The Top Misused Words in PR
Ragan’s PR Daily published a post yesterday listing their top 10 words often misused in press releases.
Their list:
- Quality
- Unique
- Innovation
- Official
- Exclusive
- Breaking
- Never/ever
- Revolutionary
- Literally
- Social
I’d have to agree with most of those. It feels like every new product that is launched claims to be “revolutionary” or “innovative”, and “social” is without doubt one of the most abused terms right now. No, adding a “share” button to your site doesn’t make your product “social.”
Why stop at ten words, though? Here are a couple more words that PR people seem to butcher on a daily basis:
- Leading — It feels like every company claims to be the “leading” company in its industry. Most of the time the claim just isn’t true. Other times, they define their industry so narrowly that it’s accurate while still being meaningless. Once in a blue moon it’s realistic.I’m the leading red-haired digital PR guy sitting on my side of the Edelman Toronto office. It’s true. Also, no-one cares (sob).
- Ultimate — This one’s a personal peeve. If your new product is the ultimate product for the market, that means you’ll never need to release a follow-up, right? Oh, wait, you will? Guess it’s not so “ultimate” then. Sheesh.
What would you add to the list?
