A Digital Marketing Glossary for Campaigners

Discussion about your digital campaign can often be overwhelmed with jargon and acronyms. In order to better understand and make decisions about it, you need to be able to decode what they all mean.

Here’s a rundown of some frequently used terms, what they mean and why they matter to you. This glossary is designed for both newcomers and experienced campaigners alike.

Core Concepts

• Copy: The written text used to persuade or inform. Often overlooked or emphasizing the wrong things, effective copy means putting the supporter first and selling the benefits, not the features.
• Conversion: When someone completes a desired action like signing up for email lists or making a donation.
• CTA (Call to Action): A prompt that encourages the audience to take a specific action (e.g., “Donate Now”). If your CTA isn’t prominent, clear, and action oriented, you may see fewer conversions.
• Funnel: The journey a person takes from first interaction to conversion, for example, a supporter may see a promoted post on Facebook, provide their email address, and then subsequently donate via a fundraising email. It’s essential that your campaign take into account the supporter’s journey through the funnel in order to drive more conversions.
• Engagement: Interactions like likes, shares, comments, or replies on social media platforms

Digital Marketing Acronyms

• CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of people who clicked a link out of those who saw it. This is the best indication you have of how compelling your call to action is whether in ads or email.
• CPC (Cost Per Click): The price paid for each click in a paid ad campaign. This is typically associated with advertising via Google Search or Facebook.
• CPM (Cost Per Mille): Cost per 1,000 impressions (views). This is how most digital media is priced.
• ROI (Return on Investment): This is a measure of what you put in versus what you get out. If the goal of your email program is to raise money, add up all of the costs and compare it to how much was raised to determine your ROI.
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Often pronounced as “row as,” this measures the revenue generated per dollar spent on ads.
• A/B Testing: Comparing two or more versions of something like an ad or email to see which performs better.

Email

• Open Rate: This is the percentage of people who opened an email. With recent changes by Google and Apple, open rates are artificially inflated and aren’t as reliable indicators of performance as they once were.
• Bounce Rate: In email, the bounce rate refers to the percentage of emails that were unable to be delivered to recipients and were returned by the server.
• Deliverability Rate: Deliverability measures what percentage of the emails were accepted by the recipients’ mail servers, that is, did not bounce.
• Inbox Placement Rate: This is an advanced metric not available on all email marketing platforms that measures what percentage of messages reached the inbox instead of the spam or junk folder.

Web

• Landing Page: A standalone web page designed for a specific action like signing a petition or making a donation.
• Bounce Rate: For websites, the bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a site who left without taking action.
• UX (User Experience): How users interact with and perceive your website. You want to make sure your supporters have a positive user experience when visiting your website on their mobile device, for example.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Optimizing content to rank higher in search results for Google.

Conclusion

Understanding these terms will help you become more informed about digital marketing strategies and campaign planning, but never hesitate to ask questions if you encounter unfamiliar terminology or metrics. Digital marketing is constantly evolving with new platforms, tools, and terminology emerging regularly, so even experienced campaigners may need clarification from time to time. Remember that the most effective campaigns focus less on jargon and more on connecting with supporters through clear, compelling communication.