We’ve all had those insightful moments where a brilliant thought or idea rushes through our mind. It’s this time that we run to grab our pencil and paper and quickly jot down our fleeting thought. Did you ever feel like your brilliant idea became a complete flop once you put it into words? Sometimes it’s not our actual ideas that need tweaking, but rather the language we use to describe them.

The Language You Use Matters

In the field of marketing, language isn’t just a means of communication – it’s also one of our first chances to leave a lasting impression on those around us. Subconsciously, we recognize the important role language plays every time we write a dynamic call to action, or when we choose to break grammar rules to help us better get our point across.

If you still don’t think that language plays an important role in marketing, consider the following: the University of Leeds, one of Britain’s prestigious “red brick universities” teaches courses on language in marketing and business settings. Not courses on business English, but rather programs that teach students how to communicate in a way that yields the best results.

Why You Should Care About Language

From a marketing perspective, we use language to reach out to people. It’s how we build trust and develop relationships. Here are some reasons why language plays an important role in business and marketing:

• Language is our first brand ambassador – it’s the first way that we represent ourselves and our goods and services. It’s how we inform people what we’re about, what we provide, and what our priorities are.
• Words have the power to include or alienate – the last thing you want your marketing campaign to do is to exclude an entire group of people, so be careful with gendered pronouns and other exclusionary terms.
• Nobody likes to be talked down to – most people like marketing strategies that are simple and to the point, not full of jargon and hard to understand. Remember, someone who feels intimidated by your wording is probably not going to ask questions or investigate further – scrap the technical wording.
• We use keywords to paint a mental picture – they call writers wordsmiths for a reason, after all. It’s because a good writer is able to use keywords to create descriptions that conjure up vivid imagery in our heads. In a marketing context, these descriptions help us visualize why we need a particular good or service.

It’s More Than Words and Meaning

You’re probably thinking, “Yes, words have meaning. So what?” Well, there’s an entire field of study emerging called consumer linguistics. It’s a field based entirely on finding out how to use language to build a brand image.

Consumer linguistics is not concerned with what words mean as much as how words can be used to better elicit a response. Take adverbs, for example. Authors and copywriters have long since considered adverbs to be a crutch – even a hindrance.  Of these two sentences, which sounds better?

1. John forcefully pokes the straw into his juice box.
2. John stabs the straw into his juice box.

Chances are, you probably have a better visual image from the second sentence because stabbing is less subjective than poking with force.

As the field of consumer linguistics matures, I expect there’ll be more research on how language can be constructed in a way that better persuades and informs consumers. Until then, be mindful of what you say, as well as what you don’t say.

Brandon is an award-winning writer who lives in a posh Manhattan apartment and occasionally contributes to blogs. He also just told you one truth and two lies.