You’ve probably come across a lot of fads growing up. Fashions that came and went, pop stars who walked in and out of the limelight, or trendy topics that bubbled and fizzed away. When they reemerge beyond their time, their presence can be like wasps. At best, they are an annoyance. At worst, they drive people away.
The same is so for buzzwords. These phrases are emerging in all kinds of copy, from websites to technical documents. The idea is that words like “crucial” or “critical” will evoke emotions of desperation or excitement that drive people to take action for the writer’s benefit.
The problem with buzzwords, however, lies in their overuse. Their time comes and goes, just like all the other fads. When they’re overused, the words feel like wasps that say nothing more than to appear smart without the actual knowledge. This feeling can drive investors away, produce scoffs from your readers, and reduce engagement with your work.
If you want to avoid this fate with your content, read on! In this article, we’ll list six buzzwords and why they’re labelled as such. Then, we’ll give you advice on alternatives that clarify your research further and best practices should you decide to use these phrases in your marketing efforts.
The six buzzwords and how to reclaim them
Cutting-edge/Innovative
The problem: These words are probably among the most common phrases in the life sciences. If you’re a salesperson or marketing specialist, you’ve probably used them yourself when trying to sell a CDMO partnership, a therapeutic under development, or any novel technique to show how innovative your technology is.
But consider this quote from The Incredibles:
“When everyone is super, no one is.”
When every company in the life sciences claims they are innovative or cutting-edge, no one is.
What you should do instead: Use this term only if you’ve developed something that’s Nobel-prize worthy or completely novel. Otherwise, go beyond just saying that your technology is cutting-edge or innovative. Consider deeply what makes your company’s products so innovative for the industry. For example, if your high-throughput imaging platforms address a deep concern about autofluorescence in your microscopy data, mention it! Be specific about what your products and research offer and what benefits they provide for anyone using them. List them out and word your copy in a way that speaks to the people to whom you want to assist.
Platform
The problem: The word platform originally refers to a flat surface that’s raised from the ground. Most commonly, we would think of railway or subway platforms to enter a train or a subway. Over time, the term has evolved to include the establishment of political platforms, the principles and goals of a political campaign.
Today, the term has departed so far from its original meaning that it includes any abstract foundation for something to be done or developed. Think of a “sequencing platform” or an “AI platform for drug discovery” for example. However, a platform should actually refer to systems within the tech industry that can build various products for their customers. Like a workshop for producing furniture or a fast-food restaurant that serves burgers and other combos.
What you should do instead: To start, note that if you are only offering one product or service, then you’re not offering a platform. That said, the word “platform” itself is not always the issue. Rather, it’s how companies stick with the term without explaining it further. Here, clarify what kind of technology, product or service you have for your customers.
Let’s use an AI platform for drug discovery, for example. It’s a hugely common phrase that founders use to demonstrate that they can drive the development of new drug classes or new drug targets. But consider this: are you helping identify novel chemical structures? How about novel formulation strategies?
Don’t just leave it at “platform”. Ask what your technology is a platform of. The more you clarify what you offer with your platform, the more you distinguish yourself from your competitors. Plus, you’ll have more content to build your brand and authority.
If you want to learn more about adding content to your website, you can also read this blog about content pillars.
Best-in-class
The problem: This buzzword is like what happens when you use “cutting-edge” or “innovative”, except it comes with a greater weight. Such a great claim requires substantial evidence. Should you use this phrase, audiences will immediately ask what you’re the best at. Worse yet, “best” is also a highly subjective word that can easily be twisted to make any company become the best-in-class at anything. A company could also have the best technological offering and still fail because they can’t describe how its best offerings help its customers the most.
What you should do instead: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence according to the late Christopher Hitchins. Instead of stating this buzzword, jump immediately to the evidence. Highlight specifically how your discoveries and technologies provide tangible benefits to those you’re targeting. For example, if you sell library preparation kits for RNA sequencing, discuss with research manuscripts the delineation of cell lines while reducing costs, or the ability to sequence full transcripts with short-read sequencing.
Disrupt/disruptive
Many of the most disruptive discoveries in the past changed how we observed and understood the world. Thanks to Galileo and countless astronomers after him, we adopted the heliocentric model of the universe, for example. Nowadays, the term “disruptive” is highly enriched among startup companies seeking funding from venture capitalists and government. The term is supposed to create a lot of hype. However, it’s instead produced a lot of scepticism; no idea in the life sciences is truly disruptive until it changes how we conduct science or treat patients.
What you should do instead: If you want to show that your research is disruptive, go straight to the point. Identify the problems that your research seeks to solve and underline how your research solves that problem. I’ll take an example from the omics where I used to conduct research. Instead of touting a multi-omics solution as “disruptive” for omics research, list specifically what research conclusions you produced and how they shift our understanding of human health and disease for drug development and patient care.
Enables/allows you to...
I’ve been guilty of using this phrase. It’s an easy segue into showing how research can make life easier for those who learn of its findings. However, the buzzword is really more of a fluffy phrase that wastes word count.
What you should do instead: I’ll take an example of a phrase that should help you here. Here: “Our lateral flow assay enables you to detect a protein antigen associated with a viral infection”. You could easily reword this to “Our lateral flow assay quantifies an antigen associated with a viral infection in minutes.” In the process, I mentioned how quickly the lateral flow assay could be performed because I took out the buzzword.
We are pleased to announce...
I have mixed feelings about this phrase. Lots of people on LinkedIn use this phrase to invite others to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments.
For individuals, it’s an opportunity for friends, family, and followers to congratulate them on their success.
But if a company does this, it adds superfluous phrases that reduce engagement. It’s unnatural for a company to say this on official documents. Moreover, readers generally assume that when a company publishes something, whether through a press release or an internal document, that the news would be significant.
What you should do instead: This call to action should be short: just jump straight to the announcement and why it’s so substantial. To add to it, build relationships with journalists and other media partners to foster a strong public relations strategy.
Don't overuse the life science buzzwords
Buzzwords had their value in the past. When they’re overused, they lose their meaning, leaving readers disengaged and disinterested in what you have to say. In this blog, we identified six of the most common buzzwords in the life sciences and how you can replace them to improve the quality of your online content. By adopting these changes to your copy, you’ll be taking one step closer towards differentiating your product from the rest of the market for your target audiences.
Perform a messaging audit with us
If you want surefire and creative ways to articulate your research accomplishments and technological offerings, contact us today. We’ll conjure proven methods and novel phrases that reflect your unique brand and resonate with your target audience.
