Definition

The video-sharing behemoth that transformed from a humble startup into the verb we use for watching literally anything online. Originally just a platform for uploading cat videos and people hurting themselves, it's now a critical marketing channel where brands desperately try to 'go viral' and influencers hawk protein powder. Every marketer's presentation now includes a 'YouTube strategy,' which usually means posting their TV commercial and hoping for the best.

Example Usage

Our marketing team insisted we needed a YouTube presence, so now we have 47 subscribers and a video of our CEO awkwardly explaining our mission statement.

Source: Digital marketing terminology

Related Terms

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sales qualified lead

A prospect who's been vetted by marketing, kicked over to sales, and deemed worthy of actual human attention rather than automated email sequences. Abbreviated as SQL, which confusingly has nothing to do with databases.

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Touchpoint

Any interaction a customer has with your brand, from seeing an ad to calling customer service to rage-tweeting about your product. Marketers love counting touchpoints because it makes a seven-touch sale sound strategic instead of exhausting.

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publicity

The art of getting people to pay attention to something through media coverage, press releases, and strategic information drops, ideally without having to pay for advertising. It's what happens when your brand does something newsworthy enough that journalists actually care to write about it. Unlike advertising, publicity is theoretically "earned," though publicists would argue they work pretty hard to make it look effortless.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Advanced

waterfall strategy

An ad buying method where inventory is offered sequentially to buyers in descending priority order until someone bites. Like a retail clearance rack that goes through progressively less desirable shoppers.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
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drop-off

A sudden decrease in quantity, participation, or performance, or the place where you abandon your kids/packages/passengers for someone else to deal with. In business metrics, it's that terrifying moment when your chart takes a nosedive and you need to explain to your boss why engagement fell off a cliff. Also conveniently describes what happens to New Year's gym memberships by February.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
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Omnichannel

A strategy where brands try to be everywhere at once, like a helicopter parent but for customer experience. The goal is a seamless experience across all channels, which in practice means your app, website, and store all crash at the same time.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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