Buzzwords might seem like a quick way to enhance your digital marketing efforts, but just how effective are they? Such terms, prevalent across practically all forms of media, are effective at communicating vague sets of ideas, but they often lack substance.
Here, we look at the good and bad of buzzwords, and assess whether and how to use them.
What Are Buzzwords?
Buzzwords are quite hard to define. So let’s start by saying what they are not. Buzzwords are neither slang nor jargon—but they are similar.
- Slang: Short for “short-language”, slang is colloquial language that is inextricably linked to cultures, time periods, and demographics. Slang tends to be ever-changing, and is considered informal. The correct use of slang is an effective way to connect with certain people, while incorrect use can be very alienating.
- Jargon: This is technical language that is often unnecessary, and is generally understood only by those from a select group, while locking lay people out. Jargon can serve a genuine purpose in communication—like with acronyms—but it is by definition exclusive.
Buzzwords are a kind of hybrid of the two. They are words that are usually quite informal, and that seek to communicate with, include, or exclude a group of people. In this way they work like slang or jargon, except many buzzwords have little or no meaning beyond creating a sense of belonging through shared linguistic practice.
A simpler view is that buzzwords are any word that grabs attention, and can be as simple as words such as “shocking” or “surprising”. This definition has nothing to do with creating linguistic understanding, but is only about garnering attention.
The former definition of buzzwords is, for the most part, best avoided in your marketing strategy. The second definition is basically unavoidable, in either real life or in marketing.
Buzzwords can be viewed as specific words that seek to create an in-group, or simply terms designed to grab attention.
Should You Use Buzzwords in Your Content?
Whether or not you should use buzzwords in your marketing efforts depends on which definition of buzzwords we’re talking about, and what kind of content you’re creating. As mentioned, the use of buzzwords as a method of creating an exclusive group is best avoided, and is generally perceived as annoying or in poor taste.
But the importance of buzzwords is genuine when considering how to grab attention with written content. That said, they should be used sparingly and appropriately, unless you’re going for hysterical click-bait.
Pros of Using Buzzwords
Below are some of the key benefits of using buzzwords in your content.
Simplify Concepts
Buzzwords can serve to simplify concepts, or rather to communicate concepts to people who already know what the buzzword means. If you write content aimed at a specific demographic, then including certain buzzwords can help to make writing sharper and clearer.
In this case, buzzwords and jargon merge. But you should use buzzwords only where they’re beneficial, and should make an effort to avoid being unintelligible to those not already in the know.
Connect You With the Times
Certain words, terms, and phrases go in and out of fashion and, depending on your brand and target audience, it can help to move with the times. Using buzzwords appropriately is a very good way to do this. But only if you do it well.
Use a buzzword incorrectly, even slightly, and you will appear false and like you’re trying too hard. If it doesn’t enter the language naturally, be sure not to force it in.
Garner Interest
Some buzzwords link to particular topics and can quickly communicate a message, or on which side of a debate your brand or business is likely to be. This can be very helpful if you want to engage with a particular group of people. Certain words let your target audience know that this content is for them, which will increase their interest in your brand.
Can Improve SEO Ranking
Last but not least, improving SEO! It’s depressing, but it’s important. Buzzwords let search engines know what your content is about, and who it’s for, which will make it more likely to rank well for the people you want to see it.
Cons of Using Buzzwords
But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows; buzzwords, when misused, are off-putting and alienating.
Make Content Difficult and Vague
Buzzwords are often an example of style over substance, and so you can only communicate so much with them. Rely on them too heavily, and you’ll find that your content is vacuous, vague, and ultimately unengaging. Buzzwords are effective at communicating more about who you are, along with a vibe, rather than communicating meaningful ideas.
Easy to Overuse
It can be easy enough to get carried away when using buzzwords, and this is counterproductive. It will make your content look amateur, empty, and downright annoying. Plus, it can hurt SEO as it will look like keyword stuffing and spam, which does nobody any favours.
Off-Putting to Readers
Most importantly, readers will be annoyed. Buzzwords are lacking in substance, and many readers find them annoying. It can sometimes feel a bit like your dad trying to be cool, or like a corporation trying to seem human. Real humans have unique ways of speaking, so trying too hard to have a certain voice will make you seem false, and alienate people.
Time-Dependent
Buzzwords are often fashionable terms, which means that they rise and fall in use. Miss the wave, and you’ll find that you look out of touch and, again, false. Buzzwords can be highly effective if used at the right time, and useless (or worse) if mistimed.
Recognising your marketer type helps you tailor your career path, enhances team dynamics, and optimises personal and organisational success.
Buzzwords, if used sparingly and naturally, can help you communicate with your target audience. Used wrong, and they make you look out of touch.
Buzzword Examples
Below, we’ll look at popular buzzwords for 2023, and whether they’re good to use in your marketing strategy.
Basically, all buzzwords can be annoying due to their faddy nature. Think of the term “unprecedented” at the beginning of COVID. At first, the situation genuinely seemed unprecedented, but within about a week this word was spilling from everyone’s mouth at all moments, and it quickly became quite meaningless. But it also helped to communicate a shared sense of what was happening.
Here are some buzzwords relevant to 2023:
- Polycrisis: Climate change, war, societal breakdown, the list goes on. This plurality of crises has become known as a polycrisis, and conveniently communicates how bad everything is. But does it really describe the times, or just our conception of the times?
- Woke: Wokeness is a concept that originated in US academic literature, referring to people who are “awake” to various social issues, such as issues of gender and race. Now, this term is used by all sides of the political debate to describe many things, and it very often lacks substance.
- Culture wars: Linked to wokeness, the so-called culture wars between the “wokerati” and however the others would define themselves are pivotal to current Western political movements. But are the culture wars real? Or is it just a political ploy being played out at a very high volume by a select few who want to divide people to their own ends?
- Copycat layoffs: This refers to a trend earlier in the year of many large tech companies firing large proportions of their staff when the economy began to look less healthy. The term itself may have become a self-fulfilling prophecy, so beware!
- Bossware: This term has come into use since many people started working remotely as a result of the COVID pandemic. It refers to software used to monitor employees’ computer activity. While some employers are definitely going to great lengths to surveil their employees, the catchall term “bossware” can be overused, which dilutes its meaning.
Buzzwords That Can Work
But which buzzwords can work? Here are some tips about how to use buzzwords to keep people engaged.
- Surprising/shocking: Simple buzzwords like these seem to never go out of fashion, and also can be used without seeming insincere. They’re good at attracting attention and needn’t be false.
- You/your: It’s debated whether these are buzzwords, but it’s been shown that referring to the reader in headings and throughout the text can help to connect with an audience and encourage engagement.
- How to: The absolute classic prefix for a blog title, this phrase never loses its power and communicates its intention perfectly (plus it’s great for SEO).
Buzzwords to Avoid
The list is endless, but here are some bad offenders:
- Blue sky thinking
- Synergy
- Workshop: as in, to workshop an idea
- Data-driven content
- Actionable insights
- Basically anything that makes you sound like you live on LinkedIn. You might love boardroom vibes—most don’t.
Recognising your marketer type helps you tailor your career path, enhances team dynamics, and optimises personal and organisational success.
Buzzwords are highly time-dependent and, aside from the simplest and most straightforward examples, tend to be annoying.
Using Buzzwords in Your Content: Final Tips
Here are some final tips to push you in the right direction if you choose to use buzzwords in your digital marketing strategy.
Consider Only Using It Inhouse
While, within a company, buzzwords may help to communicate ideas, most people outside the company will feel alienated by them—nobody wants to feel like they’re at work when they’re not.
So consider only using them internally, if at all.
Consider Their Value
If you use buzzwords, make sure you mean them and that they add value to your content. If you’re just trying to look like you’re relevant, it will probably backfire.
Know What They Mean
Make sure you actually know what they’re supposed to mean (if they have a meaning). Misusing a buzzword will alienate all parties, and make you look unprofessional.
Provide Context
Help your audience understand what buzzwords mean if you use them, as this will make sure they’re not exclusive. Making readers feel locked out, or as though they’re not intelligent, will not help you or them. So if you use specific terminology, help others to understand it.
Don’t Overuse
Overusing buzzwords is profoundly annoying. Don’t be that person who loves the corporate lifestyle so much that they speak in their own sterile and meaningless language. Use buzzwords sparingly, and it will increase their effectiveness.
Keep Your Content Updated
As they’re highly fashionable terms that ebb and flow in popularity, content that contains buzzwords must be regularly updated to ensure that it doesn’t seem dated. Keeping buzzwords out of your content helps it remain relevant for longer.
Hire a Content Writer
Hiring professional content writers can help to avoid the trapping of poor language use and ensure that your content has the right amount of substance and style.
Using buzzwords sparingly and appropriately is key if you are to engage readers rather than alienate them.
Buzzwords: Use Them Wisely
If in doubt, avoid using buzzwords—there are usually better ways to communicate an idea that will be more inclusive and allow your content to have a more lasting impact. The only times buzzwords are really valuable is when you want to quickly communicate with a group of people, such as on social media, as these terms can encapsulate large ideas and opinions, letting people know how you identify with certain topics. This very virtue is also their downside, as they are necessarily vague and often exclusive. So you must bear this in mind if you are to use them effectively.
