LinkedIn has revealed the most overused buzzwords of the UK’s marketing professionals – highlighting the adjectives that they should avoid this year if they want to stand out from the crowd.
LinkedIn analysed the profile summaries of its marketing members to compile the list, which revealed ‘creative’, ‘strategic’ and ‘motivated’ as the top three words and phrases that marketers use to describe themselves.
‘Passionate’ and ‘track record’ also made it into the top five.
The announcement of the list comes on the day – 21 January – when LinkedIn traditionally sees the most UK members update their profiles.
The 2016 top ten buzzwords of UK marketers are:
1. Creative
2. Strategic
3. Motivated
4. Passionate
5. Track record
6. Enthusiastic
7. Driven
8. Successful
9. Innovative
10. Ambitious
LinkedIn’s Danielle Restivo, commented: “Social media offers marketers an incredible opportunity to connect and engage with their target audiences. And with 20 million professionals now on LinkedIn in the UK, marketers need to do all they can to make themselves stand out from the crowd.
“We wouldn’t describe ourselves as “motivated”, “driven” or “enthusiastic” in real life situations, so why do it on a LinkedIn profile? We’re encouraging marketers to show off achievements through photos, presentations and examples of other work to demonstrate how they are “passionate” or “creative” rather than use overused buzzwords.”
LinkedIn is encouraging marketing professionals to think about the terms and phrases they use in their profile summary, banish the buzzwords and take the time to rejuvenate their LinkedIn profile.
Here are some LinkedIn lessons for those looking to perfect their profile:
1. Stand out from the crowd: Your summary is the first thing people look at after your profile picture. You may know you’re capable of demonstrating ‘leadership’ with a ‘great track record’ but too many buzzwords make it hard for your profile to stand out. Use examples of your experience, focus on how you’ve demonstrated leadership with specific examples and highlight those great results with real numbers.
2. A picture’s worth a thousand words: Instead of saying you’re ‘creative’, why not show people by including presentations, design work and projects you take pride in? Remember, you’ve only got five to ten seconds to impress.
3. Share views and news: So you have ‘extensive experience and great communication skills’? Tell the world by publishing a post on LinkedIn. By offering your opinions on industry matters, you’re positioning yourself as a thought leader and sharing your knowledge.
4. Get to know people like you: If you want to show you are ‘motivated’ about succeeding in your industry, join a group. Share your thoughts on news or articles to show you care about the sector and widen your network. Members who are active in groups get 15x more profile views than members who don’t take part.
5. Recommend a friend: If you think someone’s ‘exceptional’, why not say it? Spend time writing meaningful recommendations using specific examples. Not only does this show you really know them, it also means they are more likely to return the favour. A couple of glowing recommendations are worth a hundred buzzwords.