25 industry terms to add to your communications dictionary

 

Boosting brand recall, CTA and CTR, making a splash with a news blast. 

 

If these terms leave you seeing stars, you may need to update your comms dictionary. To get you started, here are 25 terms frequently tossed around in the PR and Marketing world, and at SOCIATE’s office.

 

Advertising – You’re probably familiar with traditional advertising so let’s discuss social media advertising and Google Ads. Social media advertising allows you to reach your target audience using sophisticated targeted tools. You can zero in on your audience’s gender, location, age group, and preferences. Google Ads place your advertisement on the search engine and on other platforms too.

 

Advertising Cost Value – This is a measure of the difference in cost between paying for advertising space and “earning” an equivalent editorial piece. 

 

Brand recall – This can also be called Brand Awareness. It’s how memorable your brand is and how quickly your audience can recall your brand when exposed to elements related to it. For example, let’s say you run a gourmet chocolate boutique. Your brand recall is on point if your audience thinks of you when they think of artisanal chocolate, luxury gifts, and sweet treats.

 

Boosted post – This is a type of social media ad. You can financially invest in a chosen social media post, target the audience you would like it to reach, and with the right CTA (see below), turn impressions into sales.

 

Boilerplate – This is a handy industry term to hold onto. A boilerplate is a brief blurb about your brand, product, or service that is placed at the end of every press release. It’s a bite-sized summary of your business that the media can refer to if they need a quick idea about who you are and what you offer.

 

Coverage – This refers to exposure achieved through PR efforts. Coverage comes in various forms – it could be a brand being added to a website’s list, a full-page feature, a podcast interview, or an opinion piece in a magazine.

 

Content calendar – A social media content calendar is a collection of organised posts, captions, and hashtags. You can manually create one using Google Slides and Microsoft Powerpoint or use an app. Apps like Hootsuite allow for greater flexibility and the option to schedule your posts in advance.

 

Click-through rate (CTR) – This is an insight that allows a Marketing specialist to measure the success of an email or advertising campaign. It measures the number of clicks an email or social media ad has received.

 

Call to action (CTA) – This is basically what you have asked your audience to do. A CTA can be anything from a call for donations to a request to follow your social media page, visit your website, or order your product. It’s important to use CTAs in your Marketing content as it turns attention into action.

 

Ducks In A Row – This is a common term used in the world of business and marketing but it has a special meaning here at SOCIATE. Having your Ducks In A Row refers to streamlining your communications strategy by aligning your PR, marketing, design, and events with our services.

 

Embargoed press release – Let’s say you have some exciting news to share but it can only be shared after a certain date. You also know that the media needs to be briefed as soon as possible so your news can secure a spot in their publication. How do you get around this tricky situation? With an embargoed press release, of course. An embargoed press release gets your news in the media’s inbox and informs them that it can only be published after a certain date.

 

Earned media – This refers to press coverage. Any mention of your brand in the media, that has not been paid for, is considered earned media.

 

Hashtag – Hashtags are a way of pinning your posts to the social media map. Depending on the hashtags you choose, your posts make their way onto a separate page, and increases their chances of being discovered by viewers outside of your existing audience. A hashtag can also enrich your brand’s identity – to do this, simply create a unique brand-relevant hashtag. For example: #SOCIATE

 

Ideation – To put it simply, it’s a brainstorming session. Given how creative the PR and Marketing industries are, an Ideation session brings everyone together to discuss goals and ideas, and gets their creative juices flowing.

 

Movember – A calendar highlight in the Marketing world. Movember is an annual event that sees men growing out their moustaches in support of and to spread awareness about men’s health issues. It takes place in November and sees brands get creative with charity drives, creative offers, and more.

 

News blast – The little sibling of a press release. A news blast is a micro press release to communicate quick updates from your marketing calendar. 

 

Paid media – This can also be called an Advertorial. Paid media can be a traditional advertisement or lie somewhere in between an ad and an editorial piece. It’s a sponsored placement in a publication or on broadcast media.

 

Press kit – This is also called a Media Kit. A press kit is a folder fitted out with everything the media will want to know about your brand. This includes high-res pictures of your products and spokesperson(s), an archive of all your press releases, your spokesperson’s biography, and marketing collateral. 

 

Press release – A press release is a client-approved statement that is released to select media. This is used to communicate newsworthy information about your brand. This could range from a press release about your brand’s quirky interiors, the story behind where your restaurant sources its ingredients from, what makes your product special or a roundup of your monthly events. 

 

Raw file – If you have a designer on your team, you’ve probably heard this term before. A raw file refers to an image that has not been edited yet.

 

Shadowbanned – Avid Instagram and TikTok users will want to avoid this. Shadowbans occur when you violate Instagram and TikTok’s rules. This can happen if you publish identical hashtags with every post, like too many posts too quickly (making the algorithm think you’re a robot), or if your account is regularly reported.

 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – This is the practice of attracting more visitors to your website by appearing higher up, and more frequently, on search engines when users look up something related to your website.

 

SOCIALITE – This has a special meaning here at SOCIATE. SOCIALITE is our sister company, an Influencer Relationship agency. Learn more about SOCIALITE and how it can help your brand here.

 

Thought Leader – Thought Leaders are industry experts that serve as spokespeople for their company or industry. At SOCIATE, we help amplify a Thought Leader’s expertise by securing exposure opportunities for them. Explore what we offer with Thought Leaders by SOCIATE here.

 

User-generated content (UGC) – Ever see brands publish posts and stories that they have been tagged in? That’s user-generated content in action. It’s social media content a brand’s customers publish, re-communicated on the brand’s page. User-Generated Content can help audience engagement and trust.

 

At SOCIATE, these terms are part of our everyday lingo. If you’d like us to help you walk the talk, please get in touch at [email protected]. Our services include PR, Marketing, social media, copywriting, and content creation.