According to Wikipedia, a word cloud is defined as: “… [A] visual representation for text data, typically used to depict keyword metadata (tags) on websites, or to visualize free form text. Tags are usually single words, and the importance of each tag is shown with font size or color.” You may have seen a word cloud in recent coverage about the presidential debates or on a blog, but businesses can use them as well to attract and inform customers.

I recently read an article, “6 Fun and Interesting Ways Businesses Can Use Word Clouds,” that had some great tips, including:

1. Use your most popular corporate blog posts to develop a word cloud – This could show you what is most important for your readers and customers, but could also inform your priorities for next year’s planning or help you identify topics to address on the blog.
2. Pull copy from your company’s website and/or marketing materials to create a word cloud – Use it as your company’s Facebook cover photo or Twitter header image.
3. Conduct a survey of your customers and develop a word cloud from the responses – Share results by posting the image on your website or via social media. You could even identify word clouds based on positive feedback and constructive criticism to highlight the company’s strengths and areas for growth.

In addition to the tips above, consider other options for using a word cloud:

1. Poll your employees about their perceptions on company culture, performance, etc. – Share the results internally on an Intranet or company-wide email and communicate about plans to improve, evolve or continue employee programs.
2. Create a word cloud from your company’s vision and mission statements – Display it in the office to communicate them to guests in a fun and visual way.
3. Generate a word cloud from your customer list – For customers who have agreed to be named publicly, include the word cloud on your website and other marketing materials to show your customer roster in an interesting way.

Free word cloud tools are available from Wordle and Tagxedo. What creative ways have you used word clouds?