Recently I’ve been ramping up my activity on LinkedIn - I’ve used it for a long time now but never really embraced it like I had Twitter and Facebook.

During a recent meeting about a new website project I was recommended to join the Hampshire Business Network on LinkedIn as it had proved to be of value to the customer - so I did.

Once signed up to the group you are encouraged to write a short description about your company to inform other members about what it is you do, so I wrote a short post about FHOKE and the services we offer as a web design and build agency.

Shortly after I posted my comment I received this message from a group member:

“OK Brett but why should I choose you instead of other companies doing the same as this?”

Michael Birchmore - Director at United Kingdom Association for Humanistic Psychology Practitioners

This is a brilliant question - it stopped me for a split-second and made me really think about why people choose to use us over other agencies. It didn’t take me long before I had compiled a list of items that make FHOKE stand out from the crowd.

I replied to Michael’s question for which he thanked me. However, I did write my response in a bit of a hurry as we had to get off to a meeting. When we got back I was somewhat surprised to have received the following comment referring to what I had written:

“Is your proofreader on holiday?”

Andy Neil - Owner, Andronics Ltd. and Embedded Systems Consultant

Nice!

I’ll have to admit, at first I was a tad embarrassed, and then it got me thinking back to a great video posted by Paul Boag of Headscape entitled ‘Why People Think I Should Stop Blogging’. After looking back at this I posted a reply back to Andy and pointed him in the direction of this video.

Andy was very quick to mock what I had said, seemingly to make me look bad in front of the group. What he actually did is highlighted just how narrow minded people can be.

Paul, like myself is not the best at spelling - does this mean that we’re not good at what we do? No - of course not. Here at FHOKE we have a growing portfolio of clients that continue to work with us because we tick all the boxes - we deliver time and time again in a friendly and professional manor, the results speak for themselves.

My faith in people was restored the very next day when we received a call from a local business that had seen the recent LinkedIn activity. They shared my views on Andy’s comment and are looking to work with us on their re-brand in the coming weeks.

So, How Important Is Spelling?

Everyone will have a different view on this, some will find the smallest typo or error irritating - me? I’m much more relaxed.

In printed items such as brochures, stationery, leaflets, posters etc. it’s very important - it does look unprofessional and is not something I condone. These must always be proof read again and again by several people to make sure those errors don’t get through the net. However on personal blogs, social networks and websites however, it can be viewed slightly differently.

Personal Blogs and Social Networks are places where people share thoughts, views or information. Posts and comments are often written quickly about something that the author is passionate about, so the odd typo is bound to crop up even after it’s been checked - should these mistakes be amended? Who cares - the information being conveyed is what’s important (right?).

Corporate brochure websites and blogs are different again, they tell the world about your company on a professional level and they need to appear that way. But, from time to time mistakes in spelling and grammar do occur. These can be amended very quickly and at no cost or inconvenience, so it’s really no big deal.

One Final Note

I’d just like to add though that Andy Neil’s own personal blog has a few typos… not that I’m bitter about it though ;-).