Marketing Buzzwords Explained

I think it’s really funny when people use marketing jargon or industry jargon in general for that matter. I just want to scream, “No one understands you!” With marketing jargon, marketing professionals likely don’t understand it, let alone people with no marketing experience. I think people try to use buzzwords to make it look like they know something that someone else doesn’t. Also, buzzwords change all the time. It’s easy to get confused, so let’s break down what the latest jargon means.

Content marketing: This has been a top buzzword for a while. The actual definition of content marketing is “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.” Very few people would understand what that means if you read that definition to them, but content is actually very simple: it’s just words! You use words for everything—your verbal communication, social media, and your website. Content marketing is basically providing valuable or relevant information, rather than traditional marketing messaging, to your clients.

“Content marketing” is more self-defining because it can be used across so many different vehicles. It’s commonly done in list form, like “Top 10 Tips to Reinvigorate your Marketing” or “How to Draft the Perfect Blog Post.” Instead of pitching your services, you’re providing the audience with information on a topic that you’re experienced in and, more importantly, your clients find value in. It boosts your credibility and solidifies your place as a thought leader in your industry. Content marketing can be in the form of a book, a video, a podcast, an article—nearly any form of media.

Marketing automation: This buzzword refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations to automate repetitive tasks so they can more effectively market on multiple digital channels, such as email and social media. Although there are many ways this term is used in different contexts, marketing automation is really just a system that can help you get more impressions and potential clients.

One of the best ways marketing automation was described to me was to think of it like a plant. After you plant the seed, you need to use the right fertilizer, make sure it has enough water and light, and ensure that it’s trimmed properly. If you don’t do all these things, your plant isn’t going to grow.  It’s a similar scenario with a prospective client: you can’t just plant the seed and hope that it works. Marketing automation allows you to think about potential customers from a full-circle perspective and figure out what they need from start to finish to become a client.

Content curation:  Content curation is the process of sorting through the vast amount of content on the web and presenting it in a meaningful and organized way around a specific theme. It involves sifting, sorting, arranging, and publishing information you find from other sources. What does that mean? It’s the same concept as when you share a video on Facebook or email an article to a friend because you find it useful or intriguing. Basically, instead of creating your own original content, content curation is re-sharing interesting content from another website or organization, whether it is an article in the Wall Street Journal or a tweet.

It can be a really useful strategy for marketing departments and organizations that don’t have the time to produce original content regularly. It allows you to take advantage of the news and repurpose it to show that you’re thinking about that topic. And you don’t always have to agree with the content you share—you can use it as a way to add your own angle or opinion. It shows that you’re on top of the latest industry trends.

Anyone else have a marketing buzzword you don’t understand? Let us know and we will add it to our list.

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