The Social Media Dictionary: The Marketing 101 Edition

The “The Social Media Dictionary: The Marketing 101 Edition” may be an intimidating title to read, but let me assure you it is even more daunting to write.

The first draft of this dictionary contained some 87 definitions of words I considered to be highly important for all marketing professionals to know.

However, when I started typing out what would have been a 10,000 word epic saga, I realised that neither I nor you would ever make it to the end of the list.

So I have narrowed it down to 18 essential terms you must ultimately know if you want to succeed in the marketing industry.  

Analytics – Analytics is the gathering of meaningful data patterns, understanding and presenting them in a manner you can comprehend. Whether it is Google Analytics or social media insights, any information about how consumers interact with a business online can help to better market towards them. 

Behavioural Targeting – A marketing method which targets online consumers based on their past behaviour. Looking at past behaviour can help craft more relevant and more engaging content. This strategy can improve over time as a business begins to more closely analyse a segment and gain better understanding of their actions.

Click Through Rate (CTR) – The percentage of people who click on your link compared to the total amount of people who were exposed to it. A marketer can do a number of things to affect this rate such as target a particular segment or demographic, use bright colours, eye catching imagery or keywords that resonate with consumers.

Consumer Behaviour – The study of a person, groups or organisations in relation to consumption of goods or services. This area of marketing looks at how different factors such as age, social status, personality, geographic location, and culture can affect purchasing decisions. In today’s online marketing environment the consumer often has lots of choice so companies must be keenly aware of who their customer is and how they behave, to best create popular products or services.

Demographic – A section or portion of the population. It can be selected based on age, gender, sexuality or occupation just to name a few. Understanding your product’s key demographic is critical when it comes to engaging them on social media. For example if an organisation wants to target a 15-25 age demographic then they would choose to use Instagram or Snapchat over LinkedIn. 

Electronic Marketplace – An online website or service which allows two parties to conduct business with each other. In 2018 Amazon is a giant in this industry, allowing consumers to connect with businesses all over the world, selling everything from jet skis to curling irons. 

Engagement – Is the amount of interaction with your post through likes, shares or comments. This is an important statistic when looking at Facebook and other forms of social media as it clearly shows which pieces of content have drawn enough interest to make your audience take action. 

Guerrilla Marketing – The use of unusual methods to promote a product or service. This often involves inventive and unconventional activities in public spaces to establish direct contact with the customer. Flash mobs such as the one below are a perfect example. This method can be a low budget but highly effect approach if done correctly.

Impressions – Occurs each time a consumer is exposed to an advertisement. While large amounts of impressions are a good start, they are of little use if consumers are not clicking on the link or content.

Internal Marketing – Advertising of a brand’s values and policies to it’s internal stakeholders, namely its employees. This includes training modules, encouraging employee input, and prioritising employee benefits or wellness initiatives. 

Marketing Mix – An important marketing model, which can help reach marketing objectives. This mix is broken down into the 4 P’s: place, price, promotion and product. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – A theory which ranks an individual’s basic needs in order of priority. The most basic needs must first be satisfied before any additional desires can be pursued. The order of priority is: 1. physiological (food, water and shelter); 2. safety; 3. belongingness and love; 4. esteem (feelings of achievement); and 5. self-actualisation (reaching one’s full potential). Marketers should understand the level of needs their target market has attained in order to make sure their campaigns address the needs being sought by their consumers.

Metadata – Underlying data, which when used in conjunction with other pieces of data can form additional information about patterns or trends in behaviour.

Qualitative and Quantitative Research – Scientific methods of research encompassing both numerical data (quantitative) and non-numerical data (qualitative). Quantitative research helps marketers to recognise trends in the data. Qualitative research explains consumers’ reasons for their decisions and actions. Both are valuable sources of information, which can help a business in forming their direction and improving their sales.

Search Engine Optimisation – A strategy used to increase the number of visits to a business’ webpage as a result of organic searches on platforms such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. The increased traffic to the business’ website is the result of increased visibility, for example, through the use of keywords, or links to the website through other webpages. 

SWOT Analysis – A strategic marketing technique used to clearly identify the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of a business or project. This can offer a clear and objective view of a business or its competitors to gain a competitive advantage. 

Target Audience – The segment or demographic that is most likely to engage with your service or product. It is imperative that you understand who this segment is, to effectively market to them.

Viral Marketing – A marketing campaign that spreads rapidly through user to user transmission, making social media the perfect vector. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is perhaps the most famous of these and got many celebrities involved including Kermit the frog. This campaign raised over $200 million and accrued over 2 billion views on YouTube alone.

So that’s my top 18 definitions. The list of terms you need to not only be familiar with but also intimately understand, does not end there. Feel free to offer up suggestions for the next instalment, or check out our other Social Media Definitions.