Digital Marketing Glossary

This glossary is designed for people who are new to digital marketing, wearing multiple hats, or supporting market communications as volunteers, board members, or staff. You do not need a marketing background to use this guide.

Boosted Post

A boosted post is a regular social media post (usually on Facebook or Instagram) that you pay a small amount of money to show to more people.

Think: “This post is important, let’s help more locals see it.”

Boosting is simpler and faster than running a full ad and is often the best place for beginners to start.

Ad (Paid Ad)

An ad is created inside Facebook or Instagram’s advertising system, rather than boosting an existing post.

Ads give you more control over:

• Who sees the content
• How long it runs
• What action you want people to take

Ads are useful for season launches, major events, or long-running promotions.

Organic (Organic Post / Organic Reach)

Organic content is shared without paying for promotion.

Example:A photo posted to Instagram that only your followers (and a few others) see naturally.

Organic reach is helpful, but limited, especially for events.

Paid (Paid Reach)

Paid content has money behind it, such as boosted posts or ads.

Paid reach helps you:

• Reach people beyond your followers
• Show up consistently in your local community

Most successful markets use a mix of organic and paid content.

Engagement

Engagement is how people interact with your content.

This includes:

• Likes
• Comments
• Shares
• Saves
• Clicks

High engagement tells platforms (and AI tools) that your content is useful and relevant.

Engagement Campaign

An engagement campaign is a boost or ad designed to encourage interaction rather than clicks.

Best for:

• Event announcements
• Market reminders
• Community photos
• Program highlights

Promote Locally

Promote locally is an ad option that focuses on reaching people near your market’s physical location.

This is ideal for farmers’ markets because your audience is geographic and community-based.

Reach

Reach is the number of unique people who saw your post or ad.

If one person sees your post multiple times, they still count as one person reached.

Impressions

Impressions are the total number of times your post or ad was shown, including repeat views.

Impressions are usually higher than reach.

Analytics

Analytics are the data that show how your content is performing.

Examples:

• How many people saw a post
• How many clicked a link
• Which posts performed best

You don’t need to analyze everything, just look for patterns.

Insights

Insights are the built-in analytics tools on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

They summarize performance in an easy-to-read format.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the practice of helping your website appear in search engines like Google.

For farmers’ markets, SEO usually means:

• Clear page titles
• Helpful website pages
• Blog posts that answer common questions

SEO helps people find you.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)

AEO focuses on helping your website become the answer, not just a search result.

Today, many people are using:

• AI tools
• Voice search
• Google’s built-in answer boxesas their primary way to search for information.

When someone searches a question, AEO is what determines:

• The block of text that appears at the top of search results
• The short answer read aloud by voice assistants
• The content AI tools pull from to respond

AEO works best when your content:

• Uses plain language
• Clearly answers specific questions
• Is well-structured and easy to scan

This is why blogs, FAQs, and program explanations are so valuable.

Blog

A blog is a section of your website where you publish helpful articles.

Blogs help you:

• Answer questions
• Explain programs and events
• Improve SEO and AEO
• Keep your website current

You do not need to blog every week for this to work.

Post

A post is a piece of content published to a social media feed (photo, video, or text).

Posts live longer than stories and can continue to be discovered over time.

Caption

A caption is the text that accompanies a photo or video on social media.

Good captions:

• Explain what’s happening
• Add context
• Invite interaction

CTA (Call to Action)

A CTA tells people what to do next.

Examples:

• “Visit the market this Sunday”
• “Learn more”
• “Sign up for our newsletter”

Not every post needs one, but many should.

Event Listing

An event listing is a public page that shares essential event details:

• Date and time
• Location
• Description
• Link for more information

Event listings help people plan and help search engines understand your events.

Facebook Event

A Facebook Event is a type of event listing inside Facebook that allows people to:

• Mark “Interested” or “Going”
• Receive reminders
• Share with friends

Facebook Events often perform better when boosted.

Landing Page

A landing page is a specific webpage designed to give information and guide people to take action.

Examples:

• “Plan Your Visit”
• “Vendor Applications”
• “Programs & Vouchers”

Landing pages work better than sending people to a general homepage.

Link Clicks

Link clicks measure how many people clicked a link in your post, ad, or bio.

This matters when you’re trying to send people to:

• Your website
• A blog
• A signup page

Hashtags

Hashtags help categorize content and improve discoverability, especially on Instagram.

Local and community-based hashtags work best.You don’t need many just relevant ones.

Portrait (Vertical)

Portrait images are taller than they are wide.

Common sizes:

• 1080 × 1350 (posts)
• 1080 × 1920 (stories & reels)

Landscape (Horizontal)

Landscape images are wider than they are tall.

Best for:

• Websites
• Facebook covers
• Event listings

Square

Square images are equal height and width (usually 1080 × 1080).

They work well across platforms and are a safe default.

Reel

A Reel is a short-form vertical video on Instagram (and Facebook).

Reels are great for:

• Market atmosphere
• Live music
• Kids activities
• Vendor highlights

Story (Instagram/Facebook Story)

A Story is a temporary post that disappears after 24 hours.

Stories are best for:

• Reminders
• Behind-the-scenes moments
• Same-day updates

Alt Text (Accessibility)

Alt text is a short description of an image that helps screen readers describe content to visually impaired users.

Alt text also supports SEO and accessibility best practices.

Algorithm

An algorithm is the system platforms use to decide what content people see.

It tends to favor content that:

• Gets engagement
• Is clear and relevant
• Is posted consistently

Audience

Your audience is the group of people you want to reach, usually defined by:

• Location
• Age range
• General interests

Targeting

Targeting is choosing who sees your boosted post or ad.

Simple targeting often performs better than overly specific targeting.

Budget

Your budget is the amount of money you choose to spend on boosts or ads.

Even small budgets can be effective when used consistently.

Content

Content is anything you share digitally:

• Photos
• Videos
• Posts
• Blogs
• Emails

Not all content needs to promote something some content builds trust and connection.

Content Calendar

A content calendar is a simple plan for what you’ll post and when.

It helps reduce stress and supports consistency.

Consistency

Consistency means showing up regularly not perfectly.

A small amount of content done consistently is more effective than bursts of activity.

Newsletter

A newsletter is an email sent to people who have opted in to hear from you.

Email is one of the most reliable communication tools you have because algorithms don’t control it.

Link in Bio

A link in bio is the clickable link on your social media profile that directs people to your website or a specific page.

Platform

A platform is where your content lives, such as:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Your website
• Email

Each platform serves a different purpose—and works best when used together.