A short, punchy message increases your chances of being heard above the social media chatter.

So why do so many people use long words and complicated language in their blog posts and updates?

Maybe it’s hardwired from our school days. Teachers’ requests for a 5,000-word essay struck fear into our hearts and we resorted to padding and long words in an attempt to sound more knowledgeable than we really were.

It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now.

Using plain English, and clear, concise language can make the difference between winning and losing business, or a potential client choosing your company over a competitor.

So, when every character counts, here are 18 waffle-busting ways to get straight to the point:

Instead of writing this…	write this
as and when	when
we will endeavour	we’ll try
in due course	soon
we are able to	we can
in a timely manner	on time
additional information	more details
in order to	to
we have a requirement for	we need
regarding	about
a significant number	lots
in close proximity	near
per annum	a year
please advise	tell us
prior to	before
until such time	until
please ensure	make sure
at the end of the day	ultimately
utilise	use

 

The English language contains numerous words that sound alike but have different meanings. They’re known as homophones and they’re easily confused when writing.

Here are some of the most commonly confused words, together with tips for getting them right first time. Which trips you up? 

 

Its/it’s

ITS describes something that belongs to IT:

“The dog chased its tail”

IT’S is a contraction of IT IS or IT HAS:

“It’s going to be sunny”

 

You’re/your

YOU’RE is always a contraction of YOU ARE:

“You’re going to be late”

YOUR describes something that belongs to you:

“Remember your wallet”

 

They’re/their/there

THEY’RE is always a contraction of THEY ARE:

“They’re going to be late”

THEIR describes something that belongs to them:

“They forgot their tickets!”

THERE is a place. Think ‘here’ + T:

“Over here! No – over there!”

 

They’ll/there’ll

THEY’LL is a contraction of THEY WILL:

“They’ll be late”

THERE’LL is a contraction of THERE WILL:

“There’ll be trouble”

 

Who’s/whose

WHO’S is a contraction of WHO IS or WHO HAS:

“Who’s tried the new restaurant?”

WHOSE indicates that something belongs to someone. Try replacing it with WHO IS or WHO HAS. If it doesn’t make sense, use WHOSE:

“Whose restaurant is it?”

 

Stationary/stationery

STATIONARY means ‘not moving’. Remember AR, as in parked car:

“The train was stationary”

STATIONERY is paper, pens and other office supplies. Remember E for envelopes:

“Please bring your own stationery”

 

Affect/effect

AFFECT is a verb meaning ‘influence’ or ‘make a difference to’:

“The rain affects my hair”

EFFECT is most commonly a noun meaning ‘result’:

“The effect of the rain is wet hair”

 

Complement/compliment

COMPLEMENT means complete, match or add a little extra. Remember E for extra:

“That top complements your eyes”

COMPLIMENT praise or a flattering remark, such as, “You have lovely eyes” (think eyes = i).

Always ‘compliments slip’ and ‘with compliments’.

 

Wonder/wander

WONDER means to ponder, or to be curious:

“I wonder how she got on”

WANDER means to drift around:

“I like to wander around the gardens”

 

Accept/except

ACCEPT means receive:

“Please accept my apologies”

Except means apart from, or excluding (think EX):

“Have any chocolate you like, except the caramels”

 

Practice/practise

PRACTICE is a noun – think ICE:

“Have you done your piano practice?” or “We refer to best practice guidelines”

PRACTISE is a verb – think IS:

“You need to practise”

 

Principal/principle

PRINCIPAL means main or chief. Remember ‘pal’:

“The college principal”

PRINCIPLE is a fundamental truth or rule:

“A matter of principle”

It also means morally correct behaviour:

“A man of principle”

 

To/too

TO indicates direction:

“I’m going to London”

It also indicates the infinitive part of a verb:

“I’m going to have lunch”

TOO means also:

“Can I come, too?”

It also means excessively:

“It’s too loud!”

The English language is full of quirks that can trip you up – and when you’re writing for business, mistakes can cost you sales.

These simple tips will stop you falling flat on your face.

Tip 1

A lot, as well, thank you, no one and all sorts are all two words.

(Unless you happen to be writing about Liquorice Allsorts, which – let’s face it – is unlikely.)

Tip 2

Don’t use here’s (here is: singular) or there’s (there is: singular) when you mean here are or there are: plural. 

“Here are tips”, not “here’s tips”.

Tip 3

Too means also (“can I come, too?”) or excessively (“that’s too loud”).

To indicates direction (“I’m going to London”) or shows the infinitive form of a verb (“I’m going to have some lunch”).

Two is always a number.

Tip 4

It’s usually wrong to say you have two choices – you have one choice, with two (or three, or ten) alternatives.

Tip 5

An ellipsis is always three dots – no more, no less (and never a random number just to fill a gap).

Tip 6

Stop confusing you’re and your.

You’re is short for ‘you are’.

Your means belonging to you.

“You’re driving to town in your car.”

Tip 7

Blame pronunciation for this one. Saying could’ve, would’ve, and should’ve often leads to writing could of, would of, should of – which is wrong.

Always write could have, would have, should have.

Tip 8

Use fewer for things you can count, and less for things you can’t. Less food = fewer calories.

Ditto number (for things you can count) and amount (for things you can’t).

So, you’ve been given the task of writing engaging posts for your company’s social media profiles – where do you start?

Here are my top tips for creating compelling content that gets your business noticed.

1: Think social

The key to creating engaging social media posts is in the name.

It’s social.

Imagine chatting to colleagues around the coffee machine, or discussing new ideas with a prospective client over lunch.

Effective social media is a two-way dialogue, not a one-way monologue.

You want your audience to engage with your posts, so get curious, ask questions, seek feedback and opinions – even be provocative (within reason).

2: KISS

Short, simple sentences, human language, plain English – they’re all key to writing engaging social media posts that help your business cut through the communication clutter.

Twitter has its own (280) character limit, but whether you’re updating Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or LinkedIn it’s good practice to keep your updates short and sweet.

Remove redundant words such as very, really, that and just, and avoid abbreviations and text speak – they won’t make yr biz look gr8.

Your social media posts should aim to inform, entertain or inspire action, keeping your name, or the name of your business, in the front of your audience’s mind.

So remember: keep it simple, sweetheart.

3: Set the tone

If you’re used to writing for traditional channels you may feel comfortable with a certain level of formality – business speak, buzzwords and jargon – and a happy distance between you and your reader.

But stuffy, formal writing doesn’t work on social media.

Social updates work best when you think of your writing as a conversation with your audience – so keep it light, informal and chatty.

Imagine you’re addressing friends, rather than prospects.

Thank followers for liking your page, or sharing your posts, and reply to their comments.

Above all, be active.

Consider each post as a chance to build a relationship with your audience – not to make sales.

4: Create shareable content

A successful social media profile is one that inspires engagement – shares, likes, comments and saves.

Valuable posts that are thought-provoking, informative and/or entertaining are more likely to be shared – and shares help to get your business noticed.

Win–win!

5: Pacify the punctuation pedants

The grammar police are more active on social media than anywhere else.

Be warned: if you screw up your spelling or glitch up your grammar, you’ll know about it!

If you’re unsure of the difference between affect and effect, or principle and principal, imply and infer – check my The Little Book of Confusables.

It demystifies 600 confusing words and is guaranteed to make you laugh while you learn.

By checking your confusables, you won’t just avoid the wrath of the nit-picking word ninjas – you’ll learn something new for next time.

6: Say it loud

When I finish any copywriting job – from a complex website to a simple email – I read it out loud.

Reading aloud makes it easier to identify repetition and inconsistency than reading on screen or hard copy.

The same advice goes whatever you’re writing – blog posts, web copy, emails… even the shortest social media posts.

Alternatively, get your computer to read your text aloud.

How?

In Word, select the Review menu and click Read Aloud – or dig into your computer’s accessibility settings.

Listening to an automated voice read your words out loud is a great way to spot repetition, clunky phrasing and spelling mistakes.

7: Sleep on it

Finally, it may sound like a luxury, but try to build time into your schedule to let your copy settle.

It’s amazing the things you can pick up when you review what you’ve written with a fresh pair of eyes the following morning.

(Okay, so this is neither necessary nor practical when you’re writing a tweet or a Facebook post, but it can certainly help if you’re creating a new blog post or updating your profile on LinkedIn.)

Start using these simple tips and watch your social media engagement soar.