As we all learned at an early age, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. But if we dive deeper, we find there are two categories of nouns: concrete vs. abstract nouns. A concrete noun can be identified by one of the five senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, touch). An abstract noun cannot.
Concrete nouns are things like water, cupcakes, a pair of jeans, or a tree, while abstract nouns include ideas like happiness, education, and bravery. Both types of nouns can be helpful in writing, but it’s important to know when each type can be helpful, especially in marketing.
Concrete nouns
Because of the nature of marketing content, most of the nouns you’ll use when writing for marketing will be concrete. You’ll most likely be talking about a product or a service, most of which can be identified by one of the five senses.
- Example: The stunning colors of this new makeup will make you swoon!
- Example: Chocolate-covered pretzels — the perfect combination of salty and sweet.
- Example: His newest song, out today, has a beautiful melody and a catchy beat.
- Example: This fabric is so soft, you’ll never want to wear anything else.
- Example: Cover any unpleasant odors with the fresh linen scent of our new air freshener!
Concrete nouns tell people what they’re getting. Paired with the right adjectives, concrete nouns can help the audience experience the product before they purchase it. Because they can experience it, they pay attention to your writing.
Abstract nouns
On the other hand, abstract nouns are trickier to implement in marketing copy because they are intangible. However, they can work to the seller’s advantage if used carefully. Abstract nouns like happiness, confidence, and other similar concepts can be used in marketing to sell an idea.
If you can convince your audience your product will help them achieve an abstract goal, that can be a selling point.
- Example: We don’t sell clothes — we sell confidence.
You can’t really sell confidence — it’s an abstract concept. But by suggesting their product is more than a piece of fabric to put on your body, the seller communicates that they can help the buyer with more than just the wardrobe.
On Old Spice’s website, it says “Smell Confident.” In this sense, “confident” is an adjective and not a noun, but the concept is the same. Confidence does not have a scent because it is abstract, but the marketing suggests that this is the product that will solve your confidence (or smell) issues.
So whether you’re selling clothes, candles, or chocolate-covered pretzels, think about how the nouns you use might look to your audience. Both concrete nouns and abstract nouns can be useful in marketing, but it depends on your marketing goal. Concrete nouns are more likely to attract your audience’s attention to what you’re selling, while abstract nouns can be used in more of an aspirational sense.
Get well-written, high-performing content developed for your business by talking to a content specialist at ClearVoice today.
