One thing that makes me cringe on cue is the use of cliched, unnecessary buzz words. You would think I’d eaten a sherbet lemon the way my face contorts at the mere mention of corporate, self important talk. But the latest leader of the annoying buzz word leader board is a surprising one to me as a blogger…

Social Media is undoubtedly one of the most important emerging phenomenons of recent times. The 500 million plus Worldwide users of Facebook will testify to that. So will the businesses that have used social networks to engage with customers and create new business. But is the whole social media thing a bit misunderstood or over hyped? I ask this because a new poll by The Creative Group lists the term ‘social media‘ as the most annoying industry buzzword currently in use.

Seriously? More annoying than number 14- ‘going green’ or 17- ‘culture change’? Let me pause for a second to cringe…

The Creative Group list offered 25 terms, with 4 tips to avoid dropping jargon related clangers and sounding like someone trying just that little bit too hard. I was a little bit taken aback by the reigning top spot for ‘social media’ in this poll. This something that has come from nowhere to seemingly take over the World in a few short years. Who do you know that isn’t on Facebook? Who doesn’t know a trending topic is?

Then I suddenly got it. The fact is social media has received almost too much publicity. You know when you hear a song on the radio for the first time, you don’t pay any attention, then after a few plays you start to love it? That is what happened with most people and social media. Your natural inclination is to resist something new at first, especially if you don’t understand it. Then after a while you get used to it and embrace it.

Unfortunately, the radio then plays it way too much and you get annoyed with it. By this time all the people that were too slow to notice it in the first place start liking it and you can’t take any more. You start to hate a song you once really liked. That is what is happening with the term ‘social media.’ It has been bandied about too much by so called experts that don’t know the true meaning or implementation of the concept.

You’re not a ‘social media expert’ (number 9 on the list) simply because you can advise a client they need to gain Twitter followers. Social media needs to compliment and drive the relevant business. It is a means of engaging with your client base and and finding out  more about their needs and wants, as well as finding more customers in a more informal setting than traditional advertising. If you’re going to get Twitter followers, make sure they’re the kind of people actually relevant to your business.

Hopefully the bandwagon jumpers and opportunists hanging around will soon find some new jargon unrelated to social. Despite some peoples confusion on how social should be implemented or how it can really benefit a business, it is still the single most important development in marketing in recent times. Integrated into your business strategy in the right way, social can help you go a long way…

Just be careful to keep the business talk to a minimum…

What is the most irritating business jargon you’ve had to contend with recently? I personally still can’t over ‘culture change’…