It doesn’t matter whether you’re amongst marketing peers or non-marketing people, cut the unnecessary use of jargon. While brevity does have its utility in certain situations, that’s hardly the case.
Whenever words are used that the listener or reader does not understand, it not only hurts the communication, but may leave room for misinterpretation. Worse still, a misunderstanding may occur if the listener or reader suspects that the intention is different from what was intended. In ideal situations, the listener may ask for clarification; however, there is also a possibility that they may simply ignore the word and not bother asking as they may feel foolish for not knowing the jargon. Shame is the last thing you want your peers, prospects or customers to feel.
Now when it comes to your marketing today, the same rules apply. There is no room for jargon.
You don’t want to overwhelm your reader with super-specialized jargon; your writing should be approachable for the broadest audience. Being an expert means that you should be able to explain your concepts and share your knowledge with easy terms. To understand fully, you can explain simply. If that's not the case and you have to use "big words", explain them thoroughly. The key to communication is clarity.
No matter what content you have in mind for your marketing, keep the people consuming it as your ultimate goal. Even though keywords play a pivotal role in search engine optimization and marketing, readability and relevance take a big piece of the cake too. Make your content informational and helpful for your reader. When you remove jargon from your pieces, it makes your content easier to digest.
According to Stanford Marketing Professor Jennifer Aaker, stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. Stories have always been a powerful tool for humans. Writing in stories will help your reader connect with you and your brand, enabling them to be more open to buying your offering.
Unless your target audience are marketing experts too, jargon doesn’t have a place in your content pieces. The best way to connect with your audience is to speak the same way they do. Write like they would and ditch the technical terms.
Ultimately, your role in marketing is to inform and educate. You don’t actually look any smarter with big words or jargon. The goal for your marketing is to communicate and communication works best when you have your customers in mind. Get your points across more efficiently and captivate your customers with your words. That’s definitely the winning strategy for your content marketing.
Besides your words, your visuals play a big role in grabbing the attention of your users. Need help elevating your graphics to the level your brand deserves? Let Mad Creative Beanstalk help you with that. Reach out to find out more.
