Why style guides are a love letter to language
Speak’s Deputy Head of Content, Laura Smith, contemplates the wonderful wittiness of the editorial guide – and sums up how style guides can put their stamp on any brand story.
I read a blog post recently that said editorial style guides aren’t sexy. I’m afraid I have to disagree. A good style guide says everything about a publication: its voice, its viewpoint, its personality.
Take this, from the Associated Press style guide, on the (over)use of the word literally. “Literally means in an exact sense. Do not use it figuratively. Wrong: He literally bled them white. (Unless the blood was drained from their bodies.)”
= Clever, worldly, wryly funny.
Or this definition of the phrase ‘just deserts’ from The Times style guide: “Things that are deserved. Not to be confused with just desserts, when only puddings are on the menu.
= Refined, intensely English, interested in life’s little luxuries.
Pleasingly, The Economist style guide even lists out the letters and pronunciations of the Greek alphabet and includes a section on common Latin words and phrases (ad hoc, ad nauseum, carpe diem – all the old favourites are there).
= Wants you to think he went to Eton.
If you like words, this is the stuff of dreams. If you’re not that bothered, then I concede it could be dull – but then hopefully you don’t write, or edit things that other people write, for a living.
All in the planning
It’s lucky this kind of thing floats my boat because giving brands’ editorial output a distinctive voice is a big part of what we do here at Speak.
We know that a brand’s message is indistinguishable from the way that message is delivered. You might have something important to say, but if your punctuation is inconsistent, if jargon and cliché abound, if your output includes grammatical or spelling errors – in short, if the writing is poor – then, however powerful it is, your message will be undermined.
Giving readers a consistent experience, in which they can enjoy a story for its own sake rather than because they feel they should read it, does not just happen: it’s the result of meticulous planning from the outset. But it’s surprising how many companies – even big ones, investing big budgets in content creation – don’t make the time for that planning.
Beyond brand guidelines
While most companies will have brand guidelines – specifying how you can use the company logo, what types of images are acceptable and the agreed colour palette for any digital or printed communication, for example – many do not have a style guide specifically for their editorial output.
This document will cover things like the use of exclamation marks, the capitalisation (or not) of job titles and whether to refer to interviewees by first or last name at second mention – a much contested topic, believe it or not.
These might seem like obscure details, but without them your editorial output is a linguistic free-for-all – and that will be a turn-off for readers.
At the risk of sounding like Jacob Rees-Mogg, whose somewhat archaic style guide earned him a fair few headlines a few summers ago, writing rules are important. They tell your audience who you are – and what they can expect from you.
It’s not for nothing that successful publications prioritise these matters. A national newspaper without a style guide would be like a boat without a paddle, a February without overpriced red roses, an article about content without cliché. If you want to have any hope of your brand stories competing with mainstream media content, this is an excellent place to start.
Want to find out how to implement a best-in-class editorial strategy that connects your organisation to your always-on audience?
Contact Gabrielle Bridle from our client services team at gabriellebridle@speakmedia.co.uk or on LinkedIn.