The Beginner’s Guide to Marketing

What is Marketing?

Promotion | Sales | Audience

Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services by understanding and engaging a target audience. It involves various strategies, including digital campaigns, advertising, and brand positioning.

Marketing vs. Branding

Identity | Perception | Strategy

Marketing focuses on tactics to drive sales, while branding defines the business identity and perception in the market. Branding is long-term, shaping how customers feel about a company, whereas marketing is short-term, influencing immediate purchasing decisions.

Types of Marketing Agencies

Generalized | Specialized | Consulting

Generalized Agencies: Provide broad marketing services, including SEO, social media, and paid ads.
Specialized Agencies: Focus on a niche like influencer marketing, PPC, or real estate marketing.
Consulting Firms: Offer strategy development without directly executing campaigns.

Long-Tail Keywords vs. Seed Keywords

SEO | Search Intent | Traffic

Seed Keywords: Short, broad keywords (e.g., “marketing”). They have high competition and search volume.
Long-Tail Keywords: More specific, lower competition (e.g., “best digital marketing strategies for startups”). They show clear search intent, leading to higher conversion rates.

Commonly Confused Marketing Terms

Term 1	Term 2	Difference
Impressions	Reach	Impressions count views; reach counts unique users.
Bounce Rate	Exit Rate	Bounce = single-page visit; exit = last page before leaving.
PPC	CPC	PPC = advertising model; CPC = cost per click.
Engagement Rate	Click-Through Rate (CTR)	Engagement = all interactions; CTR = clicks divided by impressions.

File Formats in Marketing

Image | Video | Document

Images: PNG (high quality), JPEG (compressed), SVG (scalable for logos).
Videos: MP4 (standard), MOV (high quality), GIF (short animated content).
Documents: PDF (universal format), DOCX (editable text), CSV (spreadsheet data).

Understanding the Color Ratio in Marketing

Design | Psychology | Branding

The 60-30-10 Rule is a common principle in marketing visuals:

60% Dominant Color: Sets the overall theme.
30% Secondary Color: Supports and adds contrast.
10% Accent Color: Highlights calls to action or important elements.

Key Formulas & Concepts

ROI (Return on Investment) = (Revenue−Cost)/Cost(Revenue - Cost) / Cost × 100%
CTR (Click-Through Rate) = (Clicks/Impressions)×100(Clicks / Impressions) × 100
Conversion Rate = (Conversions/Visitors)×100(Conversions / Visitors) × 100
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) = Total Marketing Spend / Number of New Customers
LTV (Lifetime Value) = Average Revenue Per Customer × Retention Period

Essential Terms

A/B Testing: Comparing two versions of content to see which performs better.
Retargeting: Showing ads to users who visited your website but didn’t convert.
Organic vs. Paid Traffic: Organic = unpaid visitors; Paid = visitors from ads.
Lead Generation: Attracting potential customers through content and campaigns.
Evergreen Content: Content that remains relevant over time.