Have you ever read a business’s blog content and thought to yourself: “Normal people don’t talk this way?”
This is probably because of an overuse of a number of corporate buzzwords that make it sound like you’re reading a business school textbook from 1998.
These buzzwords are an often-mocked aspect of marketing. On his 2014 album “Mandatory Fun,” Weird Al brilliantly parodied corporate buzzwords in the song “Mission Statement.” He does a great job of picking out a number of corporate words and phrases that make just about everyone roll their eyes.
The following are a few examples of corporate buzzwords you should avoid at all costs, as they only serve to annoy your readers:
- Synergy: Perhaps the most-parodied corporate buzzword of them all, this word is most frequently found in sentences that are nearly indecipherable—as they rarely contain any useful information.
- Game changer: Something that’s a game changer is supposed to have a significant impact on an entire business. But these days, basically every new project that comes out is marketed as being a “game changer.” Hint: it probably isn’t.
- Reimagine: I actually physically cringe every time I see this word because I naturally associate it with smug 30-something execs wearing a blazer with a T-shirt, jeans and Chucks, talking about a new tech product launch on stage at a convention. It’s been done.
- Millennial: People who fall into the Millennial age range (between 15 and 32 years old) despise being labeled or lumped into one big generalizing category, so using this term as a brand will only turn off people within that generation.
- Organic: This isn’t referring to food—it’s referring to the way companies grow in natural ways, outside of mergers and acquisitions. Essentially, it encompasses the vast majority of ways an organization can possibly grow, meaning labeling it as “organic” is entirely unnecessary.
- Guru: The word “guru” is used as a presumably hip way of calling people “experts,” but without having to list any credentials that would actually make them knowledgeable in their particular fields.
What are some other corporate buzzwords that annoy you as you read the articles and blog content of various brands?
Tim Backes is a senior editor with ProPRcopy, a company that delivers high-quality copywriting services for articles, blog content, press releases, website copy and more.