The Found Gen

Marketing That Works.

Robyn Saunders

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Grammar Friday: The Apostrophe

The Apostrophe.

Strong. Silent. Willing to shoulder the grammatical burden of the possessives that choose him, and the heavily accented literary figure. Given responsibilities which often change dramatically and increase in number without warning.

Strives to be taken seriously. And yet, is here to help a lonely ma’am along the way.

Apostrophes do, after all, exist only to aid us in our language. Just like many forms of punctation, the apostrophe is–at times–overused and underappreciated. That’s why we’re taking a moment today to shine a little light and give some much deserved (and needed) attention to this floating friend of ours.

Here’s a quick-to-reference, handy guide for all your apostrophe needs throughout the year (and really, life).

When you do need an apostrophe:

  • In a possessive singular noun: The girl’s hat.
  • In possessive plural nouns that don’t end in -s: The women’s movement.
  • In a possessive plural noun that does end in an -s: The boys’ game.
  • In contractions which show the omission of letters: Don’t = do not
  • In a plural, lowercase letter: Minding your p’s and q’s.
  • In the word ‘it’s’ when it should read “it is”, not when it is the possessive ‘its’: It’s going to be a cold one today.
  • To indicate non-standard, accented, English: Top ‘o the morning to yee.

When you don’t need an apostrophe:

Plural Nouns:

  • Yes: Our neighbors, the Johnsons, are away for the weekend.
  • No: Our neighbors, the Johnson’s, are away for the weekend.

Plural Abbreviated Years:

  • Yes: The 80s
  • No: The 80’s

Posessive Pronouns:

  • Yes: That game is ours.
  • No: That game is our’s.

These are the basics.  The workload of the apostrophe, however, extends well into the late-night-frantic-google-search arena in which you feel utterly confused and reach towards the white light of your computer screen for help.  The apostrophe will be there to quell your confusion.  But before you type, “how do I refer to my neighbor’s multiple cats in my written request to the board of my apartment building (don’t ask),” into the Google Machine, check out these links for some help:

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Bad Grammar and Your Business

It’s the new year.  Last year might have brought a bumper crop for your business, or it might have been a year of slow growth. Regardless, here you are staring down the face of the future with a resolution to better market your business.

Last year saw a massive rise in the value placed on content marketing. Businesses have been turning over a new leaf in their marketing strategies to find ways to directly connect with their consumers — and often at a lower cost. And Content Marketing is the best way to personalize the face of your business while also keeping your finger directly on the pulse of your industry.

Today, you can more effectively engage, connect and inspire potential clients than ever before. And to make matters even better, content marketing tools enable you to reach potential customers in ways they actually appreciate.

Awesome? Yes! Easy? No!

The Gift & Curse of Content Marketing

Look, content marketing is fantastic. When done right, people want to read your blog. People will follow you on Twitter without incentive simply because they find your feed interesting and useful. People will appreciate the advice they receive in your monthly email newsletter. The tables, however, will turn in an instant if you aren’t careful. The gift and the curse of content marketing tools like social media is that it takes the same amount of time to follow someone as it does to unfollow them; seconds – at best.

Content marketing allows you to foster a personal and helpful community with your customers and potential customers in a way previously unknown, but it’s not an excuse to sacrifice professionalism. We all want to be down-to-earth, hip and “with-it” but sometimes businesses have a knack for taking it a bit too far. It’s a tricky balance, but it is one you must strike.

One Grammar Mishap Can Bring Down The Party

Countless blog posts across the content-marketing universe will give you multiple-point reasons why bad grammar is ruining your marketing efforts, but what it boils down to is this: professionalism. Despite the fact that Webster’s is allowing fun new words like “defriending” to line the same sheets as “antidisestablishmentarianism,” some grammar faux pas should just be left out of your business’s content marketing campaigns entirely.

Busy minds can lead to cluttered tweets and typo-riddled emails. It’s important that your business be protected from small mishaps that can turn off readers. Your brand needs to be dressed up properly–in the right copy. Think James Bond–a killer tux and great smile.

Your options are clear. You can plan well, painstakingly create and proof your work in order to execute an effective content marketing campaign on your own. Or you can enlist the help of marketing nerds like us.  We’re grammar freaks and we’re not embarrassed to say it.

If you’re doing it on your own, we wish you well and still want to help where we can.  Check back here every Friday for some simple grammar tips. But if you’re looking for a 007 content team to take over, well, you know where to find us.