How active are you on social media? Chances are that you spend some time every single day writing posts and updating your profiles.
Even if you’re using social media just for fun, you’re telling people a lot about who you are. Everybody has access to websites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ – friends, acquaintances, co-workers, your teachers and even potential employers. As a result, you have to be careful about everything that you upload.
Posts that contain errors, grammar mistakes and poorly-structured sentences are usually linked to sloppiness and laziness. This isn’t the impression you want to make on others. Editing and proofreading your social media posts doesn’t take a lot. At the same time, putting some effort in the process will definitely pay off in the long run.
Reasons Why You Need to Proofread Everything
There are several reasons why you need to proofread everything you’re about to post in the online realm. The most important ones include:
– Build your credibility: if you want to be taken seriously, you should be a perfectionist when it comes to the content that you publish online. Whether you’d like to establish your reputation as a professional or simply reach a big number of people, proper spelling and grammar are essential.
– Find attractive employment options: statistics show that more employers than ever are checking candidates on social media. According to CareerBuilder, 39 percent of employers looked for candidate profiles on social media in 2013. The figure has gone up to 52 percent in 2015.
– Connect with the right people: by posting thoughtful, well-research and properly written posts, you’ll be attracting intelligent people to your profiles. Such networking opportunities will be really beneficial in the long run.
– Create an online identity that people will like: your online identity is entirely based on the information that you publish. The posts will determine how people are going to perceive you. If you want to be taken seriously, you’ll need to proofread before posting the next status.
Tips for Effective Social Media Proofreading
If you’ve never proofed and edited your online content in the past, you may feel somewhat confused about getting started. A few simple tips will help you improve your posts. The best aspect is that you’ll need just a couple of minutes to make sure your content is error-free.
Read Your Posts
The first and simplest thing you can do to reduce the risk of errors is read the post you’re about to upload. Reading the text out loud is usually the best approach. It will enable you to identify errors and poor sentence structure that will otherwise go unnoticed.
Use the Right Proofing Tools
Professional writers, bloggers and people that post frequently on social media can rely on various tools to enhance the quality of their creation. A quality grammar and style checker is ideal for beginners and people that don’t have prior experience. When it comes to important posts (like the ones on your LinkedIn profile, for example), you may want to opt for a bit of professional assistance.
Check Your Content after You’ve Uploaded it
Reading the text just once before it goes online isn’t sufficient. After you post an update, you may notice a formatting problem or another issue that interferes with readability. This is why you should dedicate a few seconds to checking the posts after they go live and making sure that everything looks impeccable.
Slow down before you post your next tweet or Facebook status update. Even if it doesn’t discuss a serious topic, it should be error-free. Social media provide lots of opportunities and you can’t be negligent about building your online persona. Proofreading is an easy process and you don’t have to do a lot of work in order to make sure your posts are perfect.
Author Bio
My name is Alicia Honeycutt. I am a content strategist and a passionate writer from Los Angeles. I love reading and writing, travelling and discovering the world.
