By Michael Newman
Michael Newman Consulting

More entertaining than educational, I wanted to share my frustration with some of the buzzwords for business and internet marketing. It’s getting a little crazy and it seems people feel the need to shove them down your throat.

“The marketing formula seems simple: Attract audiences, engage prospects, convert leads, and facilitate retention. One of the biggest ‘wins’ you can achieve is the ability to connect your disparate initiatives into a scalable, predictable demand generation engine.”

That my friends is an actual opening sentence from a blog I read regularly that was posted last week. I mean really? This is a good blog too. It shows how even the most savvy marketers can get sucked into their own buzzword frenzy.

Some of it I do understand. I spent years in product management and sometimes we were so close to the products we were developing we would miss something obvious that someone would pick up on when we showed them the concept for the first time.

But come on. Would you talk to someone like this if you were having a cup of coffee?

Jakob Nielsen, the king of website usability testing says that no one is ever going to complain if you keep it simple and I truly believe that. Don’t try to impress people with your vocabulary. Try to make your message as clear as possible. We’re all busy!

Let’s look at buzzword mania and some of my favorite (uh… least desirable) buzzwords.

Native Advertising

It seems the term “sponsored content” wasn’t confusing enough to the buzzword mania crowd. Therefore a new term was created called “native advertising.”

I feel compelled to share this. The Interactive Advertising Bureau defines native advertising as “paid ads that are so cohesive with the page content, assimilated into the design, and consistent with the platform behavior that the viewer simply feels that they belong.”

Whoa. This is the IAB’s definition. I’m sure you feel completely “in the know” now don’t you? Have we forgotten how to speak like human beings?

Evidently some of us have. Some of us have also decided that propaganda is better than an actual definition too, since this form of advertising is very controversial.

Native advertising or sponsored content is typically an ad that looks like an editorial. This buzzword came before these other ones: advertorial.

A study in 2014 found that 73% of marketers were unfamiliar with “native advertising.” Is it any surprise? It’s now got three buzzwords.

Customer-Centricity

This buzzword is just a cumbersome phrase that relates to putting the customer at the center of your marketing plans and objectives. Eureka. What a concept! “We need more customer-centricity around here!” Watch out for this one. It seems to be getting some “groundswell.”

Snackable Content

I do love the fact that other marketers out there hate this one too. This buzzword reminds me of a webinar I sat through about 18 months ago on Instagram. There were three social “community managers” (I hate that one too) talking about their strategies with Instagram and how they related everything to food.

I had no idea what they were talking about for most of the session.

Why do I hate “snackable content” so much? Because it clearly lacks definition. What’s “snackable” to one person might be a full meal to others. Let’s just say I think it’s intended to mean web content that is designed to be easy to consume and share. That doesn’t help much.

You will never, ever see me use this term in the context of a serious discussion.

Growth Hacking

You can throw “life hacking” into this cesspool too. The verb “hack” is just being abused here, period. Growth hacking came from (where else) the silicon valley where a guy named Sean Ellis helped start-ups take off. He’s a very smart business developer which shows even the best get sucked into this buzzword mania. He wanted to imply that a growth hacker is purely focused on growth and not on marketing. Whatever.

I don’t consider my personal or business growth as “hacking” in any way, shape or form. I hack if I have a cold or the flu.

Social Marketing Bul$&$t Bingo

This is not a buzzword, it’s a website. You can make your own bingo cards and take them to your next social marketing seminar. The copy at the top of the page is great.

“Are you gagging to monetize the wisdom of the crowd with your sticky strategy?

I bet you are, you saucy minx.

So next time you’re networking with your social media strategist pals or attending a hot Enterprise 2.0 conference, take along a Social Marketing Bullshit Bingo card. If you get a bingo, you know you’re among thought leaders who really know how to strategize in the attention economy.”

The End

Okay I feel better now. Some of you might have noticed I have a buzzword in my banners in this email. I do. I don’t know how else to say the term “engage” even though I don’t like using it.

When you can though, keep things simple and focused and your readers will love you for it.

Or you could utilize your core competencies, drill down, leverage buy-in, think outside the box, walk on the bleeding edge, insure scalability, create a lot of moving parts, move the needle and then when that doesn’t work, just take it offline.

Happy Saturday.

If you need some help generating some obnoxious buzzwords of your own, let me know. We offer everything from single sessions to regular services for your own growth hacking plans.

About Michael Newman

Michael Newman has worked in the professional audio and musical instrument industries in product management for 20 years. He currently provides internet and social media marketing advice and services through his company Michael Newman Consulting, based in San Diego, Calif.