As we see on a cyclical basis, public relations pros take a beating. While many are sticking up for their profession, we don’t always help ourselves. So, in the spirit of a PSA, have a look at the below words and phrases that should be banned from every PR pros’ vocabulary and branding brainstorm session.
Buzz: What are you a bee? Buzz implies short-attention-span, fleeting. What about generating conversations, talk, exposure, etc.
Spin: Tops spin, I don’t. Being a “spin doctor” or other usage of the word implies you’re not being straight, avoiding the truth.
Flack: Like spin, it sounds flaky, sounds too much like plaque and just sounds derogatory.
Hits: When talking about the success of a news release (see next) or story pitch, we often talk about the hits or number of media placements it received. (Guess, if you’re going to pitch, you want hits?) In some cases, hits is a good term, but there are better terms. Particularly, in social media, you’re dealing with people. Not hits. So, keep that in mind and don’t dehumanize your media audience.
Press Release: Use news release instead. Maybe I’m picky, but we don’t deal with just newspapers (as in printing presses!). It’s a news release. It’s about news, not a press. I’ll accept media release if you want to be PC. Same goes for press conferences. They’re news conferences, please.
Now that I got that off my chest, what words and terms did I miss that we should ban?
-Mike
