Hello again! It's lyss.c, the intern at Synecore Tech. They let me share my tips on social media a couple of weeks ago, and well, since I didn't cause a fiery mess, they're letting me spew my two cents again - luck you! I've got to say; I've learned a lot at this desk in the past month and a half (I know, I actually have a desk!). When I arrived on SyneCore's doorstep on June 3, I was a little digital marketing baby; I didn't know Responsive Web Design from Rear Wheel Drive. But hey, I didn't cry (a lot) and I could feed myself, so they let me in the door.
I am proud to announce that I now know what RWD is, but to tell you the truth, that was one of the most difficult aspects of starting in the marketing industry: keeping track of the amount of acronyms being thrown around the office. I know SyneCore is no exception to any other marketing agency, as it's natural for industries to adopt their own lingo and language in order to quickly communicate with each other (and if you ask me, it's an attempt to be exclusive. You know, to overcompensate for the nerd days in high school and such).
Concluding that I needed to be able to understand what the hell everyone was talking about and I, who was also of the nerd variety in high school, wanted to sound cool, too, I started learning these crazy 'lil acronyms. In a selfless effort to educate my fellow interns in the marketing world, I've compiled a list of the acronyms I've encountered thus far. And for all of you marketing professionals - I won't tell if you want a quick review session, too.
So, grab that over-priced coffee, put on your plaid, and start making flashcards - oh, excuse me - grab your iPad: it's time for your induction into the popular group:
B2B: Business-to-business; not a bed and breakfast, unfortunately. Rather, it refers to companies that work with other businesses or transactions between businesses.
B2C: Business-to-consumer; conversely, this refers to companies that are consumer facing. #shocker
CPA: Cost-per-action; refers to a type of online advertising where the advertiser is only charged for a specific action (form submission, purchase, ect.) that results from the ad. (You can stop holding your breath - it's not an accounting license. This is marketing. Sheesh.)
CPC: Cost-per-click; sometimes confused with PPC, CPC refers to the measurement of the cost of an online ad based on the number of clicks.
CPL: Cost-per-lead; although quite similar to CPA (cost-per-action), CPL refers to the measurement of the cost of the acquisition of customers' contact information, which can be used in lead nurturing campaigns.
CTA: Call-to-action; refers to a message that attempts to persuade the consumer to perform the desired action. You can see an example of one at bottom of our blog posts.
CTR: Click-through-rate; refers to the average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, which is expressed as a percentage.
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language; you know, that crazy language coders use. If you want to be a badass, you can start teaching yourself to code through servicea like Code Academy.
HTTPS: Ooo I so know this one! I, like, totally see it in my search bar! Ah, you go girl! It stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer, which is used for safe Internet browsing.
PPL: Pay-per-lead; refers to an online advertising model where payment is based solely on the number of leads.
PPC: Pay-per-click; refers to an online advertising model where payment is based solely on the number of click-throughs.
ROI: Return on Investment; the bottom line's what counts, right?
RSS: Really Simple Syndication; I'm serious. Ok, well kinda. It's been dubbed this "simple" name, but its formal name is Rich Site Summary. An RSS feed is a group of web feeds that allow you to syndicate such content as blogs. Synecore uses an RSS feed to syndicate our posts on "Marketing Technology Growth" to sites such as Business2Community and Social Media Today.
SEM: Search engine marketing; a marketing strategy based on SEO principles.
SEO: Search engine optimization; my simple take? Optimizing your web content to be found by those Google spiders. (Err-body uses Google, right?)
SERP: Search engine results page; so when you search for Taco Bell locations at 2:24 a.m., the SERP is what shows up.
SMB: Small-to-medium business; you go little guys, you go.
SMM: Social Media Marketing; get this - social media is not just for stalking the Kardashians.
Got that all down? Now, young-ones, grab a PBR and start studying, and may the odds be eve-
Sorry, I just can't deal with the irony. Eh, just good luck to you.
Note: Marketing Terms was used as a reference for this post.