Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Tuesday Tips: Spell Check Before You Post

Nothing is more embarrassing than to quickly type up a Facebook post, Twitter post or create a graphical image and post it, just to see a few minutes to an hour later that you made a huge spelling mistake and the spelling and grammar police are out to get you.

Which is what brings us to today's tip: Spell check before you post.

At least you have a bit of a savior with Facebook these days, you can edit a post - but if you don't catch it quick enough, trust me, it's out there and the spelling police will make fun of you for it.  It's worse if it's an image you created because those images will stay around FOREVER.

If you are posting via a mobile device, be sure to read and reread your post before you send it.  Both iOS and Android like to auto-correct and auto-fill what it thinks you are trying to say and if you think it got it right, it may make for very embarrassing posts.  If you don't believe me, just read some auto-correct fails - that will make you believe me.

If you are creating a graphic image with text, check, double check and triple check your spelling.  If in doubt, look it up.  Or, if in doubt, and you have a friend or co-worker nearby, have them look at it.  Two heads are always better than one.

And finally, most browsers have a spell check function already built into them and if they don't you can download them as part of a free add-on.  When you are writing posts for Facebook and Twitter, it should auto-flag any word it suspects is wrong and if you right click on it, give you options for spelling.  Keep in mind though, it won't correct wrong words that are spelled correctly, so be sure to check not only for misspelled words, but correctly spelled words used incorrectly.

And while spell checking will help avoid embarrassing situations, just remember it happens to everyone, myself included.  I am notorious for typing or swyping too fast when typing comments to friends on Facebook and it makes for an entertaining laugh.  But for a brand, try to spell check as much as you can before you post!

Good luck!

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

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