Jay Leonard
Each and every industry has its own “special language” if you will. Acronyms, groups, organizations and industry terms can just immediately go over everyone’s head, especially new employees and prospects coming into the space. So what about your target audience? Do they understand the message you are trying to convey? Better yet, are they even trying to pay attention through all of the “jargon”?
How much jargon should you use for an effective B2B Content Marketing strategy? Let’s walk-through some steps and find out!
Target Audience
Are you a company that is writing to one or multiple target audiences? Maybe you are a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) that gets their feet wet in multiple industries or a local lawn care business selling to consumers. Writing to any target audience is crucial to your marketing success. Speaking the same language as they are and showcasing your knowledge can be a positive (more on this later) to your audience. Giving them thought leadership with your content (depending on industry) can help make or break your relationships with your potential customers.
Type of Content = Quantity of Jargon
Your type of content can also be the determining factor for your “jargon”. In Healthcare and Sciences Verticals, research articles are some of the main ways that audience gains their information. Those are jam-packed with loads and assortments of the “jargon” for the purpose of educating their readers.
Some types of content are great to showcase your “jargon” (research articles, in-depth whitepapers, data sheets). Others you may want to keep your “jargon” to a minimum and focus on conveying a story or answering a problem or question with your audience (blog posts, case studies).
Which leads me to my last step…
Jargon is Great…In Moderation
Don’t get me wrong, jargon is a great way to convey your message in a technical way to your audience. Talking to them on the same level can help make your audience more comfortable and more engaged to the topics you are conveying.
Then, there’s the opposite effect…
Your jargon may be:
- Going over everyone’s head or is too “boring”
- Losing your visitors seconds into viewing
- Not aligning your content to their problems/pain points
Overall, using jargon is a great way to showcase your knowledge and thought leadership, but you need to be able to tell a story and identify/troubleshoot a problem in a language that everyone can understand. Do you need to use it to be effective? Of course not. If you do plan on using it, keep it to a minimum.
What types of strategies have you used to write effective content with minimal “jargon”?
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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Rules from my days as an IT trade journalist and, now, as a B2B marketing copywriter:
1) DO use terms specific to your industry, (like software as a service, application programming interfaces, containers in IT) but spell out all acronyms and define each term on first usage. Not everyone will understand each term, and often different people have different definitions for the term.
2) DO NOT use (or at the very least, define very carefully) generic buzzwords such as “solution,” “transform,” and “digital.” Here, the danger for misinterpretation or writing sheer nonsense is greatest. My favorite example: “Digital applications.” Since they run on computers, aren’t all applications digital?
To sum up: Use jargon carefully, only as needed, and explain, explain, explain.
Curious to hear other’s thoughts;
Bob