‘Oops’ Isn’t a Suitable Apology for Spelling Errors

“I don’t care what the newspapers say about me as long as they spell my name right.”

P.T. Barnum, the great American showman, was right on both counts. Publicity is great, any kind of publicity – good, bad or other. But the most important consideration in publicity is that your name is spelled correctly.

That sage advice also applies to us who use social media to tell the world about ourselves, our NGOs, and our products and services.

Misspellings are the bane of writers. We all try to avoid them by writing carefully, proofreading, using automated spellcheckers and perhaps rereading. But despite our vigilance and best efforts, errors still manage to creep into our writing, tweets and posts, even when we write simple, common names.

I’ve personally experienced it. I’ve been called “Igor,” which I never was, and I was once renamed in an email “Iwhore.” The writer did not rectify this gross blunder so I had to write and correct it much to the chagrin of the very red-faced perpetrator. So, one bit of advice when you misspell someone’s name, especially that important someone who you are soliciting for a sponsorship, donation, membership or support, apologize and correct the name in a new email as soon as possible.

Don’t miss a second. Just fix it.

“Whether you’ve misspelled a word, ignored a complaint, said something silly, given horrible advice or over-used hashtags, social media blunders can turn off your audience, almost forever. Unfortunately, making typos is one of the most ignored blunders in social media networking these days. Most of us ignore and a lot of us form an impression,” writes social media adviser Sunita Biddu.

As small as they might be, spelling errors can really hurt your credibility and by association your organization’s and business’ credibility and integrity. You may excuse yourself that a typo here and there may be okay, but many of typos are not and how many in one email, tweet or post is many in the eye of the beholder.

Typos indicate to your audience that you are not serious and consequently that you, your organization or business, and message may not be serious as well.

“The moment a consumer sees misspellings or other general errors, they begin to question the credibility of not only the product but also the website and company,” warns social media consultant Marianne Chrisos.

Chrisos pointed out that there is a direct correlation between your typos and a decline in your prestige.

Citing a study published by the BBC, Chrisos noted that a single spelling mistake on a website can cut a company’s online sales in half. That means the business could have potentially had 1,000 sales (as opposed to the 500 that it really received) if you had fixed that spelling error of “staplar” to “stapler.”

Conversely, flawless writing, even in Twitter’s 140 characters, will go far in telling your readers a great deal about how professional you are, how serious you are about your messages, NGO or business, and you much you respect your audience.

If you notice a typo in your tweet or post, update and correct it immediately after you post it. You can use the edit function or you can delete it and repost a corrected version before people start liking, commenting on and sharing it.

Spelling errors are going to happen even to the best of us, but try to keep them to a minimum. Review your writing before you press send. An extra comma here and a misspelled word there may not seem like a big deal, but it does make you look sloppy. Also, it is wise to keep posts, tweets and emails as grammatically sound as possible, just like your letters were in the old days.

You risk a great deal by leaving grammatical or typographical errors that may look small but nonetheless will raise questions about your credibility in the back of your reader’s mind.

Just because you can type quickly and post comments and messages almost instantly doesn’t mean you should neglect grammar. You may legitimately feel you have to post a comment hastily but that doesn’t give you the right to overlook grammar, language and spelling. Haste has driven me to zealously post an interesting discovery in order to share it with followers and to attract new ones. However, if you don’t take a moment to give your post a second look before sending it, you are showing you were in such a rush that you failed to take into consideration your readers’ interests.

Your rushed work may also deliver confusing and detrimental messages. Simple errors such using “to, two, or too” interchangeably or replacing “there” with “they’re” or “their” will change the meaning and damage the effectiveness of your message. These minor mistakes distract your potential readers, prospects and customers from the real message and this could be harmful to your organization or business.

And don’t fool yourself. People take great pleasure in noticing typos and mentioning them to the culprit, supporters and competitors across cyberspace. The Germans have a word for it: “Schadenfreude.” At the time this can be very annoying and you just wish they’d go about their business without bothering you. But actually typos always matter, and those who inform the authors and editors of this are undertaking a great service.

“Another reason that fixing typos always matters is that by allowing them to fester away on websites or social networks, and in emails or text messages, we, as a species, are dumbing down. We’re letting mistakes stand, refusing to fix them even when we’re told they exist. This fosters the idea in the collective minds of the mainstream that typos are harmless,” observed Dave Parrack, the tech news and entertainment editor of MakeUseOf. “Once typos are accepted as an inevitable part of our everyday lives it’s a slippery slope down the dumb scale until we’re gruffly grunting at each other in the same way our evolutionary forebears once did.”

Finally, we, laptop, social media writers, have been trained like Pavlovian dogs to accept automated word replacements of spell check programs. The short answer is, don’t trust automation. Oftentimes I have caught in the nick of time an automated substitution that made no sense. Deactivating that function may prove helpful.

The long and the short of it is simply be careful not to leave typos in your wake and you’ll boost your outreach. Otherwise, you may be caught is this unpleasant situation:

A man received message from his neighbor.

Sorry sir I am using your wife. I am using day and night. I am using when u r not present at home. In fact I am using more than U R using. I confess this because now I feel very much guilt. Hope U will accept my sincere apologies.

Man went home and had a big fight with his wife.

Few minutes later he received another massage.

Sorry Sir spelling / auto correct mistake ... it's not wife but WIFI.

I’d like to invite you to visit my Thought Leadership website:

http://thoughtleadership.yolasite.com/

Benefits of Social Media for NGOs

Twitter is recognized as a powerful outreach tool and, according to a survey by Non Profit Tech for Good, some 79% of non-governmental organizations or non-profits believe that social media is effective for creating social change.

Truthfully, creating social change is the mission of civil society regardless of individual group’s niche mission. Civic activists have organized themselves into a variety of groups that strive to create social change to improve humanity by advancing what it has designated as important such as the environment, education, health, equality and others.

Consequently, savvy NGOs have embraced all forms of social media to raise awareness about their causes, promote issues dear to them, and, most importantly, raise funds to do what they do for another day, week, month, or year.

Once a tool for teenagers, now social media, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn and others have moved into the mainstream, where they are playing a significant role in helping NGOs fulfill their missions or launch new projects. It’s free, easy to use, and can be updated without fuss or extra costs.

Furthermore, the non-profits that use social media have discovered that their staffers, audience, donors, municipal officials and other interested stakeholders use social media as well. Actually, there’s a whole universe of users.

Consequently, social media is the fastest, easiest, simplest, most reliable and least expensive way to share your information or appeals with them.

Noteworthy NGOs are not different from successful small businesses. Both need to reach out to an audience or marketplace, they have a clear idea of their mission and target audience, market and readers. Social media can help NGOs in three ways: telling your story in your tweets or posts, raising awareness and soliciting donations, and interacting with donors, other activists, officials, academics and stakeholders.

Whether your NGO is local or global, and whether the need you serve is in your neighborhood or country or around the world, social media can be a powerful tool to deepen relationships with the people in your community who are most interested in your mission – or who should be interested in your mission if they knew about it.

However, reaching out via social media is not as simple as tweeting and forgetting it. You have to develop a comprehensive plan of tweeting or posting with dedication. It would serve you well if you designated a single staffer to handle social media. If you’re not serious about your activity on social media, you won’t be taken seriously. If you tweet once and then again in a couple of weeks, you’ll only attract to your cause your staff members that have been instructed to monitor social media.

You need to designate prospects and influencers and then aim your information at them.

Kiera Wiatrak, an independent social media and digital marketing consultant, observed: “Prospects are your leads – the people who would buy your product or service. Connecting with them is the ultimate goal, but you can’t do it without a network of influencers, who are people, brands, publications and other outlets who have influence in your space. You need them to build your credibility and spread your message to get your prospects excited about what you can offer.

“This dual focus is crucial for an effective social media engagement strategy. Not just your engagement, but your messaging should cater to both these audiences. Think of prospects and influencers as the peanut butter and jelly of your engagement strategy – you can’t have the iconic sandwich without both condiments in place.”

Though her advice pertains to small businesses, it can also benefit civil society.

As you tweet and post, cast your net wide so you catch your targets’ professional interests as well as pastime activity. Are they having e-conversations with other NGOs? If so, what are they talking about? Research how the demographic group that exhibits interest in your mission functions as a consumer and citizen, relates to local or global issues, and uses social media, and then join their conversations in addition to initiating your own.

When you’re just getting started, you should be varying your messaging, your networks, your prospecting techniques and your overall strategy to get your foot in the door everywhere. Then, track your results so you know what’s happening with your tweets and posts, and who’s reading them.

Compared with traditional outreach media, social media may be slow in producing results. You may have to develop a creative touch to tweeting and posting the same information while using different words. Rather than thinking of social media as first-person chat, think of it as a conduit, with the goal being to prepare each prospect to be ready to accept your call-to-action.

Make a library of relevant hashtags and Twitter handles and use them with every tweet. Remember social media’s quid pro quo: If you are befriended, followed and retweeted, then do so to those that favored your outreach.

And don’t forget the call to action. You may want your audience to continue reading your posts, or you may want them to subscribe to your e-newsletters, or you may want them to join your campaign, or, most importantly, you may want them to donate to the cause.

In any case, regularity, frequency and consistency are essential to your social media success. After all, the world is spherical and you want to be sure to reach as many people as possible during their waking hours.

Social media is not a precise science, and social media engagement is even less predictable. There are many consultants and bloggers – like me – offering advice on how to use social media but ultimately you, the user, will determine how best to take advantage of it after you’ve practiced the basics.

But once you’ve jumped into the deep end of the social media pool, don’t abandon your efforts. Pursue them with a passion.

I’d like to invite you to visit my Thought Leadership website:

http://thoughtleadership.yolasite.com/

Promote the SDGs and You’ll Build Your Business – Unilever Get’s It

Following up on my two earlier posts about promoting the Sustainable Development Goals as a means to build your NGO or business success, the other day I came across a column in The Huffington Post by Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, on this important global topic.

Unilever, perhaps among many corporations worldwide, understands the long-term value of the SDGs. While it is certainly a giant among corporations, Unilever’s corporate sustainability culture offers many doable ideas for small businesses and civil society.

Polman pointed out that humanity today is being offered a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a giant leap in improving the lives of everyone on earth for generations to come.

He said this opportunity exists in all facets of our lives – trains and other forms of transportation, offices, and the energy that powers our homes.

“But it’s also an opportunity for us to decide what we value, as we make decisions that determine the fate of the world’s natural infrastructure, from forests that clean our air to the soil that produces our food,” Polman wrote.

Unilever’s Polman is not unique among corporate leaders that display an acute sense of corporate social and community awareness. The United Nations Global Compact members and participants of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development undoubtedly include scores of likeminded executives. In their quest to improve the quality of life on this planet and, yes, to grow their businesses, they understand that the SDGs provide beneficial opportunities for everyone regardless of their beliefs, preferences or prejudices.

“Only sustainable infrastructure – one that refuses to trade long-term sustainability for short-term gains – will bring about the transformative change we need,” Polman continued. “It is key to our ability to deliver the promises of prosperity and sustainability at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

With the adoption last week of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the global community proved its “collective ambition to further limit global warming and preserve our future,” he wrote.

Indeed, as with the SDGs, sometimes called 2030 Agenda, which was adopted a year ago, and the work that has transpired since then, global organizations, national leaders and multinational corporations have demonstrated their understanding for the need to promote all 17 SDGs. (Click to see all of them: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/).

However, this understanding must trickle down to hometown officials, civil society and small businesses for it to become truly effective and useful. Only after the SDGs are universally embraced by all vestiges of humanity, will there be a chance for their successful attainment.

Polman wrote there is an explicit link among a sustainable infrastructure, development and climate change, and investing in them will yield greater global results but choosing an opposite path, he warned, will lead to economic, social and environmental losses.

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate report, cited by Polman, estimates that, across man-made and natural infrastructures, the need for investment stands at $90 trillion in the course of the next 15 years – the UN’s deadline for implementation of 2030 Agenda. Two-thirds of that sum has been earmarked for emerging markets, he added.

As with many projects, Polman pointed out that money alone isn’t enough. The report talks about a commitment and an action plan that is based on a partnership of public and private sectors – another prominent buzzword of the SDGs.

“We must tackle price distortions, including fossil fuel subsidies. We must have the right policies and institutions if we want to create the right conditions for investment. That will facilitate investments in clean tech. And, crucially, we must accelerate the greening of the financial system,” Polman suggested.

He wrote that land is a great example of how the international community can manage and invest in a sustainable infrastructure for economic, social and environmental gains. “Its use – and misuse – is at the heart of the challenge for food, fuel and fiber,” he underscored.

Highlighting the interconnectivity of the SDGs – as I wrote in my past two posts – that offer something for everyone, Polman noted that the land issue alone addresses Goal 2 to end hunger, Goal 8 for those who depend on land and forests for their livelihoods, and Goal 15 to protect, restore and promote ecosystems and forests.

“If we know that land is key to a prosperous and equitable future, we also know that our current approach is not sustainable,” he cautioned, alluding to current mistakes.

Polman elaborated that for developing countries land use remains the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, making agriculture a key focus at the United Nations climate change meeting in Marrakesh in November 2016.

“With the right policies and institutions in place, we can fill the $150-250 billion gap needed to restore and conserve agricultural land and forests,” he wrote.

Polman warned that governments have only two to three years to make the right decisions regarding land, forests, cities, energy and transportation because interest rates are currently at record lows, and affordable financing is available and technology is rapidly changing. That means, the advantageous window of opportunity, even for hometown officials, small businesses and civil society, while still open, could suddenly close to the detriment of all.

Polman said this is also a critical time for Unilever, a multinational diversified corporation with interests in food, and similar companies. Its ability to operate in the long run, source water, energy and commodities to produce goods depends on today’s decisions.

“Indeed, the type of infrastructure we choose to invest in today will determine our future for the next decades. We could be locked in to drastically different scenarios, impacting every aspect of our societies and economies, from how we source our energy, food and water, to how we value the environment and the people who depend on it. By investing in sustainable infrastructure we can choose a sustainable future,” Polman explained.

Decisions made today by global organizations and civil society, national governments and hometown officials, and multinational corporations and small businesses will affect sustainability and the lives of humanity and our neighbors for generations to come. There’s an obvious trail of interconnectivity that substantiates my outreach premise: Promote the SDGs, and, in turn, you will promote your NGO or business – and improve the wellbeing of your communities and neighborhoods.

By exhibiting an interest in humanity’s livelihood, humanity will return the favor by exhibiting an interest in elected officials, civil society and big and small businesses.

Unilever has wisely cast its fate on the side of sustainability. There are probably other companies such as Unilever and I’ll bring their stories to you in future posts.

Meanwhile, as you launch your SDG projects and campaigns, promote your efforts via social media. You will build followers and awareness of your valuable work. If you share the information with me, I’ll promote it as well.

Promote the SDGs and You’ll Build Your Business

The Sustainable Development Goals or 2030 Agenda offer benefits for everyone on the planet and it behooves everyone to abide by their principles. Even businesses should integrate sustainable environmental, social and governance issues into their business models – and act on them.

The SDGs grew out of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight targets that were designed for the onset of 2000 16 years ago but in time deemed inadequate to improve life as we know it on this planet.

Consequently, they were expanded by a partnership of UN member-states and non-governmental organizations to include 17 goals and 169 targets that address critical issues facing the world and cities, your business, such as the eradication of extreme poverty, tackling global inequality and climate change, promoting sustainable urbanization and industrial development, protecting natural ecosystems, and fostering growth of peaceful and inclusive communities and governing institutions. Hopefully these goals and targets will be attained within 15 years, by 2030 thus their secondary moniker – 2030 Agenda. (Click to see all of them: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/).

In my last blog, I urged NGOs to participate in the campaign to promote their work and SDGs. However, as you can see from the SDG chart, all segments of society can benefit from them and participate in them. Entrepreneurs and businesspeople should not belittle these goals as something for tree huggers, altruists or social reformers. Learning about the SDGs and incorporating their tenets into their business plans will contribute to their bottom lines.

One major reason for this direct relationship is that your consumers not only support sustainability but expect the marketplace to actively favor them as well.

Many companies – your colleagues and competitors – today are making a conscious effort to put sustainable practices into action. The understand that doing so not only helps the environment and society, but it also creates goodwill for their reputations and contribute positively to their brands’ health and performance. It can help them gain greater market share.

But do consumers really care about socially aware capitalism when it comes to buying decisions? Are they willing to pay more for products and services that come from companies that engage in actions that further global social good?

According to numerous recent surveys, consumers have expressed the opinion that they care about the environment and extreme poverty around the world. Their conviction converts to action when it comes to buying decisions, reported Nielsen. Assuming a positive ratio between a stated willingness to pay and an actual willingness to open one’s wallet, the survey found that the answer is yes for a growing number of consumers around the world.

So social responsibility, sustainability and profits go hand-in-hand in today’s marketplace.

Research conducted by Research+Data Insights for Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Environmental Defense Fund found that 91% of Americans believe it’s important for companies to implement greater corporate sustainability practices, while nearly 63% expect companies to actively pursue and implement such policies.

Furthermore, 62% of Americans want to learn more about private sector efforts to improve energy efficiency and 82% of Americans report that increased transparency around climate change initiatives will increase the trust they have in a company.

This trend includes millennials with an estimated $170 billion of purchasing power. Their appetite for green products and services is higher than previous generations. DDB Worldwide Communications reports that millennials are twice as likely as boomers to own a hybrid car and seven times as likely to own an electric car.

The study also found that 51% of respondents indicate reports from third-party organizations are the most credible means by which a company can convey its efforts to be more energy efficient.

Other surveys found:

Ø  9 out of 10 consumers consider environmental impact when making a purchase

Ø  Nearly 50% of Americans value being environmentally conscious over a growing economy

Ø  72% would recommend a brand that supports a good cause over one that doesn’t

Ø  1 in 2 consumers are willing to pay more for products and services from eco-friendly companies

Ø  Nearly half of shoppers purchase from at least one “green” brand a month

Ø  76% of consumers say the best way to confirm a company’s eco-friendly claims is a certification

Ø  62% of people prefer to work for companies that regularly give back

Ø  Two-thirds of American consumers regularly read instructions on how to properly dispose a product

Ø  78% of shoppers will refuse to purchase from a company that is misleading about green practices

While the ultimate intention of going green should be to do your part and give back to your community, there are tangible benefits aside from that “doing good” feeling. With consumers preferring to support green companies, businesses can develop a more loyal customer base by promoting their eco-friendly practices.

Green initiatives can also save money: reducing packaging materials, minimizing transportation costs and installing energy-efficient lighting are just some of the ways environmentally savvy companies are cutting costs; emailing documents instead of printing them; and switching out traditional light bulbs for compact fluorescents (CFLs).

Many companies have admitted that they are actively integrating sustainability principles into their businesses, according to a recent McKinsey Global survey. They are doing so by pursuing goals that go far beyond earlier concern for reputation management—for example, saving energy, developing green products, and retaining and motivating employees, all of which help companies capture value through growth and return on capital. These executives also stated that sustainability programs make a positive contribution to their companies’ short and long-term value.

Businesspeople aren’t merely blindly accepting sustainability but rather they reported a more well-rounded understanding of sustainability and its expected benefits. They see the potential for supporting corporate reputation, but they also expect operational and growth-oriented benefits in the areas of cutting costs and pursuing opportunities in new markets and products.

An overwhelming number of executives, 94%, reported their companies have integrated sustainability into strategic planning, versus 53% of all other respondents.

Going green in your business can not only help build trust and authority with customers – or thought leadership as I have written, but it can also reduce operating expenses and qualify your business for more tax breaks. But the bottom line is that it’s not just about profitability—it’s also about a culture change; it’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle in your marketplace and community.

Incorporating sustainability into your businesses culture involves becoming aware of the impact of your choices in business, the marketplace, food, products and energy use, and consequently your domestic lives.

The SDGs present an opportunity for business-led solutions and technologies to be developed and implemented to address the world’s biggest sustainable development challenges. As the SDGs form the global agenda for the development of our societies, they will allow leading companies to demonstrate how their businesses help advance sustainable development, both by minimizing negative impacts and maximizing positive impacts on people and the planet.

The SDGs can help to connect business strategies with global priorities. Companies can use the SDGs as an overarching framework to shape, steer, communicate and report their strategies, goals and activities, allowing them to capitalize on a range of mutual benefits.

As you launch your SDG campaign, don’t forget to promote your work in your marketplace, industry, with stakeholders, civil society and other hometown resources. Align your business programs with NGO projects. Distribute press releases – yes, the old-fashioned media are still productive. Take photos and post them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and elsewhere. Share them and retweet others’ photos and posts. Don’t forget to use the appropriate Twitter handles, which are easy to find on the Internet and don’t forget to use hashtags and handles such as #UN, #SDGs, #2030Agenda, #globalgoals, #sustainability, @globalcompact @UN and others.

This outreach will help you inform a wide range of potential followers that will be attracted to your business and the SDGs.

As Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, correctly observed: “Business is a vital partner in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”

For more ideas on how businesses can partner in the SDG campaign, visit http://www.sdgcompass.org.

I invite you to visit also:

http://thoughtleadership.yolasite.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BoostingNGOOutreach