The Battle of the Brands (INFOGRAPHIC)

In these social-media driven times, a company’s image depends increasingly on its words. From blog posts, tweets, and Facebook status updates, to good ol’ fashioned billboards, a brand’s ability to deliver error-free copy is key. While only a handful of people might notice a minor grammatical blunder in a corporate LinkedIn page, major errors undermine the brand’s credibility. After all, if a company can’t even spell correctly, why would consumers trust them to deliver a quality product?

The Grammarly team decided to take a look at some of the top brand battles of all-time; we looked at recent LinkedIn posts from each company on the list, reviewing an average of nearly 400 words per company. After scouring the posts for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, clear winners emerged:

• Coke vs. Pepsi: Coke makes four times fewer writing mistakes on Linkedin than Pepsi.
• Facebook vs. Google: Not only does Google dominate the Internet, but it also makes nearly four times fewer writing mistakes than Facebook on Linkedin.
• Ford vs. GM: GM makes two-and-a-half times more writing errors than Ford.

Now, it’s unlikely that you’ll choose Coke over Pepsi because of its superior command of the English language; at the consumer level, brand loyalty is based on more than advertising or web presence. However, the care that a company takes with its communications is often indicative of its overall attention to detail. Investors and competitors may judge sloppy writing, especially in the more formal setting of LinkedIn, as a sign of carelessness in a company’s overall corporate culture.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are often under even greater scrutiny from eagle-eyed proofreaders, who have posted countless examples of bad grammar on sites like Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and Pleated-Jeans. The Internet has made it much easier to record, share, and immortalize these mistakes.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that all social media liaisons and corporate bloggers need to be English literature professors. A skilled proofreader, whether in-house or freelance, will catch most errors. An automated proofreader like Grammarly can also help clean up copy quickly, which is perfect for smaller pieces with quick turnaround, like Tweets or status updates.

Speaking of Twitter and Facebook, it’s important to note that not all platforms are judged equally. Off-the-cuff social media can—and should—be more conversational and informal than business documents or print advertising. No one expects a 140-character Tweet to use perfect grammar and spelling, but corporations who attempt to be “hip” by using text slang often fail to impress their intended audience. Check out this roundup of corporate “Twitter fails” for examples of social media gone horribly wrong.

The rules of acceptable grammar are always changing—does anyone really bat an eye anymore at Wendy’s “late nite drive-thru?”—and too much inflexible formality in writing leads to stilted copy. While some grammar rules shouldn’t be broken (here’s a list of 25 common grammar mistakes to avoid), knowing the intended audience and the conventions of a particular social media platform can go a long way to setting the tone for your writing. In general, younger consumers care less about grammar than their older counterparts, and sites like LinkedIn are more formal than Twitter or Facebook.

These 4 Tips Will Save You Time in Meetings

Sick of unfocused, unproductive meetings? The average office meeting is a modern-day implement of torture, dragging on forever while everyone talks in circles and your annoying coworker (yeah, there’s one in every crowd) hijacks the meeting with his ramblings.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A well-run meeting will last a bearable amount of time, get everyone aligned and on the same page, and develop clear next steps for what you’re trying to achieve together.

So if you’re ready to stop wasting time and start using your meetings to their full potential, here are four tips for how to save time in meetings and maximize your productivity:

1Always Have an Agenda

Save time in your meetings and get everyone on the same page (literally) by creating a meeting agenda in advance.

Be sure your agenda clearly states the goal or goals you want to accomplish by the end of the meeting—whether that’s making a key decision, brainstorming ideas, or organizing a plan of action.

Here’s a tip: If you can’t think of a clear goal for the meeting to accomplish, or your goal could be achieved by another method, then you don’t need to have a meeting.

Send the agenda out in advance so your meeting attendees have time to ask questions, get any materials prepped, and start thinking through solutions.

During the meeting, use your agenda as a roadmap to keep the conversation on topic so you can make productive use of your time and achieve your goals.

2Appoint a Moderator

Put an end to pointless, rambling speeches, unnecessary debates, and momentum-stealing bunny trails. Have an attendee act as a moderator responsible for keeping the group on task with the agenda and curtailing unproductive behavior.

A good moderator will kindly but firmly cut off Jorge-from-Marketing’s long-winded tirade and encourage Latifa-from-Design to share her thoughts.The loudest voice in the room isn’t necessarily the one with the best ideas, so it’s important to make space for the shy and introverted among us who feel less confident about sharing.

Having a moderator is useful for guiding the group in brainstorming or getting back on track if the conversation has stalled. And best of all, a moderator will not only save time during the meeting but can also use their power to make sure the meeting ends on time!

3End the Meeting on Time

Right now you may be thinking this isn’t possible. “Oh yes,” you say, “meetings will end on time—when unicorns prance once again through the wooded glades!”

Have faith—it is possible.

First, think critically about how long the meeting needs to be. The standard on many scheduling calendars is one hour, but you may need only thirty or forty-five minutes to get everything done. A shorter meeting can create a sense of urgency and focus that encourages efficiency.

Take a shot at beginning the meeting on time. Send a reminder message thirty minutes before go-time and encourage people to arrive five minutes early so they can grab coffee and settle in.

Clearly state the meeting’s end time in the original invite, the reminder, and at the beginning of the meeting. Make it clear that the meeting will be over at the appointed time, and conversations can be continued afterward via Slack or email if needed.

Set up a countdown clock so everyone can see how much time is left and be mindful of using it efficiently. (This can also make it obvious if someone is wasting time.)

On your agenda, set aside the last five to ten minutes for discussing everyone’s next steps after the meeting. Make sure you leave the meeting with action steps. Otherwise, what was the point of getting in the room in the first place? The moderator can proactively wrap the meeting up and make sure each person knows which action items they’re responsible for.

And if the meeting miraculously finishes early, don’t keep the people waiting, let everyone go on their merry way!

4Include Only Essential People

Do you love crowded meetings where everyone has an opinion and nothing can get decided? No, you don’t. No one does.

Turns out a great way to promote productivity and efficient time use is to keep your meetings small. Invite only the people who are playing a critical role in the meeting’s purpose and have a truly important reason to be there.

It may be tempting to invite anyone who is vaguely connected (“Sure, it would be good for you to be there!”), but if they’re not key players or decision-makers, they probably can’t contribute much to the meeting. In fact, they might even derail it.

So keep your guest list exclusive. The fewer people in the room, the more responsibility everyone feels. Try keeping it between five and ten people for decision making and planning, and expand that number to include additional voices if you need a brainstorming session.

Monday Motivation Hack: Set an Intention

“Set your intention.”

How does that make you feel? Inspired? Or did the flash of a pseudo-spiritual yoga sesh make you cringe?

You will be happy to know that intention-setting isn’t just for yoga buffs and the meditative among you. Observationally, psychologists have found evidence of greater levels of achievement when daily intentions are set and revisited.

Likewise, it’s important to understand that intentions are different things for different people. Some people set intentions as they would goals, while others set intentions that work more like guiding principles. All people set intentions to stay focused in their day-to-day lives.

Think of intention as a focal point for living—a goal or quality that you want to structure your life around.

How to Set an Intention

Many people who set intentions for their day do so during exercise, meditation, or a daily routine. You can choose to set your intention however you like, but it’s important that you take some time to carefully consider your intention and dedicate a few moments of focus to it.

To set an intention for your day,

1. Figure out what you stand for. It can be tempting to dive right into intention-setting without a lot of thought. However, taking a little time up front to understand your unique perspective in the world will go a long way to helping your intention resonate. It’s important here that you try not to compare yourself to others, but focus on bettering yourself against yourself. Good daily intentions set your focus around your personal values and as such are inspirational and motivating for you. First, however, you have to know what you value most and what you want to get out of life.
2. Decide when and how you will routinely set your intention. Mornings—the sooner after you wake up the better—are preferable for many as this helps set the tone for your day. Also consider whether you will write your intention down, muse on it to kick off your day, share it with a friend, or something else.
3. Clarify your intention. Now that you have an idea of what you want to center your focus on and know how you want to make it part of your daily life, decide what your intention actually is. Intentions can be short sentences or simply words that embody where you want your focus to be, such as “Live fully,” “show compassion,” “speak confidently,” or simply “Peaceful” or “Tenacious.” These words should embody for you something specific, some set of behaviors, so that when you state your intention, you understand what achieving your day’s intention would look like. Try to keep intentions positive. “Build community” is better than “Stop being shy.”
4. Set your intention. Declare. Write. Speak. Internalize. The day’s intention should be something that you come back to often in your thoughts and that can help guide your decisions and behavior throughout the day.

If you are struggling to get started on setting your intentions, Mindful Minutes has a helpful post that can help you get inspired.

Remaining Accountable to Your Intentions

It can be easy to go through the motions when it comes to little daily routines. It’s one thing to set your intention daily, but how do you live it?

As it turns out, intention-setting—like goal-setting—benefits greatly from feedback. This doesn’t necessarily have to be feedback from others; usually it’s a feedback loop you construct for yourself. Some people build an intention check into their evening routine: “Did I make progress on today’s intention?” This follow-through helps to hone your intentions and improve their quality over time.

Similarly, some people use associations to remind themselves of their intention throughout the day. For example, maybe you associate the intention “Confidence” with the color red. You can wear a red pin or red tie to help you stay mindful every time you look in the mirror or simply note confidence anytime you see the color red. Such mini check-ins will remind you to exude your intention while also forcing you to think about how well you’ve followed your intention until that point. It can also give you a sort of marker to track how often your thinking comes back to your intention throughout the day.

Do you set daily intentions? How did you get into it and how do you make it work for you?

Is It Flier or Flyer?

• A flyer can be one of several things: a pamphlet, something that flies, or a device you’d use to twist yarn.
• Flier is a also an accepted spelling of the word.
• Keep in mind, though, that the guidelines for the usage of flyer and flier vary from one style guide to another.

A flyer, a circular, a leaflet, a pamphlet, a handbill—so many words for one simple thing. A piece of paper with words and images printed on it that gets handed out on a street. Or, in modern times, even sent by email.

But while we’re sure we know what a flyer is, there is some confusion about how exactly to spell it. Is it “flyer,” or is it “flier?” Or is it that the different versions are used for different meanings? “Flyer” can also refer to a flying person or animal, for example. The answer to all of these questions is yes. “Flier” is an acceptable way to spell the word, as is “flyer.” According to some sources, the spellings are different according to the meaning of the word.

Flyer Meanings

When you say the word flyer, you could be talking about a couple of things. You might be referring to a pamphlet, a sheet of paper with words or pictures on it that is used for advertising, propaganda, or spreading information. This is the kind of flyer that’s mentioned in the following sentence:

Mia was handing out a flyer to promote her band’s first gig.

A flyer can also be a person, an animal, or an object that flies. If you often find yourself at the airport, waiting to board your flight, you might want to look into your preferred company’s frequent flyer program. And, in case you didn’t know, some birds are not good flyers, but the bar-tailed godwit certainly is:

The bar-tailed godwit is an excellent flyer; it can fly the entire length of the Pacific ocean.

Finally, a flyer is also a device used for twisting yarn. So if you’re into making your own yarn, a yarn flyer is something you should have:

Kevin bought a traditional double drive yarn flyer.

How to Spell Flyer

A lot of the confusion about the correct way to spell “flyer” comes not only from the fact that there is no standard way of doing it but also from the fact that different style manuals seem to prefer different spellings. The Elements of Style and the Chicago Manual of Style do not address the issue. Those in favor of “flier” include the Daily Telegraph, the Associated Press, and the American Heritage College Dictionary. Fans of “flyer” include the Guardian, Fowler’s Modern English Usage, and the Oxford Dictionaries website. In theGregg Reference Manual, a flier is a pilot and a flyer is an advertising brochure. Garner’s Modern English Usage identifies “flier” as standard in the United States and “flyer” as the British form. Style manuals and dictionaries don’t necessarily have to concur on all issues. In this case, the disagreement means that you get to choose how you spell “flyer.” Unless you’re obliged to follow a particular style manual, that is. Or you’re writing copy for an airline—it seems they strongly prefer to use flyer.

Examples: Flyer and Flyer in a Sentence

Speed flyers run or ski down slopes and then use special parachutes designed to let them fly fast and close to the ground. —CBS News

The question now appears to hinge on whether Mr Hanson is responsible for the election flyer, which was authorised by Mr Clode as campaign director. —The Canberra Times

Want to share your frequent flier miles with a friend or a family member? It may cost you. —The New York Times

Karsten remembers getting hit with a wave of sadness in the hospital after delivering her daughter, Annika, but she dismissed it and tucked away the flier from the social worker with the MOMS number. —The Chicago Tribune

Do You Use a Comma Before “So”?

Should you place a comma before so when it joins two clauses in a sentence? The answer depends on whether the clause introduced by so is an independent or dependent clause. If so begins an independent clause, a comma should precede it, but if it begins a dependent clause, leave it out.

Let’s have a look at how commas are used before so in the middle of a sentence.

Use a Comma with “So” + an Independent Clause

An independent clause is a clause that would convey a complete thought if it were to be set apart as a sentence on its own. In literary terms, it is a clause that can stand on its own two feet. Here is an example of a sentence consisting of two independent clauses.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed a great city, but some of Pompeii’s frescoes were preserved in the ash.

There are two independent clauses here, joined by the coordinating conjunction but. Although it would result in a more stilted writing style, each could stand separately as a sentence and still be correct.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed a great city.

Some of Pompeii’s frescoes were preserved in the ash.

So is one of seven coordinating conjunctions represented by the mnemonic FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet,and so. When these coordinating conjunctions connect two independent clauses, the conjunction is always preceded by a comma.

The grocery store was out of tomatoes, so I borrowed some from my neighbor.

Daniel had the highest score in math in the whole school, so he was made principal for the day.

Simple, right? Not exactly, because one of the seven FANBOYS conjunctions listed above is leading a double life—and it happens to be so.

Don’t Use a Comma with “So” + a Dependent Clause

Socan also be used as a subordinating conjunction to connect an independent clause and a dependent clause. A dependent clause needs an independent clause to form a complete thought.

I ran for shelter when it began to rain.

In this example, when it began to rain could not stand on its own as a complete thought. It leaves the reader asking what happened when it began to rain. After all, it begins with the subordinating conjunction when.

So can also be used as a subordinating conjunction, and when it is used this way, it is not preceded by a comma.

I went to the store so I could buy tomatoes.

Carl studied hard so he could pass the test.

A Quick Trick for Deciding If You Need a Comma before “So”

If you are unsure if you should place a comma before so in the middle of your sentence, try replacing so with “therefore” or “so that.” If your sentence seems to work with a replacement of “therefore” without changing the meaning of the sentence, then so is a coordinating conjunction and should have a comma before it. Let’s revisit one of our examples above.

Daniel had the highest score in math in the whole school, so he was made principal for the day.

Daniel had the highest score in math in the whole school, therefore he was made principal for the day.

The sentence still works, so we know that so is a coordinating conjunction here and is entitled to its comma. So that can be used in a similar way to confirm that so is being used as a subordinating conjunction.

I went to the store so I could buy tomatoes.

I went to the store so that I could buy tomatoes.

Because the substitution works, we know that there should be no comma in the sentence.

#GrammarDay Celebrity Personality Quiz: Is Your Grammar Like a Pop Star or a Comedian?

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Are you curious how all the celebrities did? Learn more about our #GrammarDay MVPs in our recent study.

Do You Write Carmel or Caramel?