Don’t autopilot a buzzword when you write your copy. Gun for a more free-form communication that touches your consumer
We’ve all sat through meetings that are teeming with buzzwords that are nothing but sham phrases, used and abused to make you appear smart.
Let’s take this offline
Pray what is offline?
Where does this place exist? Everything is so online these days, with a soft copy for every file, that I’ve almost forgotten what it means to pay my utility bills online.
Make your content engaging
So what were marketers doing when ‘engagement’ was not in vogue? Were they just whiling away theirs’ and their customers time?
She’s a rock star!
I guess, when a client pays you that “compliment,” he means the copywriter’s work is creative and inspiring. It also implies that he thinks she would be game to staying up late for meetings, going on binge drinking and receptive of cat calls.
Let’s get the ball rolling
This one is just so dumb – and been beaten to death, already.
Optimization!
What does it mean – cost cutting, word pruning, sparing yourself the time and effort to come up with a better phrase for describing a prudent use of finite resources?
Synergy! Collaboration!
Buzzwords that are carelessly bandied about just to appear up-to-speed to your cronies, when you may actually be daggers drawn behind their backs.
Have you ever had a long-winded conversation that ended up sounding so phony only because of all the jargon being thrown about?
When you are doing serious business with a client, the last thing you want is to piss him off with your dense use of brain-numbing buzzwords. If they really don’t understand what you are driving at, they may even feel insulted at the slight.
Consider for instance, this statement:
“We produce viral content for customer-centric businesses.”
Rather pompous and superfluous, isn’t it?
Why not instead say, “We will describe your business to your customer in a manner that they understand why they must buy your product/service?
After all, isn’t that what you are trying to say?
Buzzwords lose their punch and potency when they’re mindlessly tossed around. It can also be annoying, and turn away your prospect. Rather the prospect can turn you away.
Let’s think of other, more genuine ways of striking a chord with our consumers. If you are running an on-demand grocery site, instead of saying, “Signing up on our website is quick and easy!”, say, “Signing up on our website takes less time than delivery butter to your home buns!”
I can bet my bottom dollar that this would work!