No matter the particular product or service you market, digital-marketing specific terms are likely to arise. Let’s take a lighthearted look at some of words I frequently hear that conjure up images sure to make your workday a bit more interesting.
Industry Jargon
Funnels – Mmmmm funnels, especially funnels from the Texas State Fair that are in cake format and sprinkled with massive amounts of powdered sugar. Alas, marketing funnels unfortunately do not involve delicious concession stand food, but rather are an idea around the consumer journey of awareness, research, and finally purchasing a product or service.
Deck – Typically a PowerPoint presentation for sales or information purposes, it is not nearly as much fun as lounging on a sun-drenched deck (that usually involves at least some burgers and lemonade at my house).
Drip campaigns – Drip, Drip, Drip… nope, not a method of water torture, nor a caffeinated beverage. Rather, drip campaigns in a marketing context are email blasts sent to consumers on a scheduled basis, and with a specific purpose.
Conversions – Did your consumer finally purchase your e-commerce product? Did they click to make an appointment? Did they perform a search for a location? Conversions can be defined in a myriad of ways, but ultimately, they do not entail a spiritual change.
Vanity URLs – These URLs have a serious narcissism issue. This self-important term refers to a web address that is branded for marketing purposes.
Activate – Time to start a project moving through the agency and various teams, though I always picture a Harry Potter wand waving over a laptop.
Ahh… and then there is the Agile method of working. This approach contains all SORTS of fun lingo! Let’s explore:
Rituals – No, not a religious ceremony, but a religiously followed face-to-face gathering in real time.
Scrum – Not to be confused with what you must scrape off your fish tank every week, this is a framework to support teams in complex project/product development.
Kanban board – Nope, this unfortunately is not a chessboard with candy bon-bons for pieces (have you picked up on my sweets addiction yet?). Rather, this system helps teams visualize workflow.
Sprint – So.much.sprinting: I’m out of breath! There’s a Sprint Backlog (forecast work) Sprint Goals (determine business problems to solve), Sprint Planning (decide what to tackle), Sprint Reviews (conclude the work), and Sprint Retrospectives (evaluate previous work period). All this Sprinting is aimed to accomplish a specific job in a set amount of time.
Chicken and Pigs – Such pleasantly smelling animals with which to illustrate a point! “In a ham-and-eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.”
Some lingo can vary from company to company, but in general, digital marketing industry jargon can certainly make for interesting conversation between colleagues! Do you have any terms that I didn’t mention here? Share in the comments below!
Author: Ashli Smick, Senior Account Supervisor
