Marketing jargon buster

One of the most powerful things we have in the world is words. The right words, written simply and conveying a clear message, makes the difference between reaching people or not. Yet in the world of marketing and communications, jargon and acronyms abound.

It is very frustrating for someone who doesn't have a degree in jargon - I have had to learn it and then teach myself to forget it, in a sense.

To help others navigate the jargon-packed world of marketing, here's my jargon buster. I could have written more, but I have stuck to the terms that I am often asked about...

A/B testing

This is simply testing version 'A' of something against version 'B' of something - whether a website landing page, an email header or a social media advert. It can also be called split-testing.

KPIs

Key Performance Indicators. This is a measurable value that you can monitor to see how well you are doing. Always needed for effective evaluation.

ROI

Return on Investment. This measures how much profit you make in relation to any money you put into your marketing.

B2B

Business to business marketing. Used for companies who sell or promote themselves to other companies.

B2C

Business to customer marketing. Used for companies who sell or promote themselves to individuals.

Brand equity

This is used to describe the value or worth of a brand that is well known. For example, Coca-Cola has brand equity as it is very famous - this means it can make more money.

CTA

Call to Action. This is what you would like your audience to do - i.e. 'Shop now' or 'Discover more'.

DPS

Double page spread. This is used in advertising, and refers to the size of the advert.

Demographic

Demographics are statistical data relating to people - for example, their age, religion or gender.

Automation

Automation is simply a process that you can put in place to help with regular tasks. For example, it is used often for general marketing activities such as sending a welcome email to a new subscriber.

Omnichannel

This is when your marketing reaches people as they use various channels so they have a 'seamless' experience. For example, if you have a physical shop you will replicate the experience of visiting that shop on your e-commerce store, when people search on their mobiles for you and on your social media channels.

UGC

User Generated Content. This is anything (blogs, tweets, forum entries, recommendations) that has been posted by your audience members.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation. This is any activity that aims to improve search engine rankings - the better the SEO on your web pages, the higher they will rank on search engines like Google or Bing.

I hope you find this useful and if you would like any support with your marketing, please do get in touch.

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