108 of the Most Popular Content Marketing Terms and Definitions
Have you ever found yourself… in a meeting and someone uses a bunch of content marketing terms you don’t know but should?
At that moment, you likely decided to either:
- Fake it ‘til you make it, hoping no one asks you a related question
- Ask for clarification, outing yourself as not knowing
- Walk out of the room (disguising a “bloody nose”)
Hey, you’re here now, ready to level up, and we dig that!
This glossary on online marketing demystifies the terms you should know and gives you access to the content strategy terms the industry insiders use so you sound wicked smaht.
What is an ideal customer avatar (ICA)?
An Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. It’s based on your real clients, market research, and data analysis.
Why use ICAs?
Using an ICA helps you create effective content marketing, reaching people with the cases you want. This saves time, money, and ultimately leads to more revenue.
When should I use an ICA?
You should use an ICA any time you’re creating content or designing your content marketing plan. Keep this person in mind to guide your decisions.
How do I create an ICA?
Model your ICA after a client you love and who motivates you to do what you do.
Create a Voice of Customer (VoC) to outline data on actual clients and use it as a reference.
Include specific details like this person’s:
- Name
- Backstory
- Interests
- Goals
What is an ideal customer profile (ICP)?
An ideal customer profile (ICP), also known as an ideal buyer profile (IBP), is a list of attributes that make up your perfect client.
Why is an ICP important?
An ideal customer profile (ICP) is important because it allows you to define the problems you’re solving for people and align your firm with their needs.
An ICP keeps you from spending marketing efforts on low-quality leads and gaining traffic from people with the kinds of cases you don’t want.
When should I use an ICP?
You should use an ideal customer profile (ICP) when you’re determining who you want to market to. It directs your marketing plan, strategy, and goals.
How do I create an ICP?
To create an ideal customer profile (ICP), consider what qualities someone needs to be a good fit for your firm, including characteristics like their:
- Annual revenue
- Industry or field
- Geography
- Any limitations or restrictions
What are inbound links?
Inbound links, also known as backlinks, occur when someone links to your website in their content.
Why are inbound links important?
Inbound links are important because search engines use them to measure high-quality content. An inbound link indicates you’re a reputable source for information.
Inbound links boost your search engine optimization (SEO), increase your website’s visibility, and connects you with more potential clients.
Inbound links also draw visitors to read other content on your website. You can capture someone’s attention who may not have known they need your services.
How can I get inbound links?
Get more inbound links using the following tactics:
- Maintain a blog with useful, quality content.
- Link to other blogs in your blog posts.
- Write guest blogs for other websites.
- Create highly shareable infographics.
- Post recordings of “Ask a lawyer…” virtual hangouts.
- Offer free tools and resources.
- Provide information specific to your region.
What is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing focuses on attracting customers through content and offers, rather than traditional outbound marketing techniques like cold-calling or ads.
Inbound marketing pulls people toward your firm, rather than pushing your message out onto them.
Why should I use inbound marketing?
You should use inbound marketing because it organically generates leads, allowing you to build relationships from the start.
Creating interesting and valuable content allows visitors to get to know you. And this establishes a foundation for lifelong clients, plus their referrals.
Inbound marketing is often less expensive than outbound marketing tactics like paid ads.
When should I do inbound marketing?
You should use inbound marketing when you want to attract more qualified leads.
What are examples of inbound marketing?
Examples of inbound marketing include content like:
- Social media campaigns
- Search engine optimized (SEO) copy
- Webinars and virtual hangouts
- Blog posts and newsletters
- Podcasts, ebooks, and videos
What are internal links?
Internal links are hyperlinks that point someone to another page on your website.
They contrast external links, which direct visitors to a web page outside your website.
Why do internal links matter?
Internal links matter because they encourage people to read more of your content and increase interest in your firm.
They also help search engines understand your website, which boosts your search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines look for internal links when they crawl a web page and reward valuable content.
Increased SEO leads to your more visitors finding your content and clicking through your internal links to your contact form. (And then hiring you.)
When should I use internal links?
You should use internal links across all your content to offer further explanations or more of your resources.
Specifically, use internal links to show visitors how to move through the sales funnel with a call to action (CTA).
When you use external links, use them naturally. Overdoing them can be distracting and annoying, causing visitors to leave your website.
How do I use internal links to boost SEO?
Use internal links to boost your SEO by:
- Creating lots of content you can link to.
- Using anchor text
- Linking keywords.
- Confirming the links work before you post.