Brand Storytelling and Industry Jargon: Chalk and Cheese

Effective brand storytelling has the potential to impact consumers on an emotional level and establish a business as an industry thought leader. This creates a fine line marketers have to walk delicately. Packing their stories with jargon may seem like an easy way to exhibit expertise, but it results in a cold and off-putting narrative. 

Industry jargon is hard to avoid. It surrounds us in the office, makes employee communication easier, and establishes a common ground between industry experts. 

The truth is that most marketers use jargon daily in meetings, presentations, and when outlining their content strategies. The problem arises when this industry talk bleeds into the work they send out into the world. 

Jargon isn’t altogether bad, but its place in branding is touchy. As a content marketer, you need to apply the appropriate filters to speak directly to your target audience and make a human impact. 

How Jargon Damages Branding  

Industry buzzwords are attractive to individuals dedicated to their careers. C-suites use them like they’re going out of style, and sales reps throw them around to sound more professional and establish relationships with prospective clients. It’s an effective approach in some cases, like in B2B sales. 

However, when jargon saturates content marketing collateral, it makes your brand sound less human and more corporate. This can damage your relationship with your target audience in several ways. 

It Interferes With Emotion

Marketing is all about forming a connection. A business needs to resonate with consumers on an emotional level, and marketers do this by creating a brand voice that’s authentic, relatable, and empathetic. 

But if your brand voice is full of technical language and acronyms, it starts to feel mechanical and generic. Your audience is more likely to yawn than pay attention to what you have to say. Jargon also makes it difficult to set yourself apart from the competition with brand storytelling that gets the hearts and minds of your audience. 

It Limits Brand Reach and Growth

One of the biggest problems with industry jargon is its exclusivity. It’s understood and accepted by people who work in the industry or those invested in it somehow. Everyone else isn’t part of the club. 

This works against you when trying to craft a brand identity that reaches a wider audience. Too much jargon alienates people unfamiliar with the concepts you’re highlighting, limiting your reach to those who recognize and understand the language.  

It Creates Confusion 

You can achieve many things with brand storytelling. It’s an effective way to communicate your core values, educate your audience, and entertain. But if you use too much jargon, your message becomes convoluted. 

Your audience shouldn’t feel like you’re talking over their heads. They shouldn’t have to Google buzzwords peppered throughout your content. The truth is, they probably won’t bother. They’ll just click away. 

It’s a Trust Killer 

Consumers today want to do business with brands they can relate to. Businesses that speak their language. If you can achieve this through brand storytelling, you’ve got a good chance of building trust with existing and potential clients. 

However, if there’s too much jargon in your content, you risk coming off as distant, inaccessible, or even elitist. The human element disappears from your branding, along with consumer trust. 

Wait! There’s a Time and a Place

Before you pump the brakes on your next content marketing campaign and eliminate all jargon from your branding, consider a few things. In some cases, jargon is effective. It all depends on your industry, audience, and intent.

If you’re doing B2B marketing or targeting a specialized audience, a little industry jargon could go a long way. For example, let’s say you’re creating an eBook for a customer service software company that’s targeting large-scale call centers. Technical jargon displays your expertise and will likely resonate with the decision-makers at the call center. 

Jargon is also effective at trade shows. In a room full of experts, speaking the industry language shows your savviness and helps establish your brand as an authority. This could boost your reputation and help generate leads. 

You may also want to weave highly informational pieces (like white papers) into your strategy and target a specific audience segment. Using jargon and buzzwords could make your content more valuable to those hungry for that information. 

Finally, it’s worth considering the types of jargon unique to your industry. There’s a chance a buzzword or acronym is commonly used and recognizable to a wide audience. SEO and KPI are two examples. Including them won’t hurt your messaging. Just make sure you don’t overdo it. 

De-Jargon Your Brand Identity 

If you’ve read this far and realize that your brand storytelling is chock-full of unnecessary industry jargon, that’s okay. Cleaning it up is relatively easy, and will help define how you create content going forward. 

If you’ve been tinkering with AI content marketing, there’s a good chance your branding contains too many buzzwords–that’s how AI speaks. But you can still use those tools and employ easy principles that make your content more human.  

The Powerful of Simplicity 

Often the easiest way to gracefully remove jargon from your content is by decluttering. Speaking in simple terms makes your messaging clear and concise, ensuring the audience knows exactly where you’re coming from. 

Removing industry jargon and rewriting your content may feel like you’re dumbing down your messaging. However, once you’ve simplified, you’ll see more opportunities to add impactful language that helps you engage with your audience. Remember, less is often more. 

Flex Your Creativity 

As you examine your content, industry jargon helps you explain important concepts associated with your brand or product. Removing those words creates gaps in your messaging. 

This isn’t a setback. It’s an opportunity to find smart ways to elevate your brand with creative content. 

Instead of addressing complex ideas directly, use hypothetical scenarios a wider audience can relate to. Infographics are also a great way to make difficult concepts easier to digest, and case studies bring a real-world element to your brand. 

Learn From Your Audience

Unless you’re targeting a niche group in a specialized field, your audience doesn’t speak in jargon. However, they do speak, and you need to listen.

To identify with consumers, you have to get on their level. This means using the same language they use and positioning yourself as a brand that understands their pain points and needs. You can’t do this if your content is full of cumbersome industry language.

It may be time to update your brand guidelines to make your content more relatable. Start by conducting surveys and engaging with your audience via social media. You may learn that your messaging flies over your audience’s head or your branding lacks the all-important human touch. 

Find Balance in Your Brand Storytelling 

Content marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy. Every industry has standards, expectations, and nuances. You have to master yours to touch your audience and grow your brand. 

Just because you operate in a jargon-heavy industry doesn’t mean your content has to reflect it. The truth is, it probably shouldn’t. Instead, find a balance between human-centric branding and industry knowledge and leave the buzzwords for the office.