10 More Handy Marketing Acronyms You Should Know
When you are navigating the marketing world as a small business owner it can be a bit intimidating. Acronyms get thrown around that you might have passing familiarity with, or can infer their general meaning from the conversation. But maybe you don’t honestly know for sure what it means.
We’re here to help!
Here are a few more common acronyms you’ll encounter when researching marketing programs, trends, and opportunities for your business. Sorted alphabetically for your convenience!
Want a few more? Check out last week’s post with our first 10 acronyms here!
CX - Customer Experience (See also UX in our third segment)
Definition: While the official definition may change from source to source, customer experience describes the intangibles of a brand or business, how they stand apart from other brands or businesses, and how they are perceived by the customer in person and across various branded marketing channels.
A Practical Example: For a great discussion on CX, check out this piece by UserTesting.com.
DM - Direct Mail + Direct Message
Definition: Direct Mail refers to targeted marketing collateral mailed to addresses and PO Boxes, aka “Junk Mail”. Direct Message is the act of sending private messages to other users on social media platforms.
A Practical Example: Anyone who has ever ordered something from The Bradford Exchange knows exactly what Direct Mail is: postcards, catalogs and other mailers galore! Once you are in their database, you’ll get a plethora of pieces mailed to you that match the themes and styles of previous products purchased. Direct Messages are the easiest way to reach out to another user on social media without having to post a public-facing message.
DMA - Designated Market Area
Definition: Designated Market Areas are specific geographic regions in the US that define specific advertising markets.
A Practical Example: The Nielsen Company shares the DMA rankings each year for 210 DMAs based on potential audience size. Media Tracks Communications gathered all of the data for 2019 and shared it here.
FPO - For Position/Placement Only
Definition: Commonly used for graphic and web design, FPO refers to any content that is incorporated into a drafted piece as a placeholder until the final components are in place.
A Practical Example: Have you ever looked at a template and noticed a strIng of latin text starting with “Lorem ipsum”? That’s because it’s been industry standard for printing and typesetting since the 1500s. Here’s a fun online resource if you need some FPO text for your next project!
GA - Google Analytics
Definition: Google Analytics is an in-depth marketing tool that provides key analytics about visitors to your website.
A Practical Example: No practical example here, just know if you have a website and you aren’t looking at analytics for it, you are missing out on incredibly valuable information about your website’s performance. This is a free service, and you can learn how to get started here.
GDN - Google Display Network
Definition: The Google Display Network is a tool that allows advertisers to place ads across the Google suite of platforms, targeting the right users at the right times.
A Practical Example: Have you ever noticed an ad on a website for a product or service you recently researched online? Chances are, it’s a targeted ad embedded in a site that is part of the GDN, and the business or brand is running a paid campaign to retarget users who have recently visited their site or searched keywords that match their campaign parameters.
KPI - Key Performance Indicator
Definition: KPIs are specific high-level and low-level measurable values that demonstrate how effectively a company is meeting their targeted objectives.
A Practical Example: Sample high level KPIs might include YoY (year over year) revenue growth and income sources. Low level KPIs pertain to a specific segment within the business, such as marketing’s funnel conversion rates and customer acquisition cost or human resources’ job offer acceptance rates.
PPC - Pay-per-Click
Definition: PPC refers to an advertising agreement wherein the advertiser pays a fee each time their ad is clicked.
A Practical Example: When you search for something online and you see sponsored content at the top of the results, these could be examples of PPC campaigns designed to get you to visit the promoted website instead of the top organic result.
QR Code - Quick-Response Barcode
Definition: QR Codes work in marketing similar to how barcodes work in retail sales. They are unique, scannable images that contain encoded information; and when scanned with a reader will open the appropriate app on the users device to view the content.
A Practical Example: For a fun read on interesting and unique ways to use QR Codes for your personal and professional needs, check out this blog post by Neil Patel.
RSS - Rich Site Summary
Definition: RSS is a type of web feed that allows users and applications to receive and compile updates in a standardized format, or feed reader, without the need to provide personal contact information.
A Practical Example: A popular RSS feed reader example is My Yahoo, which lets users customize their home page with all of the RSS content from across the web that is most important to them.
We’ll share more acronyms next week! If there’s one you’ve always been curious about that we haven’t covered yet, let us know in the comments below.
