How to Avoid Social Media Grammar Goofs. BEFORE you hit “send” on your next social media post, review this list of commonly misused words including a fun infographic. View original post at: http://blog.dlvr.it/2014/10/grammar-goofs-in-social-media-posts/

1. 5 Absolute “Must-do’s” Before You Hit Publish on your
Social Media Post
blog.dlvr.it/2014/10/grammar-goofs-in-social-media-posts/
Debra Garber
(#WorkloadWednesday) While I was growing up, my Mom was a primary grade
school teacher and my Dad, Superintendent of Schools. No day went by without
one of my parents correcting my spoken grammar or checking my homework for
spelling and grammatical errors. These were the typewriter days – the era prior to
computers. Spell check was the Oxford Dictionary, on my bookshelf. Next to it,
was Merriam-Webster’s Guide to Punctuation and Style. Today, I find myself
performing the same role for my kids as my parents did for me. Thankfully, the
tools and online resources available now, such as Grammarly, far surpass my old
school resources, excluding my parents, of course. In addition to these resources,
it is always helpful to have a literate second set of eyes. In my case, when up
against a deadline, this job falls to my well-educated husband who has become
my social media post grammar and spelling editor.
Why Spelling and Grammar Matter in Social Media Marketing

2. Materials that are accurately drafted are an indispensable part of your strong
social media marketing presence. Every blog post, web page, marketing offer,
newsletter, support FAQ and social media update gives your audience an insight
into you, as author, and the company you represent. Publishing content that is well
written, persuasive, and trustworthy helps solidify your credibility.
In an article published on HubSpot, an entrepreneur who runs websites in the UK
discussed how spelling errors accounted for millions of pounds worth of lost
revenue.
Misspellings “put off customers who could have concerns about a
website’s credibility”. He said this is clearly apparent when revenue
per visitor was twice as high after an error was fixed on the website
tightsplease.co.uk.
Readers do not only notice spelling errors; they also will, both consciously and
unconsciously, notice grammatical ones. There are instances when writing that is
stylistically engaging, persuasive and fun but not perfectly towing the grammatical
line is sometimes preferable. However, even in situations where a lighter stylistic
approach is called for, making glaring grammatical errors will have you appear
careless or uneducated and may harm your business.
So What Should You Do to Avoid These Errors?
1. Read Aloud To Edit Your Work. This is always my first technique for checking
my work. You may look a little strange, if you’re caught talking to yourself, but
reading your work aloud forces you to slow down, to hear rhythms, and to notice
repetition.
2. Spell check. There’s more to checking spelling than running the spell check
within programs such as Word. Make sure the words you have are the words you
want. Don’t confuse ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ or ‘it’s’ and ‘its.’ Most work can stand one or
two (or even more) reviews. Our post on How to Prevent Blog Post Blunders and
Other Grammar Pet Peeves provides great tips on copy editing on a budget.
3. Have someone else read your work. By the time you’ve finished writing,
you’re not likely to see all of your own mistakes. This is where my writing partner
steps in or in some cases, my husband. Missing words, sentence fragments and
other errors may appear corrected in your head, but not in someone else’s. A fresh

3. set of eyes can find these unfound errors for you. If you don’t have a second
person available to edit your post, or if you are on a budget, here is what I
suggest:
Step away from your article and review it later when you can give it a fresh
look
Follow step # 2, above, by dropping your copy into Microsoft Word to use
as your editor
Splurge on Grammarly.com as an online editing tool
4. Be gracious and thankful when someone points out an error on your site, and
FIX IT IMMEDIATELY. There is no “I’ll get to that in a minute” when talking about
an error on your website. As mentioned, errors could be costly.
5. Before you hit “publish” or “send”, review CyberAlert’s list of 15 Commonly
Misused Words. Better yet, print out a copy to keep as a handy reference for your
upcoming social media posts.
Misused words are literally the worst way to get your readers
attention. If that sentence seems fine to you, then you should
review the following words on this list.
15 Commonly Misused Words
Ultimate When used as an adjective, “ultimate” describes something that
happens at the end of a process. However, the term is
frequently used to indicate the “best” of something.
Ironic We may have Alanis Morissette to thank for the vast misuse of
“ironic.” While Morissette and others tend to use “ironic” to
describe funny coincidences or events, the word really
describes a situation that that differs from our expectation.
Few vs.
Less
Though many use the words interchangeably, “few” should be
used to compare quantities, while “less” should be used to
compare something that can’t be counted. Example: “less
money” vs. “fewer coins”

4. Discreet vs.
Discrete
Discreet means modest or careful, discrete means separate or
distinct.
Farther vs.
Further
This is a slight distinction, but important to remember: “farther” is
used for physical distance while “further” is used figuratively.
Example: “California is farther than Michigan.” vs. “He wanted to
further his career in science.”
Would
Have/Could
Have
If you ever use “would of” or “could of,” the recipient of your
message will seriously doubt your credibility.
Most vs.
Almost
If you ever use “would of” or “could of,” the recipient of your
message will seriously doubt your credibility.
All Right It is not “all right” to describe something as “alright”.
E.G. vs. I.E. The abbreviation “e.g.” means “for example,” while “i.e.” means
“in other words”.
Enormity People often situate “enormity” with size, but it actually means
“extreme evil”.
Affect vs.
Effect
“Affect” is a verb, “effect” is a noun. “Effect” can be used as a
verb, but has a different meaning: to cause something to
happen. Example: “Nature has always effected a cure.”
Based On The phrase is often replaced with “based off,” which is incorrect.
A “base” is the lowest part of something, so when you “base an
argument on evidence,” your argument is built on evidence.
A Part of When written as “apart of,” the meaning is quite the opposite.
“Apart” describes separated, “a part” describes a piece of
something.
Alternately
vs.
Alternatively
“Alternately” means one after the other, while “alternatively”
means one or the other. Example: “She would alternately speed
up and slow down while driving.” vs. “We could take the train or
alternatively drive the car.”
Complement
vs.
Compliment
Use “complement” to describe something that completes or
augments something else. Use “compliment” as a noun or verb
to express admiration.

5. If you’re the visual sort, here’s an infographic just for you. Copyblogger assembled
the 15 most egregious grammar goofs into one helpful infographic. Print out this
handy reference, and you’ll never look silly again on social media:

10. Copyblogger 15 Grammar Goofs Infographic
What words or phrases do you see commonly misused in social media posts?
Share them in the comments below.
Feature photo by: Todd Petrle