Bust that jargon: Video Marketing Examples #40

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How much jargon is there in your industry?

And what would it look like if you just...got rid of it?

One company that’s doing their best to get rid of jargon - in an industry that really needs it! - is the property portal website, Zoopla.

Anyone familiar with buying a house will know there’s a lot of jargon involved. 

Last year, Zoopla - seeking to change all this - created a series of ‘jargon buster’ animations, each one 13 seconds long (click on the images below to watch them). They break down complex, sometimes intimidating topics, like ‘Agreements in principle…’

...Covenants...

...Stamp duty holidays...

...Gazumping...

...Chains…

...and Interest-only mortgages...

...and these videos are as simple as it gets: pure text with basic visual elements, extremely simplified definitions, and no music or voiceover.

While they might be simple - the videos, combined, have been viewed over 1.6 million times in 12 months.

Zoopla’s commitment to plain English goes even further: the definitions themselves are lifted from their text-based jargon buster glossary, an online resource which plain-Englishifies pretty much every bit of housing-related doublespeak you could think of.

Even Zoopla’s own ‘legal’ documents - such as their privacy policy - have been praised for their readability.

The power of plain English

But why does this all matter?

Well, we know intuitively that jargon tends to be a turn-off for most audiences. But do we ever think about why?

As a consumer, if you don’t understand something, it’s a pretty powerless feeling. You’re overwhelmed. You’re starting from a position of weakness in which you have no choice but to lean on experts for help. 

(And clearly, there are commercial reasons why brands would still want this to be the case.)

But increasingly, brands are modernising. 

They’re realising that being the ‘straight-talker’ in the room builds trust.

Rather than using jargon, which makes brands sound pompous and self-important, they realise that using plain English opens things up and empowers their audience to take control of the experience.

And - as well as just being the ethically right thing to do - it’s an approach that differentiates your brand, and leads to meaningful, profitable long-term relationships. 

Feeling inspired?

So, on the back of all this, why not take a few minutes to...

Take a look at your website. Is there anything there that even 1% of your audience might not understand? A complicated word, an obscure acronym? Kill it - maybe try A/B testing it, and see what happens.

Ask yourself - if you created a series of 13 second videos - how could you use that time to help your audience understand something, while positioning your brand as an authority?

(And if you actually do decide to use video to demystify things - we’re just a button click away!)...