Do you often turn the corner to find your co-worker is MIA even though they said they’d BRB? Do you feel like you’re AAK after a busy weekend? Do you want to use text acronyms to communicate with coworkers but have worries that they might be NSFW? If you’re unsure when and how to use text abbreviations in a business setting, the following guide can help.
What Are Texting Acronyms?
A texting acronym is a type of abbreviation that shortens a phrase by using the first letter of each word. SMS, for example, is an acronym for short message service. SMS acronyms have been around almost as long as texting, since early keyboards required multiple taps to write a single letter. To speed up the texting process, users had to be creative in writing and sending messages.
While you may hear or use acronyms or abbreviations interchangeably, there is a difference in form between the two. Abbreviations are the first few letters of a word. Acronyms, however, use the first letters of the word in a phrase. For example, Prof. is an abbreviation for professor, while USA is an acronym for the United States of America.
Today, acronyms are common in almost all written communications to save time. They are especially common in social media postings, as many platforms have character limits for comments and captions.
Why You Should Use Texting Acronyms
Today’s business communication is much different than the practices of even five years ago, as more workplaces allow texting acronyms and emojis. While this change is part of brands adjusting to meet their target audience, it’s also widely seen internally through business correspondence such as:
- Conversations in team chat apps
- Emails
- Presentations
- Promotional material
- Social media posts
Using texting acronyms offers many benefits for businesses beyond saving time. For example, acronyms can help your business connect and communicate in less formal and meaningful ways.
Common SMS Acronyms for Business Situations
Some common acronyms for SMS you can use in any business situation include:
- AA: As Above
- AATK: Always at the keyboard
- B2B: Business-to-business
- B2C: Business-to-consumer
- BAU: Business as usual
- BRB: Be right back
- BYOC: Bring your own computer
- BYOD: Bring your own device
- C2C: Customer to customer
- COB: Close of business
- DND: Do not disturb
- F2F: Face to face
- KPI: Key performance indicator
- MGMT: Management
- NSFW: Not safe for work
- OOO: Out of office
- PTO: Paid time off
- RFP: Request for proposal
- SMB: Small to midsize business
- SME: Subject matter expert
- TYT: Take Your Time
- VAT: Value added tax
- WDYM: What do you mean
- WFH: Work from home
- WIP: Work in progress
Do’s and Don’ts for Business Text Acronyms
While business texting acronyms are more common, there are still some do’s and don’ts to follow to ensure you use them appropriately. Some do’s to follow include:
Do Pay Attention to Who Your Audience Is
Whether you’re in charge of the marketing strategy for a beauty brand that uses an informal voice or a beverage brand that uses academic-level writing, the first step is always to understand your audience. Since acronyms and abbreviations are informal or semi-formal methods of communication, you will want to pay attention to which kinds and how many acronyms you use based on your audience.
For example, if you are writing an email to a senior team member, you may want to avoid using acronyms entirely or stick to some of the most well-known ones, such as EOD (end of day). Conversely, acronyms are vital if you are writing a caption on social media. Audiences on social media are generally more familiar with acronyms, which makes your messaging more relevant.
Do Keep It Professional
Regardless of where you communicate, it’s important to remember you are still at work and keep it professional. A good rule of thumb in more professional communications is to use a small number of acronyms, and if you do use them, they should be familiar and well-known. If there is a chance the acronym has another meaning, it’s best not to use it at all.
Do Pay Attention to Spelling
While acronyms are a great way to save time, one tiny typo can cause an entirely different meaning. For example, if you type COD instead of COB, the meaning changes to cash on delivery instead of close of business. Make sure you double-check all acronyms before hitting send on any message.
Some don’ts to follow include:
Don’t Overuse Acronyms
Acronyms, like industry jargon, are best when you use them sparingly. Using them too much can confuse or alienate your audience. Regardless of your target audience, it can quickly get confusing if every other word is an acronym, especially if you use too many niche acronyms.
To ensure your messages are safe and easily understandable, use only one or two well-known and accepted acronyms. This limited number allows you to achieve your communication goal without overwhelming your readers.
Don’t Blindly Follow Trends
People often want to appear cool by incorporating the newest acronyms into their messages. While using slang may be effective if you’re a social media manager, for the rest of us, it can look like you’re trying too hard and can quickly become unprofessional or offensive if you try to incorporate slang.
Trends are also incredibly subjective, making it even more difficult to follow them correctly. By sticking to common business acronyms, you can feel confident you’re always getting the right message across to your audience.
Don’t Abbreviate Words of Appreciation
Never abbreviate words of kindness, common courtesy and gratitude. Abbreviations like TY are not as sincere as a full thank you. No matter how little time you have, it’s important to take an additional minute to express your appreciation and gratitude. This small gesture goes a long way in strengthening customer and team relationships.
Turn to Red Oxygen for Your Office’s SMS Solutions Today!
Effective communication is vital for any business, regardless of its industry. At Red Oxygen, we offer a variety of SMS solutions so all team members can quickly and efficiently communicate with one another. Whether your team communicates constantly or only to get feedback, our systems are user-friendly and feature a streamlined interface. We also offer customized SMS solutions if your company has specific communication preferences.
If you’re ready to enhance your team’s communication systems, we invite you to request a demo with one of our SMS experts online today!
