Seamless, game changer, new paradigm, proactive, sustainability, monetise, re-purpose are all typical buzzwords we hear every day in business. But when is it appropriate to use them and when not?
Well used buzzwords can be a fantastic tool to grab your prospect’s attention. Whether marketing to government, education, health or other public sector organisations buzzwords sell, so it is important that you are up to date on all the latest marketing buzzwords that will spark the interest of the prospect.
Buzzwords are not the same as jargon which are special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand. The language of government will be different from language used in schools, businesses, universities and hospitals.
Using buzzwords means you have to navigate a minefield of potential faux pas if they aren’t used correctly or are overused. Getting the context right as well as sounding original and not too clichéd are key factors in choosing buzzwords wisely.
Six secrets to buzzword success:
- Beware of clichés
Procurement managers receive many proposals and offers each day. If procurement managers are reading the same buzzwords over and over to describe every product or service that they come across, your solution will be lost amongst the masses and most likely receive very little attention.
- Imitate the language of the tender
Tenders set out exactly what the organisation is looking for. The organisation will use key words to describe the product or service they are looking for. By repeating these words in your response, you are reinforcing the message that your product fits their need. If an organisation says they are looking for a ‘forward thinking product’, rather than describing your product as ‘innovative’ use ‘forward thinking’ in your proposal.
- Remember quality over quantity
If you try to fit each and every popular buzzword into your proposal, chances are you will compromise the clarity of your message and confuse the prospect. By making your message clear and precise, the few buzzwords that you do use will stand out and really make an impact.
- Keep up to date on the latest lingo
Much like fashion goes out of style and technology is superseded, buzzwords also age. If a word was the hottest buzzword a year ago, chances are that by now it’s been overused and people are sick of hearing it. By keeping up to date with the current lingo your proposals will sound fresh and show you are keeping up with the times.
- Get the right context
If you don’t understand the meaning of a buzzword – check it. A buzzword is a term or phrase that has become popular in some specific context. They are usually either newly coined or used in a different way than they were in the past. Make sure you use buzzwords in the correct context or you may end up with “egg on your face”.
- Be realistic about using buzzwords as SEO tools
If you’re putting together a promotional website it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that using buzzwords will see your SEO (search engine optimisation) skyrocket. While once upon a time lacing your copy with key words was a sure fire way to increase your SEO, this is no longer the case. Rather than overusing SEO-friendly buzzwords in your copy, focus on actually writing good content that people would want to read. Creating a website for your product or services that is genuinely interesting and simple to understand will give you a far better SEO ranking than overusing buzzwords to the point where your copy becomes confusing.
By exercising restraint when using buzzwords your marketing campaign will sounds fresh and grab the attention of your prospect.
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