Digital Marketing Glossary

Subscriber Key: A unique identifier for each email recipient (often an email address or customer ID) used to personalize and track sends.

Sender Profile: Defines the “From Name” and “From Email Address” for your send, so recipients know who it’s from.

Delivery Profile: Specifies technical delivery settings (e.g., IP address, domain) and tracking configuration for your email.

Dynamic Content: Sections of an email that change based on subscriber attributes or behavior (e.g., showing different offers to different segments).

Triggered Send: An automated email send (e.g., welcome email) that fires when a specific event occurs (form submission, purchase).

Journey Builder: The tool for designing multi-step, event-based customer journeys across channels (email, SMS, push).

Journey: An automated, multi-step communication workflow in SFMC—used for sequences like reminders or onboarding; may include wait steps and decision splits.

Suppression List: A list of addresses excluded from sends (e.g., unsubscribes, bounces, do-not-email), ensuring compliance and deliverability.

Subject Line: The email’s headline seen in the inbox—critical for deliverability and open rates; may include emojis or personalization.

Preheader: The short preview text that appears next to or below the subject line in most email clients, reinforcing the message.

A/B Test: Sending two (or more) variants of an email (different subject lines, creative) to a sample audience to see which performs best.

Responsive Design: Email code or templates that adapt layout/styles to display correctly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

CAN-SPAM Compliance: Legal requirements for commercial emails (e.g., unsubscribe link, physical address, accurate header info) to avoid fines.

Module: A block of content within an email (e.g., image + text promo). Modules can be rearranged or reused across emails.

Hero Image: A large, prominent banner image at the top of the email, usually used to capture attention and highlight a key message.

Audience (Send List): The group of contacts who will receive the email, often segmented by attributes like class year, event registration, or giving history.

Data Extension: A table in SFMC that holds the contact data for sends (e.g., name, email, segment, etc.). You’ll often hear “DE” or “Send DE.”

UTM Parameters: Tags added to email links for tracking in Google Analytics (e.g., utm_campaign=sp2024_reunion). Helpful for post-send performance analysis.

Email Client: The platform recipients use to read email (e.g., Outlook, Gmail). Clients render emails slightly differently—part of why we test.

Alt Text: Text that appears if an image doesn’t load. Important for accessibility and usability.

Accessibility: Designing the email to be readable by all audiences, which includes proper heading structure, alt text, and color contrast.

Email Rendering: How an email appears across devices and email clients. You may use tools like Litmus to preview rendering variations.

Suppressions: A list of contacts who should not receive emails (e.g., duplicates, internal lists). Always confirm if there are any.

Bounce Rate: The percentage of emails that could not be delivered (e.g., invalid email addresses). Formula: (Bounces ÷ Sends) × 100

Click-Through Rate (CTR): Measures the percentage of delivered emails that resulted in clicks on links and CTAs. Formula: (Unique Clicks ÷ Delivered) × 100

Total Clicks: The total number of all clicks, including multiple clicks by the same recipient—a sign of strong interest or multiple CTAs being engaged in a single email.

Unique Clicks: The number of individual recipients who clicked at least once. Used in CTR calculation to avoid inflating the metric.

Unsubscribes: The number of recipients who opted out of your list. High unsubscribe rates may indicate irrelevant content or over-sending.

Spam Complaints: The number of recipients who marked your email as spam. Damages deliverability and sender reputation, so it’s closely monitored.

Conversions: The number of users who completed a predefined goal (e.g., form submission). Requires integration with tracking (UTMs or platform-based).

Send Log Tracking (Custom KPIs): Custom fields stored in SFMC (e.g., coupon codes clicked). Often used for post-campaign segmentation or reporting.

Event Type: Defines the structure of your event—single session, multi-day—which impacts the registration flow and agenda setup.

Registration Path: Customized registration experiences for different attendee types. Each path can have unique questions, content, and sessions.

Registration Form: The form attendees complete to register. It includes the custom questions you need to collect info (e.g., meal preferences).

Agenda / Sessions: Scheduled items like keynotes or breakout sessions. Can be optional or required, and may include capacity limits.

Invitation List: The list of people you want to invite. Usually includes first name, last name, email, and any segmentation tags.

Event Website (Summary): The public-facing page with event details, the registration button, schedule, and any branded visuals.

Event Emails: Automated messages (e.g., invitation, confirmation, reminder) sent through Cvent. Each requires timing, content, and approval.

Branded Assets: Logos, banners, and images needed to style the event site and emails in line with campaign or university branding.

Capacity & Waitlist: Limits for how many people can attend the event. Cvent can automatically create waitlists if limits are reached.

Reports: Exportable data showing who registered, session choices, and email engagement—used before, during, and after the event.

Call to Action (CTA): A prompt that encourages users to take a specific action, like “Learn More,” “Download Now,” or “Join Us.”

Hero Image: The main image at the top of a webpage or email that draws attention and sets the tone for the content.

Above the Fold: The content visible on a screen before scrolling—prime real estate for high-impact messaging and visuals.

Responsive design: A design approach that ensures web content and layout fluidly adapt to various screen sizes and devices—desktops, tablets, and smartphones—providing an optimal user experience across all platforms.

Header (Top of the Page): The header is the top section of a webpage. It usually includes:

• The site logo or name
• The navigation menu (links to other parts of the site)
• Sometimes a search bar or login button

Footer (Bottom of the Page): The footer is the bottom section of a webpage. It often contains:

• Contact info
• Copyright notice
• Social media links
• Privacy policy or terms of use

Hamburger menu: A button with three horizontal lines (☰) that opens up a hidden navigation menu, especially on mobile devices.

Side nav (short for side navigation): A menu that appears on the left or right side of a webpage.

Vanity URL (aka alias): is a custom, clean, and easy-to-remember web address (ex:example.com/offer)

Frequency rate(Paid social): The average number of times an individual in the audience saw the campaign

Impressions: The total number of times a post was viewed

Landing Page views (Paid social): The number of times an individual clicked on our ad and successfully loaded the destination page

Reach: The total number of unique users who have seen the post, regardless of whether or not they engaged.

UGC(User-Generated Content): Content created by BC alumni or followers