In a recent professional development training session at Matter on the importance of attention to detail, I was reminded of the recent spelling mishap that made headlines involving Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney came face-to-face with the consequences of bad spelling when a user of his campaign’s iPhone app noticed the phrase “a better Amercia.”
A few days later the campaign had fixed the error, but the phrase had already become an Internet sensation with its own Tumblr account “Amercia is With Mitt” and #Amercia Twitter hashtag.
Despite the juvenile spelling error and the fact that it came from a presidential candidate, this was the result of lack of attention to detail. Below are some tips to keep in mind to ensure that you nor your client end up as the title of Tumblr account:
First and foremost spelling and grammar are important. In PR we are in the business of telling stories and no one is going to listen if they’re not written well and free of spelling errors.
Equally important is fact checking. Take the time to do your homework. Google search, check social media and ask questions; it will save you a huge amount of time (and potentially embarrassment) in the long run.
Proofread, proofread, and proofread. If you’ve been working on a piece for ages it helps to put it down, give it some time and return with fresh eyes. It also helps to have more than one person proofread.
Whether it’s in a press release, a client email, a post or a tweet, paying attention to detail can help avoid a costly mistake for an agency and client. You really can never be too careful.
What are some of your tips for paying close attention to detail?