Today, every business worth its salt uses the internet to communicate with existing and potential customers.
By posting the right kind of content, a business can improve brand awareness and increase its market penetration. But many businesses fail to follow content writing etiquette while writing their content. Result – their content is not as well received or as effective as they would like.
The most important point to remember is that internet business content will reach potential customers located in any part of the world. There may be many differences in the usage of common words within the same language from country to country. For example, in the U.S.A, sunglasses are called ‘shades’. In the U.K., they are called ‘cheaters’ or ‘locs’. Keep your language simple, clear and direct to avoid any misunderstanding or ambiguity arising from these differences. In fact, it is best to avoid country specific usages and complex sentence constructions.
Formal language is necessary for business content but never at the cost of clarity. Avoid old fashioned words and phrases, even if grammatically correct. For example, words like ‘aforementioned’ or ‘heretofore’ unnecessarily complicate a sentence without adding much value.
Keep the message short and succinct so the reader can understand your message quickly. Shorter sentences that clearly communicate one single idea work best. However, avoid shortening words as this is generally not considered ‘businesslike’. For example, ‘pls’, ‘cud’, ‘wud’ are short forms commonly used and accepted with informal content like blogs. But when used in a business article they strike a discordant note.
Check and recheck your content before you upload it. Spelling mistakes, missing commas, and missing words tell the reader that you have not paid enough attention to the article. Potential customers form a first impression of your business by reading content posted by you. By paying meticulous attention to your content and ensuring that you have followed all the tenets of business content etiquette, you make the best possible first impression.
Nowadays, most businesses opt for a professional business writing service to write their business content for them.