Working with professional marketers, investors, and executives is one of the best ways to improve your business. But to ask the right questions and choose the right professionals, you’ll need to understand some marketing vocabulary. Here’s a little jargon to help you communicate more effectively.
A/B Testing – or split testing compares the effectiveness of two nearly identical campaigns. For example, how well does the ad perform if we change the title?
Analytics – report meaningful data. It could be the number of website views, clicks on a newsletter, or social media followers. Keep track of your Key Performance Indicators or KPIs regularly.
Bounce Rate – percent of website visitors who leave almost as soon as they arrive. In email analytics, this is the number of emails that didn’t go through.
Buyer Persona – fictionalized representation of an ideal client. Personas help marketers identify target audiences and help salespeople qualify leads.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) – is the number of website visitors or email subscribers who click deeper into your content. Someone who clicks a link in your email is closer to making a purchase, so you’ll want to know who they are so you can follow up.
Content – an individual piece of marketing or communication such as website copy, blog, email, video, or social media post. Sometimes content refers just to the written text portion of the piece.
Content Management System (CMS) – a user-friendly tool allowing non-website developers to add content to their websites, such as blogs. My favorite is WordPress. Their editor is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). WordPress also allows various admin levels, which helps you control who can edit the website, publish blogs, or create a draft that the admin has to approve.
Conversion – the process of a prospect becoming a customer. The conversion rate is often expressed as a percentage or ratio. The conversion rate could also be the number of people who move to the next step of the sales journey. For example, what percentage of visitors fill out the contact form on a given webpage?
Copy – the text of an ad.
Copywriting – the act of writing the text for an ad.
Cost Per Impression (CPI) – is often expressed as the cost per thousand impressions. Knowing this helps determine ad effectiveness.
Cost Per Lead (CPL) – is calculated by dividing the total cost of a campaign by the number of leads generated. CPL averages will vary significantly by industry. Knowing your CPL will help you determine how cost-effective the campaign was. It would be good to compare to the average for your industry to judge your marketing person’s effectiveness.
Call To Action (CTA) – the part of an ad or communication with the ask. This could be “click here” or “call now.” Don’t assume your audience will know what to do. Each ad should contain a CTA.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – software that keeps track of customer interactions. Salesforce is one example. If more than one salesperson assists the same customer, CRM allows the salesperson to see previous interactions and pick up where they left off.
Drip Marketing – slow and steady communication over time. Often via email.
Editorial Calendar – used by publications to plan the themes or types of content they will cover in each edition or time period. It is a valuable tool for marketing and communications professionals to ensure they cover their objectives and communicate the information customers, employees, and donors need. If you ask a magazine to publish your article, you’ll want to consult the editorial calendar first. If you choose the time that aligns with their calendar, you’re more likely to be published.
Engagement Rate – the amount of interaction with a piece of content often expressed as a percentage of total viewers. For example, how many people liked, shared, or commented on a social media post? Check the industry averages for your social network to see how your posts compare. If you’re not as engaging, you’re probably not sharing the content your audience wants.
Hashtag – used on social media, hashtags (#) keep track of conversation topics. Popular topics become trending topics garnering lots of attention. Being aware of trending topics can help your posts get attention.
Infographic – expresses data in a graphic format. Infographics make statistics more aesthetically pleasing and easier to interpret. They are often long, narrow images with text and icons. Pinterest is an excellent social network for infographics. You can make your own on piktochart.com or canva.com
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) – is a measurement important to the business. Choose KPIs that will show if you’re meeting your business goals.
Landing Page – a website page used for lead generation. This is where Pay Per Click (PPC) ads often direct traffic. An effective landing page will allow visitors to carry out the action suggested by the CTA.
Lead – a person or company interested in your product or service. Lead generation or lead-gen is the process of identifying, attracting, and converting prospects into customers.
Pay Per Click (PPC) – is the amount of money spent to get a click on a digital ad (or the name of the ad type itself). Google AdWords are PPC ads.
Retargeting – or remarketing is a way to give people who have already seen your communication another chance to purchase. Cookies or pixels may keep track of behaviors that indicate to marketers that there may be interest. (This is how that thing you Googled once suddenly shows up in all your newsfeeds.)
Return on Investment (ROI) – is a ratio of net income and net cost. How much did you spend on a campaign? How much did it generate in sales? Keeping track of your ROI will help you see where to allocate your marketing budget in the future. A positive ROI is a good thing!
Sales Funnel – or purchase funnel is the process of the customer journey. If someone is at the top of the funnel, they are at the awareness stage, getting to know your company. At the bottom of the funnel is someone very close to purchasing. They likely already know what they want and are just deciding on details. The content you share with your prospects will change as they move down the funnel. As you learn how to meet their needs, your content should be more focused and have clear calls to action.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – is improving a website’s visibility in search engine results. SEO can be done on the website or off.
Storytelling – telling real or imaginary stories in marketing. Storytelling is used in marketing to help the listener feel something. Stories are memorable. They improve visibility, profit, and impact. When marketers connect emotionally to customers, they’re more likely to purchase. Most of our purchases are emotional, not logical.
User-Generated Content (UGC) – is content from real people, not the marketing department. You want your visitors to post pictures and videos of your business! People trust UGC more than content that comes from the company directly.
Value Proposition, Unique Value Proposition (UVP), or Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – a statement or your positioning in the market that makes your company appealing. It could be sustainable practices, the fit of the clothes you sell, privacy protection, personalization, or an innovation.
Viral – a marketing or communication piece that circulates rapidly and widely. A viral tweet or video often takes off because it aligns with current trending topics, is started or picked up by someone of influence, or wins the virality lottery. A viral social media post can be excellent for a brand seeking attention.