“Copy is not written. Copy is assembled.” – Eugene Schwartz
For a company in the Digital Age, there’s not much more humbling than having to delete a social media post – perhaps from a typographical error, a factual one, or because of controversial content. As the voice of your brand, corporate social media channels must be as professional and articulate as possible, so that brand integrity is never called into question. After all, no corporation, regardless of its age or status, is immune to viral scrutiny, which lives forever online.
Here are three reasons why copy editing on social media is critical to the life of your brand:
- Good Editing Reflects a Strong, Credible Team.
Before a press release, feature story, or social media post is published, many eyes must first see it. With this process comes much analysis, and even the occasional disagreement over what will work best. However, fresh eyes are useful in catching any discrepancies, as well as outright falsehoods prior to posting, as diverse knowledge and experiences often make all the difference in how a post is received by an audience. - Good Editing Increases Audience Trust.
The fewer mistakes that exist within a written piece, the more credible your brand will be to target audiences. When errors are present, it is an open invitation for your competitors to have a field day and silently build up an arsenal of skepticism against you. Even with a strong social media team, accidents do happen. If you make an error, acknowledge it and move on. Online audiences tend to be more forgiving to those who own their mistakes upfront. - Good Editing Strengthens a Brand’s Consistency.
The most successful brands maintain their core values through their messaging. If you want to maintain control of how your brand is perceived, sloppiness will never work. Keep in mind that in the past, brands have undergone viral boycott hashtags for messaging flubs. In order to save your company from being the next embarrassing horror story and recipient of buyer backlash, always edit thoroughly, vet your selected hashtags, and consider your overall tone before posting.
When building a successful brand, the quality of your messages sets you apart from seemingly endless competition. Copy editing is not a matter of checking spelling and grammar; rather, it is a crucial process that is used to ensure proper strategy, creativity, and truth.
