Automation, algorithm, attribution, advertainment: anyone working in digital marketing will hear each of these words at least once every day. And we haven’t even got to the letter B yet.
Whether you’ve just started in the industry or are just looking for a neat list of definitions: we’ve got you covered. Let’s take a look at 9 of this year’s biggest digital marketing buzzwords – and get to the bottom of what they really mean.
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UX
Let’s kick off with the buzziest of buzzwords. Throughout the year, UX, or user experience, has entered the vocabulary of every single marketer. It’s a key part of customer-centric marketing, which is centred on providing customers with a positive experience before, during and after the sale as to encourage them to come back.
UX essentially stands for research. Research into what customers want and need, but also what they’re capable of when using, for example, an online shop. Ultimately, these insights, in combination with a brand’s business goals and objectives, are used to create the perfect buying experience.
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Customer journey
Though it may sound very similar to UX, customer journey is what we call the path of touchpoints a customer experiences before making a buying decision. The more often a customer makes contact with a brand, whether that’s through an online banner, a radio commercial or an e-mail newsletter, the likelier it is a customer will start trusting you. Now, that doesn’t mean we should all be stalking our audience, but rather that we have to think of ways to stand out and create a strong relationship with them before they make a purchase.
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Machine learning
The digital world is getting smarter every day, and the main reason we can be more and more efficient is that we’re leaving basic tasks up to machines. Think social campaigns, paid advertising, project management: computers can easily take on any task heavily informed by data analysis. Not to mention that they’ll probably do it quicker and better – and cost you a lot less energy!
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Attribution
Going back to touchpoints: attribution is the act of assigning advertising value to each brand experience leading up to a purchase. Many see it as the egg of Columbus, as it’s tricky to know exactly how much impact each individual experience has had – especially when also looking at offline activity. That said, technology is getting more and more developed, and knowing where to put your marketing dollars can have a significant impact on your overall revenue.
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Big data
This one’s pretty straightforward: big data stands for the huge data sets that are available to us – so huge that they can’t be dealt with using traditional data processing software, but instead need specialised analytics systems and software. Currently, big data sets are mostly used for predictive and user behaviour analytics.
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Omnichannel marketing
Not to confuse with multichannel marketing (which stands for the way that brands interact with their customers on a range of platforms), omnichannel marketing is the act of creating a seamless shopping experience for users, no matter what channel (mobile, tablet, desktop, or physical stores) they choose to use.
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Micro-influencer
We’ve all heard of influencer marketing, but with influencers becoming more and more famous, many brands can no longer afford to work with the biggest players in the field. And that’s where the micro-influencer comes in.
The micro-influencer has around 10,000 to 50,000 followers, which may not sound all that special, but what they do have is an audience that is very engaged. Micro-influencers are often active in a niche market and therefore have an audience that is very deeply connected to them.
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Retargeting
You know that moment when you’re searching for a pair of boots online, only to find them popping up in your Facebook feed 15 minutes later?
Now that’s what we call retargeting, also known as remarketing. Enabled by cookies, retargeting is a way of keeping your brand in the mind of users that viewed your products, but didn’t make a purchase.
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Chatbot
As we said earlier, machine learning and automation are increasingly taking over the world of marketing. Chatbots are an excellent example of this. They’re used to communicate with web visitors without needing an agent, but they also allow users to interact with an app without having to download the interface.
Bots can easily be added to messenger apps like Whatsapp or Slack so that users can have all their tools in one place. According to Smart Insights, using chatbots to automate customer communication can significantly boost engagement and revenue.
And there you have it. 9 of this year’s digital marketing buzzwords explained to you. What do you think? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to contact us!
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