Marketing is well known for its use of industry jargon. We just love abbreviating and shortening words, making it almost impossible for anyone who isn’t ‘in the know’ to understand what is being said.

However, fear not, as we here at JTN have decided to break the fourth wall and decipher all those pesky acronyms and abbreviations. Think of this blog as a sort of manual or dictionary to have on hand whenever you’re having a conversation or reading about marketing in the future.

Definitions…

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

A strategy to optimize your website’s standing on search engines, like Google, Bing etc. This is done through the use of carefully chosen and positioned words and phrases on your website that relate to your product or service.

SEM – Search Engine Marketing

SEM targets users of search engines, through paid advertising links in search results, as well as using organic search to direct targeted traffic to your website.

CRM System – Client Relationship Management system

A database that allows you to manage your firms’ client relationships in one place. A CRM system helps you increase profitability and build relationships with prospects. It enables you to follow the interaction of an individual prospect or client, from the first point of contact to the present day. Giving an insight and understanding of the kind of relationship they have with your firm.

There are many different CRM systems available, so finding the right one for your firm is important.

Email Campaigns – Broadcast emails sent out to a data list, often via a CRM* system.

Email campaigns consist of a collection of emails, designed to be sent to new contacts that sign up to your website or show interest in your firm. The emails are created specifically to warm the contact to your firm before getting in touch with them in a more direct fashion. It can also be used to promote a specific service or event etc.

Bounce – When an email doesn’t deliver. This can be either a ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ bounce.

Often when an inbox is full, an email will soft bounce, this means the message gets as far as the recipient’s mail server but is ‘sent back’ undelivered. Having a bad data list, with fake or expired email addresses on it that are permanently unable to receive messages, is an example of a hard bounce.

Organic Social Media – Free advertising on social media

Unpaid-for posts, tweets and messages through any social media platform. Sometimes to promote your product or services.

Lead Magnets – Free content offered in exchange for contact information

A lead magnet provides information (copy) on a specific topic in exchange for the contact details of those who are interested in reading on that topic.

CTA – Call To Action

Something that entices a reader to take action, such as signing up for a newsletter, downloading a lead magnet, registering for an event etc. Ideally, the CTA will require the reader to provide some sort of contact information for the sake of collecting lead information. When writing a content piece of any size it is important to always end it with a CTA.

CTR – Click-Through Rate

CTR measures the amount of clicks you’ve gained when sending out a communication, such as an email. It’s important to pay attention to the success and failure of every customer-facing communications in order to ensure that you’re constantly creating the best content for your prospects. Keep doing what goes well and stop doing what doesn’t.

CPC / PPC – Cost Per Click / Pay Per Click

An online advertising model, where the advertiser pays the publisher a sum of money each time their ad is clicked on, taking a prospect through to the advertisers website or promoted page.

SMM – Social Media Marketing

SMM encompasses all general techniques used to gain traffic and or attention to a firms’ social media account. This is often achieved by posting shareable content, encouraging feedback and establishing a presence online.

Analytics – A summary of the results and measurable data from social posts (both organic and paid) email campaigns, online ads, website traffic etc…

In marketing, one of the most important things to do is measure analytics and monitor results. It is sometimes the only way to monitor the success of campaigns, posts and emails etc.

If you have any words or abbreviations that you don’t know, leave them in the comments below and we can give you the answers!

If all this talk of technical words and jargon has inspired you to work more on your firms’ marketing, have a look at our guide on how best to grow your firm and attract new clients. Or, get in touch, a member of our executive team will be happy to chat through any marketing strategies your firm is trying or wishes to try.