At Axonn Media, we believe that content marketing should be simple. However, in reality, that’s not always the case. Marketing in general is an area littered with jargon, terms and phrases that might be perfectly clear to those in the know, but can be a major source of confusion for anyone outside the loop of insider knowledge.
As a result, content marketing can be a tricky space to navigate, sometimes with a language all of its own. However, understanding what these terms mean and how you can use them to enhance your own marketing efforts can prove highly beneficial.
So, if you’re new to content marketing, or are simply in need of a refresher around some of the common terms, then our helpful jargon buster could be just the thing you need to be conversing with the best of ’em.
Here are 12 common terms and phrases that you’re sure to come across:
1. Backlinks:
Also known as inbound or incoming links, these are links on external websites that point back to pages on your own site. They are a useful highlighter of a website’s popularity and will have an effect on search engine ranking.
2. Bounce Rate:
This is the percentage of visitors who enter your site, but then leave after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could be indicative of poor website structure or your pages not being relevant to the viewer.
3. Buyer Personas:
Buyer personas are a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customers. They represent the different types of individual you want your content and website to appeal to in order to boost sales.
4. Content Strategy:
Content strategy is the overarching plan of how you create, distribute and promote your content. It should be designed to maximise the reach of your content assets to your target audience.
5. Content Curation:
Content curation is the act of gathering information and resources around a specific topic or area of interest, usually with the intent of adding value. It can help to identify areas of your own content that need to be improved, optimised or added to in order to appeal to your target audience.
6. Earned Media:
Sometimes referred to as ‘free media’, earned media is publicity or engagement with your content that comes about through word of mouth or social sharing. It gains traction due to the quality of its design and high relevance to its audience.
7. Engagement:
Engagement refers to the ability of your content to capture the attention of your target audience and to persuade them to take action. It can relate to things like getting readers to comment on your blog or posts or to re-share content through their social media channels.
8. Evergreen Content:
Evergreen content is content that retains a high value to your audience over time and is therefore likely to witness prolonged levels of engagement. It is usual for this type of content to contain information that does not go out of date.
9. Influencer Marketing:
A form of social media marketing that sees your brand partner with a key ‘influencer’ or respected individual who has the ability to speak directly to your target audience. It acts as a way to bolster your brand identity through positive association.
10. PPC:
Pay-per-click, or PPC, sees brands pay search engines or publishers to host their content in order to drive traffic to their own website. Businesses must make a payment every time their ad is clicked on.
11. SEO:
Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the actions that can be undertaken to optimise your website to perform well in search rankings. A strong focus on SEO should, in theory, help to improve website visibility.
12. Thought Leadership:
Thought leadership relates to the ability of your business to develop a strong reputation for being an authoritative voice in your industry. This is achieved through the creation of high-quality, original content that meets the specific needs of your customers/audience.
So, there you have it…
As you can probably tell, this is by no means a definitive list of all the jargon and terms you’ll encounter, but by understanding the basics and getting to grips with the common terms in our industry, you’ll be all the wiser and better equipped to truly make the most of your content marketing efforts.
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