10 Common Marketing Terms & Tactics

For those of you who are new to marketing or simply want a review of some of the most common vocabulary for digital marketing, this post of 10 commonly-used terms and tactics can help. 

1. Inbound Marketing: the opposite of outbound marketing - drawing users in with helpful, relevant content rather than having marketers go out to generate leads. This includes content (blogs, updates, video) that attracts customers and often nurtures them through the buying cycle. Read our posts on the topic, including the current State of Inbound or how ArcStone uses Inbound Marketing and HubSpot.

2. Audience Persona: a representation of a potential client / web user that is formed into a semi-fictional character, including demographics, patterns of behavior, motivations and what their typical day looks like. This allows you to better understand your users and create content that resonates with them. Read the first step of building a website: Know Your Audience or 9 Steps to Understanding Your User

3. Marketing Automation: software designed to help marketers more efficiently reach their audience. This often connects their multiple marketing systems (email, social media, websites, content) and automates outreach and engagement with users. Examples may include; automated email campaigns, social media publishing and landing pages. For an example piece of software read: Inbound Marketing, Hubspot & ArcStone

4. Email Marketing: marketing to a segment of contacts via email, using a commercial message that is written to gain the recipient as a client or follower. Read: Creating an Email Marketing Campaign in 5 Simple Steps

5. Usability Testing: testing to help determine how a user interacts with a site. This may be measured by learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors and satisfaction. The results are then used to improve the user experience, usability and design aesthetic of a web platform.

6. A/B Testing: a method of testing that shows which web page or feature performed best. This usually entails changing only one aspect of the page to see how it compares to the original page.

7. Content Outline: using the sitemap as a guide, a content outline is a document that lays out the content, headings, and images that need to be written for each page of the site. This helps a company or agency collaborate on the content during a website redesign.

8. Native Advertising: a form of online advertising in which the layout and design of the ad is seamlessly integrated with the website design. In this way, the ad looks and functions like other content, which keeps it feeling more natural. Examples of sites with native advertising include BringMeTheNews, Mashable and Huffington Post. Read: Native Advertising - More Effective & Less Disruptive

9. Retargeting / Remarketing: online ad placements and display ads that only appear if the user has visited your site. It is a form of advertising intended to drive users back to your site and stay in front of them.

10. Directories: a hub where websites are organized by category, usually put together by human reviewers rather than a computer algorithm. They usually link you to the main home page rather than various internal links of the site.

Bonus - Google Partner: Google’s program for advertising and marketing agencies and professionals. This allows a partner to join events and training sessions, gain access to industry research and certifications, find new clients, and become an “expert” through taking Google exams. Read: Why Hire a Google Partner to Manager You AdWords

Questions? Call or email us at ArcStone. If you want more help with marketing terms, take a look at Definitions of SEO & SEM.