Using Social Media to Move Past World Class, Cutting Edge GobbledyGook

Do you have a “robust,” “mission critical” product? Even if so, you might be hurting your prospects by describing it as such. In this article on MarketingSherpa.com, reporter Adam T. Sutton warns that stock phrases can lead to customer indifference and obscurity on the web.

He quotes David Meerman Scott, marketing expert and author, who says many companies are still larding their websites with jargon and hard-to-read copy that is easy to forget. The good news, he says, is that using social media can help writers, and those who hire them, speak authentically to target audiences. Scott recommends checking out “social media profiles, blogs, personal websites, chat rooms, message boards, and user-generated review sites” to find out how others are talking about your organization. What are they saying? How are they saying it?  Other tips include monitoring event chatter on sites like Twitter, using original video and images instead of relying on stock photography, listening to your sales and customer service people, and using social media to talk with your customers, rather than just talking at them.  Scott also recommends doing customer interviews.

Interviews will teach you more about your audience’s needs, how your products meet them, and the language your audience uses. This information will reveal topics you should discuss online to connect with your audience and the types of phrases you should use.

This kind of homework, Scott says, will let writers discover patterns, allowing them to speak with an authentic voice customers will trust.

(Note: the MarketingSherpa article is open access only until May 28th)