THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!
From the 6th Annual Shorty Awards

Grammarly

Entered in Facebook Page

Objectives

The Grammarly Facebook community provides more than ONE MILLION fans with fun grammar tips and discussions. Since launching our Facebook fan page in mid-2010, Grammarly has experienced tremendous growth, but what truly differentiates Grammarly’s Facebook page is the level of engagement we receive. With between 300,000 and 1,000,000 people talking about us at any time, our community is more engaged than fans of Pepsi (125,041 people talking about us), Dropbox (12,804 people talking about us), and other household names. We received recognition for our engagement, which was third highest on all of Facebook the first week in January 2013. At Grammarly, our engagement levels hover between 50 and 200% of our total number of fans. This is because we have a full-time team of three people focused on Facebook, who help to explain the importance of good grammar using humor and grace.Spreading awareness about the importance of quality writing, as well as teaching spelling and grammar skills, is very important. In the United States alone, low literacy (the ability to read and write) costs the economy $225 billion a year in lost productivity; and, writers who are not yet in the workforce are already foreshadowing negative outcomes: -- 50 percent of the chronically unemployed are not functionally literate -- 40 percent of community college registrants have skills below the college level and are referred to developmental instruction in reading, writing, or mathematics -- Student writing scores on the SAT have declined five points since 2011 and consistently represent the lowest student outcomes of any section of the test Many English writers simply do not learn proper spelling and grammar skills, especially in the U.S. Grammarly’s Facebook page is one of the largest media channels spreading awareness about this epidemic. Often, our posts serve as an educational tool to educate writers on proper grammar.

Strategy and Execution

In January 2013, Grammarly was included among companies such as Blackberry and Trident Gum as a top PTAT (People Talking About Us) gainer for product and service pages -- with more than one million discussing and sharing our content. (http://www.insidefacebook.com/2013/01/03/blackberry-trident-gammarly-and-others-among-this-weeks-top-ptat-gainers-for-product-and-service-pages/) Grammarly’s Facebook page was mentioned by Cheryl Connor on Forbes.com: “Instead of becoming the ‘grammar police,’ Grammarly’s blog and Facebook page show they are approaching the epidemic with a dose of humor instead. For example, a list of grammar rules on their blog says: Do not use hyperbole; not one in a million can do it effectively. Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice. That’s the spirit. Rather than making grammar the weapon we beat our employees over the head with, why not make the topic an opportunity to learn in an environment of humor and fun?" (http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2012/10/21/i-dont-tolerate-poor-grammar/) In January 2012, Grammarly posted a list of “Top Ten Grammar Pet Peeves" which was liked by 115,469 people, and shared 39,476 times. It received 32,432 comments. And finally, TechWeb recently took Grammarly’s advice for making changes to the Facebook timeline. (http://www.techweb.com/news/240146050/9-facebook-timeline-changes-businesses-want.html)

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Grammarly

Link

Entry Credits