Your potential customers are searching online for information to solve their problems. They’re looking for relevant content – and more often than not, they find it. The question for you is whether or not they’ll find answers from your business. Columnist Kelly Borth of GREENCREST, helps you answer this.

“In the digital era, content is king. No matter what type of product or service your business represents, your potential customers are searching for information to solve a problem or fulfill a desire online. These are savvy shoppers. They look for content that is meaningful and relevant. And more times than not, they find what they are looking for — at least enough information to select who they will contact as a result of what they found in their search.”

Click to read the rest of the article on the Smart Business website.

You don’t have to read too many text messages, Twitter or Facebook updates to see why many people blame social media for the decline in people’s writing skills. Does spelling and grammar matter on the Internet?

Many people in our industry will say “yes” if not argue that social media can teach you how to be a better writer.

Twitter and Social Media Sites

On Twitter, you’re given 140 characters to spit out a message. This means you have to be brief, succinct and get right to the point. With today’s short attention spans, writers need to cut out the fluff, be brief and get straight to the point. Twitter allows you to do this. It’s also a fun way to play with words to ensure you’re writing your message clearly and succinctly. What if your message can’t fit within the 140-character limit? Don’t worry, it’s OK to use abbreviations, acronyms and shortened words in order to get your message across. In the world of social networking it’s OK. However, for college essays, newsletters, and resumes, for example, it’s not OK.

Beyond Social Media

Sloppy writing can be detrimental to your reputation and your personal brand. Regardless of whether you are on social media sites, writing business plans, e-mails, articles or personal blog posts, it’s important to make sure your spelling and grammar are accurate. Avoid using abbreviations and shortened words as if you were writing a quick text message. Good writing skills will always matter and we need to be conscious of it whenever we are communicating through formal or informal communication.

Try to test your grammar in the following sentences:

1. Dropping 5 percent in the third quarter, our gross revenues are in trouble, according to the CEO.
2. Just between you and me, this new design is a marketing nightmare
3. None of the reports is ready to be mailed.

Answers:

1. What dropped? The CEO? No, gross revenues. When a sentence starts with an “ing” word, it should refer to the subject of the sentence.
2. Between is a preposition. It takes the objective case. Just as you would say between us, not between we, you should also, by the same logic, say between you and me.
3. Because the word “none” is singular, the verb “is” must also be singular.

The best marketing campaigns break through mental filters by speaking our language, touching our emotions and making a meaningful connection. Words and images work together to create a campaign that resonates.

It’s an undeniable fact that we live in a visual world. Images in print, online, on television and everywhere else dominate our mind space. The bombardment of visual messages increases regularly in spite of the warnings to marketers that the consuming publics’ mind is over saturated. Yet the visuals keep on coming­—to the tune of thousands per day in every medium and in mediums yet unknown.

All of this ocular stimulation makes effective copy writing even more important. The visual is the hook­—the thing that makes you stop and pay attention. Once hooked, the written message must payoff, reinforce and inspire you to read on about a product or service. The written word takes what you’ve seen and makes it worthy of your time, trust and your dollars.

Simply put: Words mean things. They have the power to inspire confidence and trust in a product or service. Words­—more so than images­—shape opinions. How you use words, regardless of the chosen medium, speaks volumes about your business.

The best marketing campaigns break through mental filters by speaking our language, touching our emotions and making a meaningful connection. Words and images work together to create a campaign that resonates. But consumers respond when they understand how they benefit from using a product or service. Words enable the consuming public to understand, “what’s in it for me?”

Choosing Words Wisely

What, then, does it mean to write well? Well written copy is clear and concise. It’s that simple. Of course, it’s not that simple. If it were, everyone would write well ­—and that’s not the case.

Well written copy reflects the planning, research, knowledge of the subject and the intended audience that took place prior to writing. To the end user, process does not matter as much as the finished product; but a little insight into process can increase understanding between all parties.

In a first draft, a writer will include everything he or she has learned through interviews and research. Nothing is held back. The next step is self-editing, where eyes are fresh to catch mistakes and be critical of the words chosen. More likely than not, the writer will find words and phrases to edit from the piece.

When a writer has the luxury of working with an editor or proofreader, the objectivity of a different set of well-qualified eyes can only improve what has been written. Writers must have thick skin when it comes to working with an editor and recognize it as the valuable learning opportunity that it is.