Why is it Not Okay to Use Slangs in Your Content?
Slang words may seem like a more natural way to talk in today’s time. Some words created by us are attractive to hear and use in our daily lives. But when it comes to content creation, the use of slang words is a big NO-NO, and that’s what any content writing agency in India would stand by. Why? Because there are a couple of downsides of including slang language in blogs, newsletters, emails, and other types of content. Listed below are a few of those drawbacks.
Image source: canva.com
Leads to Misinterpretation
Just because you know a slang doesn’t mean that your target audience will know those words too. Some people may have read or heard those words in their lives but may not know what they mean. By merely looking at the spelling of the words or considering the pronunciation, your readers may assume what the words mean.
For example, barbi or barbie (British slang for barbeque) may be taken for Barbie dolls.
In most cases, these assumptions will be wrong. This is how assumptions will lead to misinterpretation of the information you try to communicate through your content.
Another way how the use of slang can lead to misinterpretation is that some readers may comprehend the actual meaning of the words. Let’s say that you are describing a restaurant in your blog and use a sentence “the interiors of XYZ restaurant is super cool!” Although you are trying to say that the interiors are fantastic, your reader may end up thinking that it’s too cold inside the restaurant.
Nobody Understands!
Misunderstanding isn’t the only issue that can be created if your readers aren’t aware of the slang words you use. When you use slang words in your content, the piece may look like a foreign language to your readers. And for people who don’t assume anything out of your content may simply end up losing track of what you are trying to communicate. People may leave the blog or close the email that includes slang language. This will obviously work in contradiction to your motive, whether it is educating people or converting targets into clients.
Looks Informal
There’s a big reason why it is NOT okay to use slang language in your content. Any reputed content writing agency in India will recommend you to restrict the use of slang words to chat with friends because otherwise, it may simply seem informal and inappropriate. Suppose you are writing a product description; you just can’t say the product is “crazy” or “dope.” The reader may be clueless. Likewise, if you are a medical practitioner or the one running a large technology company, you can’t use any casual slang words for any type of content for them.
May Offend People
Sometimes, some words may simply offend people. Slang words like “Nigga” may have a casual essence to them, but your readers may find them racist and offensive. And if you think that offending your readers won’t cause any harm to you apart from losing a few potential clients, then you are sadly mistaken. Your readers may get excessively offended and “mad” and sue your organisation for creating content that hurts sentiments of a large chunk of mass. Hence, be mindful of the words you use and ensure that none of your content should hurt anyone.
You Won’t Rank
Using slang words impacts the search engine optimisation of your website or blog as well. The explanation is easy. Slang language is something created by we humans. Google and other search engines may not understand the essence of your slang words and will only consider the true meaning of the words you use (go back to the example of “cool”). When you use slang words as keywords or anchor texts for your hyperlinks, you aren’t really giving any valuable information to the search engines. Search engines will fail to understand what your content is about, and hence, your content won’t be indexed the way you want it to. Hence, no content writing agency in India will use slang words unless they are required.
You did, right?
Source: https://media.giphy.com/media/3og0IDuJ7OnLSUJybS/source.gif
It’s best to stay clear of ambiguous language, which is most often one of the pitfalls of slang. When writing for a reader, try and avoid it as far as possible, unless that particular style of writing is required. You can also outsource content creation to a content writing agency in India who has been creating quality content for a considerable time now. The agency will understand what you are looking for, what you plan to achieve through your content, the essence of your business and create the best content based, using the language that aligns with your business.
