No Corporate Jargon And BS – Social Media Loves Simplicity

While we see some awesome and innovative things many companies are doing to engage with people on the web and “be social”, few still struggle with the idea of “being personable” rather than “sounding professional”. When I say “sounding professional” here I’m not referring to the true sense of the word but rather the ‘cliche’ of having to use politically correct and complicated business terms or corporate talk while interacting with online audiences. It may have been the proper way to conduct business in the formal corporate world where embossed letterheads on bonded paper were the medium of of choice but in the Social Media world…people prefer simplicity. Also, in the social media world – the people hold the power and decide what they prefer and who they like.

I remember the founder of IMG the late Mark McCormack and sales thought leader saying “All things being equal, a person would rather buy from someone they like versus someone they are indifferent to” so being like-able is a key factor in any buying process.

Nowhere is this more true than on the social web. Most people on the web have low tolerance (or attention spans) for complicated explanations, corporate jargon, advanced technical terms, business vocabulary or language they have to read over a number of times to make sense of. Social media loves and respects simplicity!

A single word best practice rule for communication, content, marketing or just about any interaction on the web to really connect with people – SIMPLIFY!

Things we like in our social web experience?

 Tweets & Short Status Updates

140 characters is a short space but it’s perfect. If you have something to say and you can put it 140 characters or less it forces you to be concise, clear and make your point quite simply. Little wonder why Facebook status updates and Twitter is so popular?

Introduction Videos That Turn Complicated Ideas Into Plain English

Gone are the long multi-page technical specification manuals or documentation that explain something complicated in even more complicated terms and language. Social media loves simple videos like the one below which can even have Grandma understand what this new age concept of CrowdFunding is all about.

Infographics

Well crafted visual representation of facts that you can absorb simply by looking at an image rather than having to read long texts of technical facts, survey results or statistics. They are simple and make their point!

Easy Registration & Calls To Action

Crisp, Short & Personal Direct Messages & Communications

Those are just some of the examples of how effective keeping things simple online can be just the way web users like it. When it Rome, do as the Romans do. When on the social web, think about what people love about their social web experience and tune your online communications accordingly.

Leaving out the unnecessary complicated bulls***t that aims to impress but no one really gets and simplifying will really connect well with online audiences and help not just get what you’re about but perhaps even grow to like you as a business. That in the online world…is a winning formula!