Yeah-you know what I'm talking about. Those phrases you hear over and over again. The ones that make you curl your toes, and not in a good way. The ones that you can't help turning to the person next to you and crinkling your nose. The ones that make Maddie and I giggle inappropriately and then turn bright red when everyone looks at us.
What are the phrases that make you cringe? Here are the ones that get me every time. (And if you catch me saying them, please scold me. I'll deserve it.)
- Content is king. Really? Still? This is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot. Let me just come right out and say it. Content is not king. It's not even queen. Those honorifics should be reserved for the persons choosing to consume (and maybe even share) or ignore the content. Maybe we should start saying that content is a really big, juicy mutton leg that we hope the king and queen will find worthy of their table. Not as catchy?
- You no longer have control. Oh please. Sure you do. You have lots of control over your brand and your messages. Of course, you're publicly sharing that control with your community, so you need to approach things a bit differently. And messing up can get messier than ever. But at the end of the day, you're not so catastrophically powerless as some might lead you to believe. Especially if you have a thick skin and passionate champions.
- It's about viral marketing. Uh...good luck with that. I'll spare you my viral marketing rant, as I've already declared that viral marketing is neither viral nor marketing. Discuss amongst yourselves. And read why Brian Solis doesn't believe in viral marketing for good measure.
I have more, but I'll spare you. Besides, I really want you to throw down and comment with the phrases that you find most cringe-inducing. I promise to be suitably cowed, in the case it's a phrase I use all the time.