As much as we all like to think we've moved on from the paradigm of high school cliques, the business world is not so dissimilar in some ways. In high school, each clique had their own language and in a similar way each industry has their own terminology and corporate slang. As you spend time in an industry, you start speaking industry jargon. You might start using phrases like "double-click into that" or "optimize KPIs for our ICPs." And, when you finally understand all the lingo, you feel like you've made it to the cool kids' table. You might even assume that everyone at the table is speaking the same language.
Here's the thing about using industry jargon in your marketing; it assumes your audience (a) knows the terminology, (b) uses the terminology, and (c) identifies with the terminology. Your audience will more universally understand content written in plain language. Even if your audience does understand the lingo, it will require more mental energy for them to read content they have to translate into meaningful takeaways.
Applying your industry knowledge and hard-earned jargon to your marketing content may make you feel like you're proving you have a place at the table. However, the reality is, it's just asking your reader to do more work. Explaining concepts in plain language doesn't take away from your authority, rather, it speaks to your depth of knowledge. The true sign of an expert is someone who knows a topic/industry so well they are able to take complex concepts and boil them down to easily understood ideas.
So, the next time you’re itching to “leverage resources to be on the bleeding edge of tech,” maybe take a pause and rethink your language. Then, call up your friendly neighborhood content writer (hey, that’s me!) to help you phrase things in a more universally understood way.
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