How important is proper grammar in business and marketing? Imagine if the product or marketing materials of a company contain grammatical or spelling errors. What does that tell you about the quality of their product and services? Would you neglect the kind of communication that the company puts forth and still trust your money in it? We believe that the language used by an organization, company or person reflects their attitude, capabilities and skills. Yes. Poor grammar in communications does make an institution look very unprofessional. And if you have people working for you with poor grammatical skills, then where does that leave you? In an article by Kyle Wiens entitled “I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why.” he highlighted the importance of proper grammar to an individual’s performance and how it affects their credibility as professionals working in a firm. It is always best to have people in your company who cares about details even the basic as grammar itself. Grammar does matter in business. And to give you an idea of how crucial grammar is in business, let’s take a look at this article from Kyle Wiens. I Won't Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here's Why. By Kyle Wiens If you think an apostrophe was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, you will never work for me. If you think a semicolon is a regular colon with an identity crisis, I will not hire you. If you scatter commas into a sentence with all the discrimination of a shotgun, you might make it to the foyer before we politely escort you from the building. Some might call my approach to grammar extreme, but I prefer Lynne Truss's more cuddly phraseology: I am a grammar "stickler." And, like Truss — author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves — I have a "zero tolerance approach" to grammar mistakes that make people look stupid. Now, Truss and I disagree on what it means to have "zero tolerance." She thinks that people who mix up their itses "deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave," while I just think they deserve to be passed over for a job — even if they are otherwise qualified for the position. Everyone who applies for a position at either of my companies, iFixit or Dozuki, takes a mandatory grammar test. Extenuating circumstances aside (dyslexia, English language learners, etc.), if job hopefuls can't distinguish between "to" and "too," their applications go into the bin. Of course, we write for a living. iFixit.com is the world's largest online repair manual, and Dozuki helps companies write their own technical documentation, like paperless work instructions and step-by-step user manuals. So, it makes sense that we've made a preemptive strike against groan-worthy grammar errors. But grammar is relevant for all companies. Yes, language is constantly changing, but that doesn't make grammar unimportant. Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet. In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in e-mails, and on company websites, your words are all you have. They are a projection of you in your physical absence. And, for better or worse, people judge you if you can't tell the difference between their, there, and they're. Good grammar makes good business sense — and not just when it comes to hiring writers. Writing isn't in the official job description of most people in our office. Still, we give our grammar test to everybody, including our salespeople, our operations staff, and our programmers. On the face of it, my zero tolerance approach to grammar errors might seem a little unfair. After all, grammar has nothing to do with job performance, or creativity, or intelligence, right? Wrong. If it takes someone more than 20 years to notice how to properly use "it's," then that's not a learning curve I'm comfortable with. So, even in this hyper-competitive market, I will pass on a great programmer who cannot write. Grammar signifies more than just a person's ability to remember high school English. I've found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts. In the same vein, programmers who pay attention to how they construct written language also tend to pay a lot more attention to how they code. You see, at its core, code is prose. Great programmers are more than just code monkeys; according to Stanford programming legend Donald Knuth they are "essayists who work with traditional aesthetic and literary forms." The point: programming should be easily understood by real human beings — not just computers. And just like good writing and good grammar, when it comes to programming, the devil's in the details. In fact, when it comes to my whole business, details are everything. I hire people who care about those details. Applicants who don't think writing is important are likely to think lots of other (important) things also aren't important. And I guarantee that even if other companies aren't issuing grammar tests, they pay attention to sloppy mistakes on résumés. After all, sloppy is as sloppy does. That's why I grammar test people who walk in the door looking for a job. Grammar is my litmus test. All applicants say they're detail-oriented; I just make my employees prove it. (Source: blogs.hbr.org)

We often neglect the importance of what we are putting out in the world wide web because we are always in a rush to get and publish any information we have to our customers. But the more we rush, the likely chance we overlook what’s really important, and we prevent ourselves from reaching our marketing objectives. In this article, we have enumerated some reasons why content strategy shouldn’t be taken for granted in online marketing. 1. Rankings depend on content. Google keeps on reminding us that high quality content adds a great deal of factor to the search engine criteria. Good content leads to greater potential of online visibility. To get better rankings, your content should be: ✓    Relevant ✓    Organized ✓    Original ✓    Factual ✓    Keyword-rich ✓    Error-free For tips on creating a credible content, you may read our article on creating a killer content for your website. 2. Good content engages visitors. Content is important because it keeps the people informed; and valuable information is what people seek. When you give them information they can not only use but also share, you are giving them a reason to come back for more and creating authority. Come up with clever ideas to engage your site visitors. Give them something useful and beneficial and they will stick around. 3. Content represents your brand. Content is usually the first thing your visitors will look at, aside from the design and layout. Your content reveals the tone, style and image of your brand. While some may neglect it, corporate or brand image through content is important to earn and retain loyal visits. Garnering a loyal following develops you brand’s reputation and at the same time reinforces your brand as an authority in its field. 4. Content provides support. If people want answers, they would typically use the internet to search online to get information. One of the purposes why your website exists is to provide assistance in case your customers need something. Good customer service can serve as a great way to create a lasting impression with your customers so providing good support is key. Content is part of support as it imparts knowledge needed by a person to complete their transaction. These questions should help you analyze the quality of your content.

• Do you give out trustworthy information?
• Is it compelling?
• Is it clear and readable?
• Do you provide a content that actually helps?
• Do you offer solutions?

If most of your answers are “yes” then you are definitely giving out something worthy. Giving your customers something valuable ensures good results in return. 5. Proper planning gives great outcomes. Many companies jump into online marketing without a well-planned content strategy. The purpose of content planning is to ensure that your content maintains its consistency of flow and relevancy. Without a developed content strategy, all your online marketing efforts will be for nothing.Remember, it’s best to always practice the “Content is king” mantra. Content Strategy maximizes your website’s potential in engaging more customers. The Northern Office – Innovative Marketing Support executes a well-planned content creation that could help in your marketing success. To assist you with content strategy planning and implementation, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call at (632) 499-1082 to avail our free consultation. Posted by John Joe Morgan

Content curation is a process where in you filter all the different information you find on the web and make use of them on your own site. Filtering content minimizes the time of searching through masses of tweets, blog posts or different news feeds. Content curation helps companies avoid mediocre web content by linking them with helpful and entertaining information. This allows you to attract more of the right kind of traffic to your site. The only problem withcontent curation is that it doesn’t drive people through their decision making process about your products and services. Here’s some things you can do to integrate content curation into lead generation. Think out of the Brand. If you cut too narrowly on your own product or topic, you may miss a chance to attract new audiences or to get engaged with an influencer just outside your sphere. Keep in mind that customers have very limited time, think beyond borders and add value to their lives and build relationship with them. Keep it fresh and Simple. The more relevant and high quality your content are the more value Google sees your website. Update your site 24/7 and keep the connection between your content. Find reliable Curation Sources. Twitter and Facebook streams are familiar so you can curate right away. Twitter services like Formulists make it easy to pay closer attention to people we engage with and RT frequently. Select few sources first and discover how it can broaden your reach. Cite Sources. There is no crime in curating content but don’t forget that they are not originally your ideas. Give credit to your sources and thank the people for their collaboration with you. Display Originality. Even if your content is curated, balance it out with original information. Don’t just rely on the ideas presented by the curated content rather improve the original content and express what you want to deliver in order to generate awareness of your own product. Customize yet Organized. Content curation is a way of using content marketing; it is built on targeting of specific persons. This can mean customizing content for a range of audiences that are quite technical or usually business focus. Ask for specifics, organize ideas and be straightforward. Content Curation can be a part of Content Strategy but don’t let Content Value Suffer. The Northern Office-Innovative Marketing uses relevant content to attract, engage and acquire audiences. For more information send your emails to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 045 499 1082.   Posted by John Joe Morgan

Capturing an audience is to stand out from all the clutter in the World Wide Web. Effective content marketing is a major key in capturing people’s attention. It helps you earn a distinctive brand, a loyal fan base and increase in sales.

Good content marketing is the single best way to beat bigger competitors online that do not require a big budget to succeed. Content Marketing used to be about customer magazines and mailed newsletters. Now it spans to blog, email newsletters, eBooks, white papers, articles, videos and more. Below are a few content marketing techniques that you can apply to your business to get the online visibility you need.

Prepare

The first three important steps towards creating killer content are as follows:

Tone and Style. Prior to writing your web content, your brand needs to have a defined voice to prevent inconsistencies in the future.

Picking Content Creators. Choose the right person to create you content so you have to pick diligently.

Workflow. Having a well-staffed company to take part in researching, writing and publishing is better than the ‘one person does everything’ workflow. Allowing a number of heads to take part in the process helps you catch mistakes and bring more ideas for a better output.

Persuade

Create persuasive content. Take precaution on how you speak and what you say.

Use Simple Language. Studies show that most people respond best to advertisements that contain no scientific language. Keep your words plain and simple.

Have Opinions. Brand that have opinions are seen to be interesting. Be bold and popular but remember not be hostile towards your competitors. Refrain from mentioning names.

Sell the Benefits. Informing your audience about the benefits of your products or services helps your audience makes purchase decisions. Focus content on the benefits rather than promoting the product directly. Using ‘benefit-focused’ copy quickly tells the reader what’s in it for them.

Teach

It is important to remember that people want to hear answers and discover something new. In simpler words, think and give what your audience wants.

Give Answers. Remember that most people surf the web to look for answers. Content marketing has to offer practical advice that people can benefit from.

Say or Do Something New. Stay away from the boring and unoriginal content. Do something new or present existing topic in a new way. Don’t settle for block of texts. Use images, create infographics or shoot a video.

Captivate

Draw your audience by giving your content more personality. Captivate by telling stories and characters to draw them in and leave them wanting more.

Tell a story. Base on a number of studies conducted at Swinburne University of Technology, telling stories can be useful in corporate communication. It is a great way to connect with your readers.

Use Real People. To be able to bring people close to your brands, use real people. Let your audience see your employees by using pictures, audio and video. People choose to get involved with a company with which they feel a personal connection.

The Northern Office – Innovative Marketing makes use of engaging copies and informative content to attract its target audience. TNO is an independent marketing consultancy firm based in the Philippines with clients based in Europe, America and Asia. We develop killer web marketing content with the client’s goals and target audience in mind. For more information, go to www.thenorthernoffice.com.