Casting a careful spell over your digital signage content

Acclaimed author and columnist Marilyn vos Savant once noted that: 'When our spelling is perfect, it's invisible. But when it's flawed, it prompts strong negative associations'. Our truDigital signage content team appreciate that such inadvertent errors, both in spelling and grammar, can lead to decreasing public confidence in the products or services being promoted.

A major airline once commissioned a survey to find how they were judged by the public. Instead of safety and time-keeping, the top answer concerned whether the fold-down coffee trays were clean! In other words, judgment was made on an obvious performance indicator. The accuracy of digital signage content can allow readers to ascribe such a standard to what's being said.

The importance of being accurate

If you are a regular visitor to social media, you'll often find comments that are misspelt, and sentences that have little or no grammatical structure. We accept that this is a conversational place to be - an extension of human spoken interactions, which don't usually include spell or grammar checkers!

However, for business content, expectations of accuracy remain very high. Errors can suggest, at the least, careless behaviors. At worst they can damage vital engagement attitudes. This can then build a credibility gap between the reader and those creating the content.

Creating proofreading protocols

Here are 7 simple tips to help you develop effective proofreading actions for your digital signage content...

1. Recognize the most common errors you make - and pay particular heed to them. Prime examples can include fro rather than for, form not from, their not there. You will have your own. Often, as in the examples given, spell-check won't pick up such errors because genuine words have still been used. Another example: sue rather than use could lead to a serious misunderstanding!

2. Use the grammar and spellcheckers that are built into many programs, such as Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, or Google Docs.

3. Take a break between creating your digital signage content and then proofreading it. This allows you to come back to it with your mind refreshed.

4. Proofread backwards - This is purely to identify spelling errors. Reading normally, your sub-conscious knows what should be coming next. This can lead to an assumption of accuracy, to the inadvertent skimming over of words and phrases. Starting at the end means what you are reading makes no sense, leaving your brain free to hone in on every single word.

5. Read your content out loud - this also allows you to appreciate any awkward to process areas, and then to amend these to deliver better audience understanding.

6. Use a finger to read slowly - this is often what youngsters do, tracing each word as they learn to read. This slows you down, allowing more clear thought to be given to the content.

7. Have others read your content - This also deals with the subconscious problem mentioned previously. Asking a work colleague to proof-read brings fresh eyes and a clear mind to your digital signage content.

Making the changes

In spite of all the actions mentioned above, the occasional error will probably still slip through. This is when the use of an agile, cloud-based digital signage content management system is invaluable. Whether for a single screen in one location, or for larger numbers spread across several states, or even nationwide, corrections can be processed in a heartbeat.

To talk about all your digital signage needs, call our truDigital team now on 1-801-852-9898 or use the Live Chat box bottom-right on this page...