Easy Introduction to Digital Marketing Terms and Definitions

A list of digital marketing terms that I have encountered and either unsure or have not idea of their meaning! I have either looked them up or asked someone for a definition and have documented them below. Where this is a web reference, it is provided. Hopefully this will provide useful to others as well.

A

Advertising mail or direct mail/ junk mail/ mail shot or admail/ letter box drop, or letterboxing – delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail.

C

Copy Writing – Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing.  The product is called copy or sales copy and is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting

Content Marketing – A type of marketing  that involves the creation and sharing of online material, such as videos, blogs, and social media posts, that does not explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services.

Content Marketing: A branch of marketing focused on creating content to capture the attention of potential customers. In the digital marketing space, content marketing can include blog articles, email campaigns, social media posts or videos, and much more.

D

Digital Advertising: Advertising (paid placements) on any digital platform. This can include social platforms like Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook as well as on search engines like Google or Bing and individual websites.

Direct Marketing – a form of communication an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a preselected customer and supply a method for a direct response.  Also known as direct response marketing.  Contrast: advertising is of a mass-message nature.

Digital Marketing: The segment of marketing which refers to any marketing initiatives performed in the digital landscape. Common types of digital marketing include email marketing, SEO, SEM, digital advertising, social media marketing, and content marketing among others. 

E

Email Marketing – Digital marketing strategy of sending emails to prospects and customers.  The idea is that effective marketing emails convert prospects into customers and turn one-time buyers into loyal, raving fans

I

Infographic:  A visual images such as a chart or diagram used to represent information or data

P

Prospect – a person regards as likely to succeed or as a potential customer, client etc.

S

Search engine marketing (SEM) – is a form of internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages primarily through paid advertising.

Search engine optimization (SEO)– is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic rather than direct traffic of paid traffic.  SEO for 2021  https://www.jeffbullas.com/seo-tips-for-beginners/

Social graphic/ social media graphic:  Graphics used for social media posts.

Social Media marketing – the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Terms like e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers.

Social media: a communication channel and not a marketing tactic.  Social media isn’t. a one way advertising medium but a channel for two way, or more, dialog.  It is much more akin to the telephone or email than to an ad medium such as tv or print.   https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/social-media-communications-channel-and-not-marketing-tactic

Search Engine Marketing: The act of promoting or selling products or services via search engines. This would include search engine optimization and any digital advertising through search engines, such as Google search ads and Microsoft advertising. This does not include other digital marketing types such as social media management or social media advertising.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A methodology used to improve a website’s performance in organic search results. At its core, this means helping search engines better understand a website’s contents and providing users a better experience.

Search Engine Optimizer (SEO): A person who practices SEO.

Social Media Marketing (SMM): A branch of digital marketing focused on marketing businesses on social media platforms using both paid and unpaid tactics.

Social Media Optimization (SMO): A branch of digital marketing focused on strategies and techniques used to effectively market a business on social media platforms. The art of social Media Optimization can include enhancing profile information, planning and posting organic content, engagement, and more.

W

White Hat SEO: Using approved SEO techniques and best practices to improve search rankings over time.

Website content development: process of researching, writing, gathering, organizing and editing information for publication on websites.  This may consist of prose, graphics, pictures, recording, movies or digital assets that could be distributed by a hypertext transfer protocol server and viewed by a web browser.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_content_development

References

Intigress, URL: Intigress.com/digital-marketing-glossary

Lani Haque
Lani Haque

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge. Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family. Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!

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