“Social Media Crisis” and Other Buzzwords that Need to Go

Buzzwords are those over-used words or terms that are used so often that they begin to lose all meaning. I recently did a guest lecture for Professor Eric Chandler‘s NYU class and, prior to the guest lecture, Eric and I got to talking about the different buzzwords that get under our skin.

I thought it would make a fun post to share these buzzwords with you and explain why it is that they just mean absolutely nothing to us! I’d also love to hear what buzzwords you wish would vanish from the English language. Feel free to share them with us in the comments section below.

Melissa’s #1 despised buzzword:

Social media crisis

Those of you who know me know that I can’t stand this term and that I often use it as a way to determine the “fakes” and wannabes out there! Why? Let me explain…

There are so many people and companies out there today using this buzzword too seriously! To us, here at Agnes + Day, someone who says that they specialize in “social media crises” is demonstrating a big red flag.

The fact of the matter is that a crisis is a crisis.

The definition of a crisis: A negative situation / event that threatens to have long-term repercussions on the organization’s reputation and/or bottom line.

The truth is that no matter where a crisis originates, it will end up online and online includes, but is not limited to, social media. And yes, there are crises that develop and play out on social, but the fact of the matter is that a crisis is never purely contained to social. If it’s truly a crisis, it will be published about in blogs and on news sites, and potentially make its way to traditional media. This means that a crisis is never a “social media crisis”, but rather a crisis. So let’s call it like it is!

A crisis is a crisis and when it goes viral it goes viral everywhere, not just on social media. Social media is an inevitable part of any crisis today, as well as a crisis communication tool that needs to be effectively used in order to help manage a crisis.

Eric Chandler’s top 3 despised buzzwords

Written by Eric Chandler

Leverage

Anyone who takes my graduate Strategic Communications course learns that leverage, one of the most overused words in Corporate America, is banned from use in all class projects. The irony is that I teach another course called Leveraging Social Media for Public Relations!

In Fall 2013, the department rebranded the existing PR/social media course, PR2.0, with the new title. While PR2.0 wasn’t the best title, here are three reasons why I would strike ‘Leverage’ from the current course title:

1. Leverage isn’t a Verb.
Leverage is a noun defined as the exertion of force by means of a lever or an object used in the manner of a lever, e.g., “my spade hit something solid that wouldn’t respond to leverage.”  Leverage is also defined as the ratio of a company’s loan capital (debt) to the value of its common stock (equity).

Used in the context of physics or financial services, leverage is an appropriate industry-specific term. Used in the context of PR – or any other business industry – leverage, as a verb, has become so overused that it creates confusion and/or casts doubt on the credibility of the person using the term.

2. Leverage Doesn’t Mean “To Use Something.”
With Leveraging Social Media for Public Relations, “Leveraging” is a flowery form of  “to use something.” But that isn’t an accurate definition. When buzzwords like this become overused, people stop paying attention to them. Or, the perception is that the word is sugarcoating a negative or challenging situation.

Instead of leverage, consider words like use, apply, manipulate, repurpose, recycle, implement, enlist and capitalize on.

3. Reporters Hate Buzzwords.
The course introduces social media strategies to public relations professionals, who will in turn tap social media to interact with the media (journalists, bloggers, authors). The media isn’t fond of PR pros who use buzzwords, like leverage, or those who use buzzwords that are nouns disguised as misused verbs. Why promote language that will potentially damage a class member’s credibility?

Innovate/Innovator

Take any digital-technology company launched within the past two years, and chances are you’ll find some form of the word innovate in the company’s press release, blog post or fact sheet. It sounds impressive, but are there that many innovators with that much innovation to spread around?

According to an item in The Atlantic, “Innovation: The History of a Buzzword”, “shouts of “Innovator!” used to be akin to charges of heresy.” Today, ask ten people what they define as innovative, and you’ll get ten very different responses depending upon the person or company doing the innovating.

Innovative is defined as:

• (of a product, idea, etc.) featuring new methods; advanced and original, e.g., “innovative designs”
• (of a person) introducing new ideas; original and creative in thinking, e.g., “an innovative thinker”

While many use the word innovative as a synonym for creative or inventive, the one essential element of innovation is being first. For instance, the social app Whisper shows innovation in allowing users to share anonymous confessions with like-minded people.

However, it seems that innovate and innovative are buzzwords that have all but lost their meaning in today’s business environment. They join the ranks of other overused buzzwords — like strategic, unique, out-of-the-box, effective and plenty more — that raise skepticism. When the media sees these words, the first thing that pops in mind is that the product, service or company is anything but <fill in the buzzword>, even if it’s something that will change the world.

When it comes to business-speak, all-things innovative took a beating in 2013:

• The Wall Street Journal names it as one of the year’s most hated buzzwords
• It is one of the new entrants to the list of Top 10 Overused LinkedIn Profile Buzzwords
• A PRNewser item names it as the #1 buzzword that PR pros should avoid

The next time you feel the urge to describe something as innovative, ask yourself this: Is the product, service, process improvement, etc., the first of its kind, along with being creative or inventive? If it’s not the first, it’s not innovative.

Unique

My #1 “Do Not Use” Buzzword, unique, is the one that PR professionals use so often that many are unsure about the word’s actual meaning.

Unique is defined as being the only one of its kind, unlike anything else. Yet companies use the word liberally to describe all-things fresh, exciting and new, whether it’s one-of-a-kind or not. I once had a former grad student, in fact, insist that the meaning of unique was “interesting,” and the only way to convince her otherwise was to call up the Dictionary.com definition in class.

Generally speaking, I recommend avoiding unique because the word is so overused that people may question the credibility of your claim. Otherwise, if you’re going to go with unique, make sure that what you’re describing is absolutely positively the only one-of-its-kind.

What buzz words are you tired of hearing and why? Feel free to share your list with us below!