Poor Spelling and Grammar Top List of Dislikes of Brands on Social Media
/Disruptive Communications asked 1,000 UK consumers what they find most likely to damage a brand on social media. The winning response was "poor spelling or grammar."
Perhaps this is an inevitable trade-off of brands becoming more personal on social media. With a natural, conversational voice may come some sloppiness. But, at least according to this survey, brands shouldn't become too sloppy, or they risk their brand's reputation.
Surprisingly (or maybe not), respondents between 18 and 24 weren't as concerned about grammar and spelling. Instead, their biggest complaint was "does not post updates often enough," at the bottom of the list for other age groups. Maybe this is because the younger age group checks brands' posts more frequently?
Brands have a tough balance to strike: 13% of respondents said they "post updates too often." A similar percentage said brands tried "too hard to be funny," and "salesy" updates were the second biggest frustration of respondents, particularly for those between 45 and 54 years of age. Clearly, brands can't overdo it on social media, either.
Discussion Starters:
- How would you have responded to the survey? To what extent do you agree with the responses?
- This is a UK survey. Do you think the results might have been different in the US?
- Follow a brand on Twitter and Facebook for a few days. How do its posts match these survey results?
