact with you is important in all avenues, but especially where they go. Facebook tends to be an older crowd. Twitter needs punchy and sensational draw. Instagram is littered with extra emojis and short videos. (Don't ask me about Snapchat. I'm too old for that one.) It's important to observe what crowd you're catering to and adapt.
Devil's advocate:
Even if you're using social media channels as a way to maintain an online presence, you need to remember that what you put out is part of your brand. Do you want to be the person who never spells correctly and then try to sell people your newest release? It's important to put out what you promise to deliver, and you don't want people thinking you're delivering them crap.
Where do I fall?
Somewhere in the middle, as I'm assuming most of us do. I'll use a slang term or alternate spelling on occasion. I'm hip to the ways of the kids these days. (No, I'm not, but I pretend really well sometimes.) Mostly, I use terms and sentence structure you'd hear me spout in person. I'm not good at putting on a false persona, and as I get older, I have no desire to hide who I am. I don't use proper grammar in my every day life. Thank goodness for my editors reigning me in!
However, I do think what I put out online should be something I wouldn't be embarrassed to say in public. And it should be something that people don't have to read ten times to understand. Bad grammar can cloud your message because people will have to decipher your code of incoherent shit.
I can translate typos, so I don't hold it against someone who drops the occasional comma. But the glorious Google is always there to check spellings for us. I will judge you if you neglect to do a simple search to ensure complex words are written correctly. And I will especially judge you if you don't use punctuation AT ALL. I have seen this going around quite frequently and it drives me nuts. Periods in sentences are not the same ones that make us break out in zits and curl around a water bottle once a month. Don't be afraid of them in your social media posts.
But the main thing is to not take it too seriously. Did you throw out a doozie of an error? Call yourself out and laugh with it. It happens.
Are you a perfectionist when it comes to social media grammar? Or are you more relaxed? I'd love to hear about it. And if you want a video to help you realize your posts aren't that bad...check this out. Made me giggle.
~Roxy
Side 1:
If you are a professional, or want to be viewed as one, proper grammar in every aspect of your public persona is vital. How can people take you seriously if you can't present yourself as such?
Devil's advocate:
Social media is supposed to be about interacting in a more relaxed and social setting. People are meant to joke and play, and do things to show they're human. So making mistakes is part of that. Professionalism is reserved for work emails, meetings, and contracts.
Side 2:
People want the abbreviations, slang, and general goof-off in social media. Interacting with people as they would interact with you is important in all avenues, but especially where they go. Facebook tends to be an older crowd. Twitter needs punchy and sensational draw. Instagram is littered with extra emojis and short videos. (Don't ask me about Snapchat. I'm too old for that one.) It's important to observe what crowd you're catering to and adapt.
Devil's advocate:
Even if you're using social media channels as a way to maintain an online presence, you need to remember that what you put out is part of your brand. Do you want to be the person who never spells correctly and then try to sell people your newest release? It's important to put out what you promise to deliver, and you don't want people thinking you're delivering them crap.
Where do I fall?
Somewhere in the middle, as I'm assuming most of us do. I'll use a slang term or alternate spelling on occasion. I'm hip to the ways of the kids these days. (No, I'm not, but I pretend really well sometimes.) Mostly, I use terms and sentence structure you'd hear me spout in person. I'm not good at putting on a false persona, and as I get older, I have no desire to hide who I am. I don't use proper grammar in my every day life. Thank goodness for my editors reigning me in!
However, I do think what I put out online should be something I wouldn't be embarrassed to say in public. And it should be something that people don't have to read ten times to understand. Bad grammar can cloud your message because people will have to decipher your code of incoherent shit.
I can translate typos, so I don't hold it against someone who drops the occasional comma. But the glorious Google is always there to check spellings for us. I will judge you if you neglect to do a simple search to ensure complex words are written correctly. And I will especially judge you if you don't use punctuation AT ALL. I have seen this going around quite frequently and it drives me nuts. Periods in sentences are not the same ones that make us break out in zits and curl around a water bottle once a month. Don't be afraid of them in your social media posts.
But the main thing is to not take it too seriously. Did you throw out a doozie of an error? Call yourself out and laugh with it. It happens.
Are you a perfectionist when it comes to social media grammar? Or are you more relaxed? I'd love to hear about it. And if you want a video to help you realize your posts aren't that bad...check this out. Made me giggle.
~Roxy
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