There is a new fad in online marketing and it is not one I like or think is very beneficial. In fact, I really dislike it and I avoid anyone who uses it because I think it’s unprofessional, rude, lacks class, and is very objectionable. 

It’s the use of profanity in marketing. 

Now I am very old school when it comes to business. I started my career in the late 1970s at a time when we went to the office every day and dressed for business. For women that meant dresses or suits, stockings, and heels. Men always wore suits and ties and a white shirt. I worked in law firms where the dress code was very strict because clients were always visiting the office. I remember when they first introduced ‘casual Fridays’ and we were so excited even though that meant what would be called formal business casual today. 

If you used the kind of language in a professional setting that people use today you would be fired and it would be justified. Profanity has no place in the workplace and it should not be used in business settings, or online either. I think that level of professionalism is something we need to return to. And I will tell you why in this podcast.

I do not swear and I never have. It is just not part of my vocabulary. Maybe it’s because I met a woman when I was about 14 years old, the mother of one of my brother’s friends, who swore like a sailor. I had never heard language like that and she saw that it made me very uncomfortable.

She apologized for her language and told me that people who swore and used profanity didn’t have a very big vocabulary and they had to use swearing to fill in the gaps. Although she was probably joking I never forgot what she said and I vowed that I would never swear. I also have a very big vocabulary in 4 languages. 

Should you use profanity in your marketing? Is it ok to say that something is good AF? Should you spell out sh*t and then follow it with a little emoji? Not if you want my business. And I do not think I am alone. 

The rise in profanity has followed a rise in the lack of integrity in business marketing, from people who overstate income claims to those who scam their followers with outrageous claims of income potential from their products and programs, who market with sleaze and take your money with ease, the internet is a scammer’s paradise. 

It is getting better with time and I have been online since the late 1990s and have seen the wild west days. But the use of profanity is one area where we could use some improvement. 

Why is this an important issue for me? As I said I have an extensive background in different areas, law, technology, finance, as well as multiple business degrees. I have been in many professional settings, including the board rooms of some of the world’s top companies and biggest startups, and I have never heard profanity used in the office in any of those environments.

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