Killed by the buzz: Why we’re losing words to the buzz effect (and what to do about it)

Here’s a question for you: What do buzzwords and That One Guy You Hate™ have in common?

You guessed it. They both sneak into every conversation and meeting as if they own the place — but lack the substance to back up their swagger. And, yeah, they both tend to elicit eyerolls and exhaustion.

But, unlike That One Guy, buzzwords are innocent bystanders. It’s not their fault they’ve fallen into a dark place. That’s on us. All of us.

Every buzzword starts out with the best of intentions. Perhaps it was a coined term for an exciting new idea, or an industry term for a particular process. The fact is, at one point it stood for something.

And then the buzz effect sets in.

So, what makes a buzzword anyway?

Buzzwords aren’t born out of nothing. At times, they can be useful. As marketers, we often use them as shortcuts to understanding, or as a way to communicate that we’re part of the same ‘in’ group as our reader.

(“We know the lingo. We speak your language. Hello, fellow kids.”)

Most buzzwords do start out conveying a valuable idea. They just slip into the dreaded buzzword category when they’re overused without real substantiation. That’s the buzz effect.

If I had to write an equation for it, it’d probably look something like:

(Lack of relevance or clarification) x (Number of times people see the word) = Buzz effect

Why does the buzz effect happen?

The buzz effect is a direct result of laziness. Hard truth.

Buzzwords can serve as a shorthand — but that ease of use is also their greatest weakness. Because, as the word or phrase gets used and reused across a spectrum of use cases, its meaning inevitably gets diluted.

It becomes only a shallow, trite term with faded meaning. Companies and marketers start using the word as a crutch; treating the word as if gravitas or excitement is baked-in.

And the result? Terms like “digital transformation” become exhausted catch-alls that piggyback on assumed knowledge from other, better-defined sources.

Soon, the word fails to have any impact at all on the reader. Or, worse, the buzzword starts to actively obfuscate important details, stripping out true understanding and hiding the actual really cool bits of your product or service.

So, even when the word is useful… the buzz effect sets in — much like when you’re in a room with a low humming noise. At first, it might hold all your attention; but, over time, you acclimatize to the sound — and, suddenly, you find you don’t even notice it anymore.

(Or, you might be the kind of person that can’t drown the noise out. In which case you slowly go insane and begin to hate the sound. And it echoes in your head. Endlessly. Late at night. As you try to sleep. You hear it… ‘Leverage… leverage… LEVERAGE.’ Spooky.)

The pitfalls of this are obvious: If your marketing hinges on buzzwords, you risk losing potential customers.

Why buzzwords kill your marketing’s effectiveness

“But Nur,” you might cry. “‘Baked-in meaning’ sounds great. How can that be a bad thing?”

In short: If you use buzzwords while people are ignoring buzzwords, you’re going to lose potential customers.

Why? Because buzzwords tend to turn up in the most crucial parts of your messaging. Buzzwords are often what first greets visitors to your website. They populate your articles and white papers. They pepper your case studies. And that’s because they’re seen as a shortcut to swift understanding. Why use many word when few word do, right?

But the buzz effect is real. You may think people aren’t going to read a lot of words and that buzzwords are a perfect way to cut down on words while imparting meaning. But by using buzzwords gratuitously without explaining further, you’re even more likely to lose customer attention at the most important moment: when they’re interested and browsing for options.

Think about it. Digital Transformation is a seismic idea. It’s a game-changer, level-upper, etc. etc. But so many of us now read it and zone out.

All the power of that exciting idea goes unharnessed when you just say ‘digital transformation’ and move on.

But when you expand on the idea, the effect is negated. People have more information to dig their teeth into. And that added clarification is where you can set yourself firmly apart from competitors.

Beat the buzz effect

To escape the buzzword trap, we all need to stop using them as shortcuts. That means taking the time to explain concepts and getting illustrative about relevance.

(And, hey, I need to remember this too. I’m no saint, I’m 100% guilty of succumbing to the buzz, who isn’t at this point?)

Use examples. Real ones, that relate directly to the reader and their most pressing concerns. Connect the concept to emotional weight, make it mean something again. Explain your technology, expand on why it’s really exciting and relevant to your audience.

And don’t try to ride the hype wave. Buzzwords may be trendy, but shoehorning a vaguely relevant concept or term just to make your product seem snazzier is not the way to go. At best, you dilute the word even further; at worst, you actively piss off customers by failing to tell them something of actual worth and value.

If you want to use a buzzy word, explain how it fits within your offering. AI sounds sexy, but not all AI is the same. Define it. Explain how exactly it features in your product and don’t try to outsource the legwork of providing explanations and proof-points. That’s not to say you can never lean on buzzwords as a shorthand; there’ll be times it’s acceptable. But when they’re used as a diluted shorthand on the front page of websites to substitute actual hooks, that’s a problem.

It’s always more important to stay relevant to your audience’s needs and your product’s capabilities than to jump on the latest buzzword bandwagon. (Even when it’s something really exciting and trendy, like Generative AI.)

Basically, communicate the full value and benefits of your product or service using clear language. Don’t dilute your story by taking an easy out when there’s a better opportunity to create impactful meaning by laying out your meaning in novel ways. Show your audience why you’re worth listening to and why your product is worth leveraging (…just kidding 😉).

I promise there’s more to it than ‘AI-powered’ or ‘data-enabled’.