This course will cover a number of terms and concepts. Here are a few of the most foundational for content marketing strategy. Need a bigger cheat sheet? We have you covered.

Content Marketing Funnel: Similar to the traditional marketing funnel, the content marketing funnel builds on the marketing funnel's sections. The content marketing funnel outlines the different stages, from education to purchase, that content strategies take leads through.

Sales Enablement: The process, technology, and content used by marketing and sales to enable the sales process and empower sales teams to sell more efficiently.

Earned Media: Media exposure a company earns organically, often by accomplishing something truly newsworthy and attracting media attention, distributing press releases, securing press mentions, contributing thought leadership content to publications, and achieving word of mouth.

Owned Media: Marketing assets a company has control over, including its website, blog, whitepapers, and email campaigns.

Paid Media: Any media outlet a company specifically pays to be placed in. Almost all traditional advertising falls under paid media. Examples include online banner ads, TV commercials, and sponsorship spots.

On-Site Content: Media that lives on a company's website, such as blog posts and gated content.

Off-Site Content: Media that lives outside of a company's website, such as guest-contributed articles and press mentions.

Gated Content: High-quality owned content that is housed behind a form, that website visitors can access only by submitting contact information, and that fuels a company's lead generation.

Thought Leader: An industry expert who shares his or her expertise with a broader targeted audience with the purpose of educating, improving, and providing value to the industry as a whole and building trust with key audiences.

Subject Matter Expert: A person in your company with a wealth of industry knowledge and interesting insight. Good storytelling skills are a plus. A company's subject matter experts may or may not be its thought leaders.

Content Audit: The process of inventorying existing content, analyzing the corresponding engagement data on that content, and then taking action to improve performance.

Knowledge Bank: A customizable template that stores and organizes a thought leader's expertise, audience insights, and industry knowledge to enable consistent, efficient content creation.

Editorial Calendar: The schedule an organization uses to plan content creation, manage content production, and ensure consistent publication each month.

Distribution Plan: The strategy behind pushing content out to a thought leader's networks once a piece is published.