The Importance of Spell Check
Spell check. What’s the deal? With the emergence of social media and blog posts being a marketing must in the competitive world of veterinary clinics, you can easily lose that competitive edge in a flash by using bad grammar and having spelling mistakes. The reality is, if clinics don’t take the time to make sure their services are marketed without spelling mistakes, then what faith should pet parents have that their standard of veterinary care is quality care? Always spell check multiple times and you’ll find some tips below.
Often, clinic receptionists or veterinary techs are tasked with social media and blog posts. Trying to constantly create content for social media and blogs sometimes means that in between a busy day of appointments, when days are consumed by the job they were actually hired to do, rushing to post content often ends up with spelling and grammar lacking cursory attention. And spelling and grammar, as it turns out, actually matters.
Here’s an example of a social media post gone wrong from an Ontario-based veterinarian practice that didn’t spell check:
EEK!
As a side note: Be sure you follow the advertising regulations of your governing body. As an example, The College of Veterinarians of Ontario state the following when it comes to advertising for your clinic: (e) contains no endorsement or promotion of specific products, brands of products, brandname drugs or third-party service providers.
Remember, your blog and social media posts are in essence an extension of you and your practice. With that in mind, you should always write as though your colleagues, clients and prospective clients may be reading (and judging) your every word.
That said, everyone makes a typo or two now and then. For some of us, there’s a sense of panic that strikes when you realize it after you’ve hit ‘post’ or ‘publish’ (I’ve absolutely been guilty of this myself). There could very well be a typo in this blog post, but when someone consistently publishes typos it is downright embarrassing and seemingly careless to readers. It also can impact your bottom line. A study of 1700 blog readers found that 63% of users consider bad grammar and spelling errors decidedly unworthy of sharing the content. This quite simply means you’re putting your business at risk of losing valuable word of mouth marketing.
Some Proofreading Tips To Consider:
Don’t be distracted: Proofreading needs your concentration. Ensure that you are giving your full attention.
Print it: Print out proofs. Errors that are missed on screen often jump out on paper.
Trust nothing: Read each word of text, each sentence, and each paragraph slowly and carefully. Take nothing for granted. Reading backwards also forces you to focus on each word versus the entire sentence.
Make the little things matter: Watch for errors in small words (a, an, and, of, form/from, is, it, the) that are easy to miss. And don’t leave out the too/to .. you’re/your .. it’s/its.
Take regular breaks: After you proofread content once, take a break before revisiting.
Proofread more than once: A surprising number of errors can be found in the second (or third) round of proofreading. Separate what you look for in each round: for example, first look for misspelled words, then for numbers and symbols, and then for other types of error.
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