The internet is our marketplace and content our currency. The demand for content has grown at a monstrous pace and will continue to. So we develop strategies, plan content, create it and implement vigorously.  So many resources are spent on the process that we seem to pass up the most crucial element of all, quality.

The industry is forever changing, from the black hat SEO days to the most recent Google search algorithm update, we are all marching to the search engine’s drum. As we march on, the demand for content continues to grow, to the point where content is created for content’s sake. Yes we need more content and yes this demand is going to continue growing, but we seem to forget who we’re creating it for. As internet users our attention is very difficult to retain, and the sighting of a single typo is enough for our subconscious to raise the ‘jump ship’ flag and then some.

As a potential client I have a look at your website, each spelling slip or sample of sloppy grammar further spiralling that immaculate first impression you worked so hard to achieve. It only takes a couple of mistakes for me to lose all trust in your message, to the point where you could be arguing that the sky is blue and I still wouldn’t believe you.

It is important to note that, the editorial process applies to many different functions of a business, from developers that require testers, the PR posse and all creators of content – big or small.

Mistakes were made…

The majority of these slips and samples are literally typos, which are perceived to be the ‘silliest of mistakes’, but in reality are actually not.  Writing is a very high level task. As we write our brains generalise simple elements (such as turning letters into words), so that we can focus on more complex elements (such as combining sentences in complex ideas). As a result, we miss small details. Our brain almost takes for granted the presence of typos, because when we’re proofreading our own work we know the meaning we’re trying to convey. Now, because we expect the meaning to be there it is much easier for us to miss parts of it that aren’t.

Now one possible to solution to this is to be harder on the creators of content, after all their mistakes can run serious costs to your company. I have heard of agency practice whereby content creators are given a written warning for every published mistake, which over time can cost them their jobs. I believe this is the absolute worst thing to do. One of the biggest things I learnt about Content Strategy and the implementation of it, is that the head of Content is ultimately responsible for the content being published. This means that if the head of Content doesn’t have a full proof editorial process there will inevitably be mistakes published.

Not all mistakes are equal…

One of the most famous typos ever made came from the NASA Mariner 1 launch where the omission of a single hyphen in the code caused the entire $80 million spacecraft to veer off course, which led the Range Safety Officer having no choice but to initiate the destruct sequence on the entire operation. Now I know this is an extreme example, but relatively speaking, $80 million to NASA could be compared to a 20% conversion rate drop for a small agency.

In this part of the article we discussed the nature of the industry, the cause of ‘small’ mistakes, and the implications of not having an editorial process. In part 2 we delve into the actual editorial process, so that you don’t have to ever initiate the ‘destruct sequence’ ever again! ;) Stay tuned…

Julian Karstel is a Digital Marketing, Sharepoint & E-learning Consultant for
Sound Idea Digital.
| julian@soundidea.co.za | Sound Idea Digital | www.soundidea.co.za