Who or Whom?

The use of WHOM is considered a very formal word and is now generally replaced with WHO. WHO is the subjective form while WHOM is the objective form. 

Who (subjective: person doing the action) will mow the grass? 

Whom (objective: person receiving the action) did they pay to do the job? 

The use of WHOM in standard writing is limited to sentences where WHOM follows a proposition. 

The managers to whom you spoke are at the meeting.

Where there is no proposition WHOM can be deleted. 

The following sentence shows how it reads with whom included, then we have re-written the sentence to exclude whom. 

The workers whom the manager met are all going on strike.

The workers the manager met are all going on strike.

As you can see whom becomes unnecessary.

Are Syndicated Messages Worth the Time They Save?

It’s a given that most businesses are now promoted on social media. The more platforms you use the more time you need to update posts and keep your followers up to date with the goings on in your business. There are programs that make it easy to write one post and broadcast it across the various social networking mediums you use. These are called syndicated messages. This sounds business savvy and time efficient but is it the best move? 

Your followers want to know that you’re thinking of them when you post. Sometimes a syndicated message can in fact contribute to the loss of sincerity in your message. It can also give the impression that your post has been seen before and isn’t worth further investigation. You can promote the same message across different platforms but just change up the wording a little. You may find this will help with customer engagement and your audience will feel that you are personally communicating with them. It may take you a little longer to get the message out but the results will be well worth it.

There, Their or They're

One of my pet hates is the incorrect use of there, their or they’re.

Most times it’s just a matter of asking yourself: am I writing about the location of an object (there), am I writing about the owner of the object (their) or am I writing about a group of people (they’re)?

The Importance of Proofreading

Proofreading a document you have written yourself in preparation for publishing seems like a simple task. Unfortunately when we proofread our own work, we often read what a document should say and not what it does say or we miss simple errors. By having a fresh set of eyes look over your work, the tiniest of errors is usually picked up. I often cringe at some of the errors I come across when reading correspondence for other businesses or even mainstream publications. Businesses like Absolute Marketing Communications offer proofreading services. If you don't have the resources to pay someone to proofread your work have someone who hasn't read your document give it a once over.

What Are You Trying To Say?

On the flip side of tautology is the common use of contradiction, using two words together which have the opposite meaning. 

Common examples are:

• Recent history
• Little while
• Alone together
• Awfully nice

Does It Make What You’re Saying More Important?

Tautology is saying the same thing twice. We don’t often realise we are doing it but we commonly emphasise a word by adding another word with the same meaning either in front or after the word we are using. By eliminating tautology we can make our writing clear and concise.

Common examples are:

• Past history
• Completely finished
• False illusion
• New innovations
• 8am in the morning
• Foreign import
• True facts

What Constitutes A Good Ad?

When creating an advertisement there are a few aspects to consider to ensure the effectiveness of your ad. 

Some things to consider:

• Your creative approach is consistent with your brand’s advertising objective (product features, comparison of your products features with a competitor’s product features). Pricing is not always a good comparison
• The suitability of the ad to the target audience
• A strong message or concept (ensure the message is not overwhelmed by the creative execution)
• A call to action. How do customers contact you? Where can customers purchase your product?

Taking these things into account when developing your ad can contribute to the success of your campaign. If you don’t have copywriters in your business consider hiring an agency or contractor like Absolute Marketing Communications to not only write the copy but also give creative direction on your ad as it develops. This not only means you are getting quality content for your ad but an objective opinion on the effectiveness of your ad.