Catch of the day

How to Avoid Caramel-Colored, Corn Syrup Beverage Syndrome

I knew this nerd once. He used to come into the restaurant where I used to waitress and instead of ordering a Coke he’d request a “caramel-colored corn syrup beverage with extra cherries please.”Why? Because he was a HUGE NERD, that’s why. Why am I bringing this up in regard to social media?

Because many of you may be shaking your head and rolling your eyes and thinking you would never do something so lame, but the truth is it happens every day in social media. You subject your potential customers to insufferable industry jargon meant to impress, when really plain language would do just fine.

Caramel-Colored Corn Syrup Beverage Syndrome: LinkedIn Answers Edition

1. Refrigerator Repairperson normal human answer: “Hey there,I specialize in healthy fridges”
2. Refrigerator Repairperson CCCSBS Answer: “Hello, I am a cuisine-receptacle technician with a proven track record of leveraging and amending food receptacles for optimum use.”

See the difference?!!! Now, I’ve heard all the excuses for indulging in CCSBS, i.e. “Well I work in a highly technical field…” or “Well my company has a lot of complicated contingencies that differentiate it from other businesses.” I don’t care. There is a time and place to discuss those technicalities and contingencies down the road, and it’s not in your introduction.

Let me reiterate that CCCSBS is both impressive and appropriate in some settings. There are definitely times when you can and should use it. For example, said nerd probably could have gotten massive street cred in his science club or on his chemistry exam-it just is not cool to talk like that in a social setting. In the same vein, it is great to talk about “leveraging strategies” and “optimizing for innovation” in investor reports or peer-to-peer communications like white papers and even peer-to-peer webinars. But you have to adapt your language for the more casual, chummy social watering holes like LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs. Do not BYO “high-level behavioral insights” to the next Tweetup, you will render yourself permanently uncool.

As a final note, another common argument for CCCSBS is that you want to demonstrate expertise and look smart. Fine. I do too. But you need to remember that using jargon does not make you like an expert. It makes you look like a name-dropper, or someone who is pretentious, two social media deathknells. The big social media honchos like Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki do not use jargon; you don’t need to either.

Popularity Pop Quiz: Go through your latest LinkedIn Answer and remove all words over three-syllables or any references to stuffy theorems or business models that no one outside your industry knows or cares about. When you’re done, you should have a nice, friendly, frank and clear message left. How cool:)

business networking, jargon, LinkedIn Answers, social media, social media etiquette