The Power of Social Media

I had a conversation with my husband last week.

I know. Don't act so stunned - we do that at least once a week. :)

We were talking about social media, in relation to his job and others like it. I work in social media. I write online. I tweet, I'm on Facebook - everything I do relates to social media. If something happens to me negatively or positively in a store or with a company, I'm pretty apt to take it to Twitter. I use my phone to keep myself in constant contact and being online - well, it keeps me sane. Makes me happy, if you will.

His job is social media light. Most companies are. There are not that many companies who have a well utilized Twitter stream, who actively engage their Facebook friends, who offer perks to those who visit their websites, who keep a blog and who actively engage their customers.

I've seen some pretty deep holes being dug for companies that don't monitor their social media presence. There have been big name bloggers who've reached out to a company on Twitter and had their problems unresolved. There have also been some companies that really handle themselves well.

When I went to Gatorade, I toured their media room - they have an entire room devoted to following their brands on every social media platform possible. Their twitter streams have big screen televisions devoted to them, and an entire team of staff is utilized - just to follow the Gatorade brand online.

In addition to being a social mediaholic, I am also a spelling and grammar freak. I correct things all.the.time. It, uh, doesn't get me much love.The martial arts school hates me for it. It was all I could do not to correct TWO teachers who emailed me to discuss my children - and had misspelled words.  I correct my daughter's copied homework assignments - she copies them off the board, full of misspellings - and I make her correct the errors. I think spelling is important. My biggest pet peeve, though - I HATE to see businesses that have incorrect grammar or misspelled words. It's a crazy maker for me. I think that a business should be above that.

Sue me if you don't agree.

There's a correlation here, I promise.

Today, while I was shopping at Home Depot (for paint! for my office! wheeeeee!!!) I saw a flat of bottled water. Knowing that my oldest daughter needed water bottles, I went over to grab one. And I saw this:

Seeing this caused me to break out into convulsive fits of laughter. 1/2 Litter Warter. I wish I was making this up.

I tweeted this sign out on my Twitter, and also put it on my Facebook wall. Home Depot replied back to me within about 10 minutes. They asked for the location of the sign, and shortly thereafter, tweeted at me that they had emailed the store to request that they correct it.

That's social media used correctly - for something admittedly very small, but it was a sign that made a business of immense profit and importance look very stupid.

My husband, however, did not agree with me. He felt that it was in poor taste to tell a business that they had a spelling error (errors, was my response, which he poo-poo'ed) and that I should just let spelling errors go. Not important, he thought.

So, it's a two fold question that I present to you tonight:

A) Should companies have a social media presence?

B) Should companies be expected to use correct grammar and spelling?

Social media can make or break a business, I told my husband. And I wonder what the Interwebz will say...

Comments

[Kathryn]

I don't normally comment, but spelling errors drive me crazy! I would certainly have let the company know. To answer question A, I believe any company that does not have a strong social media presence is missing a huge opportunity to connect with consumers.

[Nina]

In that particular case, I would have said something because my husband works at Home Depot. Actually, I would have asked if he made the sign himself. lol

[Shelly]

These days, social media is extremely important. It is a competitive world and it shows, to me, a company cares enough to reach out to the public.

On the errors, they should be correct at all times and anyone should be able to correct the company when they do.

As our Scout Executive refuses to sent out anything with any kind of errors as it reflects poorly on BSA.

[Nicole]

If you see a store with misspelled signs and improper grammar, it says they don't care. They don't think it matters to the customers. They don't want to take the time to make themselves look professional. Regardless of whether or not customers notice--or speak up--I think it's important for companies to do whatever they can to make sure they put themselves in the best light. Professionalism is part of marketing, and proper spelling and grammar are part of professionalism.

I don't know about companies and social media. For me, it kind of depends on the company, and whether or not they'll keep up with it. Social media can be a full-time job, and I think companies don't realize that.

[girlsmama]

Companies, professional organizations, etc. should keep up with current forms of communication. Today, that would be social media. And they should absolutely be tracking their companies name, it's not that hard to do. It's good marketing.

As for correcting the sign, yes, yes, and yes! Anything put before the public should be correct. As a manager I would have been grateful that you brought it to my attention, an worried about how many others may have already seen it and formed an opinion about my company based on it.

[girlsmama]

Ha! Company's name. Sorry.

[Rox]

Yes and yes. Then again, I'm in Silicon Valley, where everyone Tweets and Facebooks everything. I think that social media has passed over large swaths of America, and that's just sad to me ... BUT, then again, even my 80-something grandparents use e-mail and even now Facebook (!!!), so, if they can do it -- as 8th-grade grads -- anyone can.

Wow, I used a lot of ... and -- there, and even parentheses, making me not the greatest spokesperson for grammar, perhaps ... haha!

[Headless Mom]

I'm on your side. Kudos to Home Depot for keeping up and contacting you to correct the problem. I don't think that social media is appropriate for all businesses, but large national companies certainly should take notice of what is being said about them online, and taking action when it's prudent.

[Gwen]

I once told a chain dry cleaner that the big poster on the wall was using "they're" when it should have been "their." It makes a company look - unprofessional at the very least. At my job, we send letters via a request tool, and never see the letters. I was mortified when I happened to get a letter back and saw what we were sending out. Our letters have all been revamped now! Who approves these things? Yes, companies should know. I think most appreciate it.

[Karin]

I correct grammar/spelling all the time. Poor English makes me absolutely nutso. I've photographed misspellings at our local school, on vacation (Special - Chicken Dumpings!), in stores, at restaurants...

Re: social media. I am currently annoyed that Radio Shack hasn't responded to my tweet yesterday with photo of a handwritten sign reading, "Back in 20 minutes." in the middle of the day!! No misspelling, but come on! I needed those darn batteries. I'm glad Home Depot cam through for you though. Social media is one of the services that my communications firm offers so I'm a real evangelist. Seems like your husband's car dealership (is that right?) could certainly be audience-building with social media even if they don't actively market.

[MelissaS]

This drives me nuts! Especially when I get literature from my son's school that has errors...
Yes, companies should be held accountable for spelling and grammar. Thank you for correcting what you see is wrong at the time you see it. We need more spelling and grammar police :) While social media promotes abbreviated communication, we still need to know how to communicate properly in long form. Does that make sense?

[Dianna]

I don't know that companies should be huge into social media, but I do think they should have a website and an easy way for folks to contact them. About the spelling and grammar though, YES, companies should most definitely be held accountable for that. I mean, really? With spell check and what not someone messed up the word water. Come on people.

[Elizabeth]

Spelling errors and poor grammar are unacceptable in the business world in my opinion. I shudder at some of the emails I've received from uppper management with horrible spelling mistakes. I know spell check isn't perfect but it does weed out some of the blatant errors. I would've pointed out the mistake to someone at the store or tweeted about it as well.

I do believe that companies, whether small or large, do need to embrace social media as it isn't going away anytime soon. I do know that social media can help or hurt companies in many ways and to not take advantage of that is bad business planning.

[Vanessa]

Yes, I think companies should have a social media presence; the extent of which dependent on the nature of the company.

YES, absolutely spelling counts. Every single time.

[UKCraftySal]

Correct spelling is one of my real bugbears. My sister, daughter and I all feel the same, and we joke that it's "time to get the red pen out" when we are out and about and see an offending sign. The most common mistake is incorrect use of 's, as in "strawberry's for sale" etc etc.

I'm pleasantly surprised that Home Depot cared enough to both correct the error and tell you they had done so.

As for social media, I think most companies need to have a presence there, but if they're not willing to take it seriously and above all, to keep it up-to-date, then it's better that they don't bother. It's like websites: if they are obviously out-of-date, that's worse than if they weren't there at all.

[Jen]

Yes, and yes. A lot of companies (more so in the UK) have totally buried their heads in the sand about social media, to their detriment. Those who go half-assed about it actually annoy me MORE; "oh look at us we are so hip and with-it having a FB 'presence'" - whilst mis-spelling their status updates AND/OR ignoring any negative feedback they get on their page.

And don't get me started on the spelling errors. Our local garage slept 'fuel', 'fule'. No kidding. I asked them to change it and they didn't. We get letters back from the kids' school with major spelling errors. It does my head in.... "and you are TEACHING my kids?! Wtf?". My son learnt his whole term's spelling words last night, in 20 minutes. That's 100words. He is the youngest in the (Grade 2) class. And none of the spellings in his literacy book are ever corrected on the (rare) occasion they are wrong. And I wonder why they can't spell 'fule' down the road?!

Sorry. Rant over ;)

[Jen]

slept = spelt. Damn you autocorrect (typing on iPad). *blush*

[Brenda]

I absolutely think companies should be "above" making spelling errors like this. If a company chooses to be in the social media to keep in touch with their clientele & possible reach more people, then they should make every effort to maintain all of those avenues of communication. You can't just join wide-reaching groups like Twitter & Facebook, then ignore the customer you've just reached via that medium. BAD, BAD, BAD customer service.
And I agree with you- spelling errors that come out of business AND classrooms are big no-no's. It's a major pet peeve of mine too & I'm not afraid to bring it to their attention. Our society is already dumbed down. Why make us look more uneducated?

[jadine]

Yes, and yes.

Companies should care/expect their employees to represent the company to minimum standards (and the expectation of accurate spelling and grammar is pretty "minimum").

[wookie]

I don't think it was wrong for you to post the mistake or to expect correct spelling.

But I do think it is not reasonable to expect the entire world to be monitoring social media to find mistakes. To address issues of poor customer service, maybe, but not to correct crappy spelling on a in-store sign.

I would have gone to the customer service desk and let them know, because that is the most direct way of addressing a local problem.

[Kate]

I actually manage my company's social media presence. My answer to question A is yes, as long as the company has a strategy and the resources to manage their social channels. My answer to B is again yes, every communication is an extension of the company and it must be taken seriously. BUT, I know from experience that even the most scrutinized tweets, posts, releases, etc. can get through with mistakes... it happens and we must have some flexibility to recognize that behind every company is a person who is posting, tweeting and releasing. We're all human. This in no, way, shape or form means that the above picture is excusable.

[Pam]

Okay, is it just me, or is it kind of hilarious that almost every one of these comments has at least one spelling or grammatical error in it?

[LizP]

I am always finding spelling mistakes. I continually ... um nagged ... my oldest stepson to check his spelling. He relied on Word to spellcheck his work and he frequently had words that were spelled right but were the wrong usage (like there, their and they're). He does graphic design and made the poster for the high school play the year after he graduated. No one proofed it ... it had two spelling mistakes.

I think it's important for people to care about spelling. It trickles down and no one will bother to spell correctly. I think spelling, setting the table correctly, and wearing appropriate clothing to the ballet are important. Unfortunately my family does not agree ...

[Pat]

I think it depends on the company's niche market. If your products are aimed at the 65+ demographic, Twitter and Facebook are not that essential. Aside from using them to keep up with grandkids, etc., most seniors find constant immersion in electronic screens can be hard on eyes w/cataracts and hands w/arthritis. However, if they do choose to use social media, it needs to be kept current.

[Wendy]

As a professional editor, I'm sure you know I am on your side all the way! I clipped an awesome cartoon a long time ago that showed an English teacher chopping down a billboard that said "Up to 50% off and more, irregardless of our already bestest prices!" :-)