Social Glossary
Social media buzzwords: you can’t live with them, we can’t live without them.
With social media being one of the most popular communication platforms, you’re likely to stumble across new words, confusing acronyms and a ridiculous amount of jargon.
That’s why we’ve created a comprehensive social glossary of the most commonly used terms in social media marketing services, so you can ‘get the skinny’ on what they mean and how they’re used.
Analytics #
Social media analytics are about gathering data and audience insights from campaigns. Analytics can be used to evaluate content on social media campaigns and help make strategic decisions in future social strategies.
Algorithm #
Social media algorithms are all about finding solutions – they’re everywhere in the social and digital sphere! Algorithms control which content social media users see (and won’t see), and help deliver posts based on relevancy rather than random posts.
Bio #
A short written introduction of any social media profile that tells followers who the user is and what the account is about. A well written bio can greatly improve how often your profile shows up in keyword searches.
Crowdsourcing #
Using a large group of followers, friends or connections to generate ideas, services, or content via a social platform. For example, you may ask your followers to vote on colours for your new product, or what topic to cover in your next vlog.
Connections #
The LinkedIn equivalent of Facebook friends but since LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform, your connections are more likely to represent professional contacts that you’ve either met, heard speeches from or done business with.
Dashboard #
A single screen that helps you manage all your social media accounts from one place. You’ll be able to access analytics, listen and interact with the conversation, monitor social trends and much, much more.
Direct Messages #
Private messages between social media users, also referred to as ‘DMs’. On some social platforms, users must be connected in some way in order to receive direct messages unless your settings have opted into receiving DMs from anyone.
Ephemeral Content #
Refers to the concepts of ’stories’ or ‘disappearing’ content that’s only accessible for a certain amount of time. Ephemeral content takes advantage of the fear of missing out (FOMO) and is designed to evoke a prompt response from the user.
Endorsement #
An endorsement on Linkedin refers to when a LinkedIn member endorses listed skills on someone else’s profile.The endorsed skills contribute to the strength of the user’s profile and increases the chances of getting profile visits.
Filter #
A photographic effect applied to a video or photo on social media, such as vintage look, black and white or sepia. Many social platforms also allow users to make custom face filters with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) .This is when digital elements interact with our real-world environment, such as funny hats and unicorn horns.
Facebook #
The world’s largest social media platform with billions of active users. Not only does Facebook appeal based on its social platform, but also on its strong integration and mobile messaging capabilities which makes it even easier to reach and engage with your audience.
Geotargeting #
Instead of posting generic content to the whole world, geotargeting enables you to target geographically defined audiences. This means you can customise your messages to better relate and connect to specific countries, cities or even suburbs.
Geotagging #
A social media function where users add a specific location to highlight where the photo,video or post was created. The GPS- enabled smartphones has made the geotagging feature a core aspect for social media.
Header Image #
The header image is a large banner-like image or video found at the top of social media users’ profiles. Header image is also referred to as cover image on Facebook and banner image on Linkedin.
Hashtag #
A word or phrase preceded by the ‘#’ symbol that acts as a way to annotate a message (i.e #growthmarketing).This creates great visibility for social media campaigns and makes social media messages discoverable to people with shared interests. On most social platforms, clicking the hashtag will reveal other recently published posts with the same hashtag.
Influencer #
A social media user with substantial following who can impact a relevant audience and create awareness about a trend, topic, product or brand. Marketers work to build relationships with influencers in order to reach those specific audiences.
Instagram #
A social media site which provides a social platform where people can share their photos and videos with their friends and others. Users can follow each other, which means they can see posts in the user’s timeline and participate in one-on-one conversations. Instagram is known for its photo editing features and mobile support. As of 2018 Instagram has surpassed 1 billion active users and is one of the fastest growing social media platforms.
JOMO #
The ‘Joy Of Missing Out’ social media jargon often used when taking a break from the world’s business. JOMO is the antidote to FOMO (fear of missing out) and can be as simple as staying in on a Saturday night binge watching netflix or taking walks in nature.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) #
KPIs should help you determine the performance of your social media campaigns and the ROI from them. Some of the most common social media KPIs are reach, impressions, CTR, engagement rate & shareability.
Live Streaming #
Live broadcasting through social media channels in real-time such as Facebook Live and Instagram TV. It’s an eye-catching content piece that can improve your positioning in the algorithms on social platforms, and bring viewers to your website.
LinkedIn #
A social networking platform that allows businesses to build networks and connections for professional purposes. It’s not always about who you know, but also who your connections know.
Mention #
Basically a ‘name-drop’ function where users tag other users who are associated with the photo, video or post. The audience who see the post will then be able to click through to the mentioned user’s bio or profile.
Meme #
Memes are used to describe a thought, idea or joke that is typically humorous in nature. They’re most often in the form of images with text above or below it and spread rapidly by social media users.
Native Advertising #
Native advertising on social media shows paid content to users in a format that looks organic. Promoted Facebook ads is a great example of native ads. They appear similar to regular posts but with a reach extended with an ad budget.
Newsjacking #
The technique of developing social media content based on current events or news. By engaging in newsjacking, brands will appear timely and relevant while gaining exposure by starting conversations around the latest news through social content.
Organic Reach #
The number of unique users who’ve seen your post through unpaid distribution and comes up in their social feeds naturally. This excludes the use of any paid promotional tools that would be used to boost the visibility of your content.
Omni-Channel Marketing #
A multi-channel marketing approach provides consumers with a seamless and integrated customer experience. Companies using this technique align their social media messaging, goals, objectives and design across each channel and device, nurturing the customer towards a sale.
Paid Reach #
The number of unique users who viewed your content as a result of sponsored ads or paid promotions. Paid reach allows you to reach a larger and more targeted audience compared to organic reach.
Pay Per Click (PPC) #
PPC refers to an online advertising model where your company pay each time a prospect clicks on your ad. You can also be charged based on ad impressions, video views and other analytic metrics.
Q&A #
Q&As refers to questions and answers and is an excellent way to reveal audiences preferences and behaviour. Instagram allows you to run Q&A sessions in the ‘story’ feature which ultimately increases engagement.
QR Code #
QR codes are barcodes that, when scanned by a QR Code reader application, will direct the user to a destination of your (the QR creator) choice. The destination may be a your website, Facebook page, Instagram page or LinkedIn profile.
Response Time #
The average number of minutes (or hours) it take for a brand to respond to engagement from a user. Why is it important? Response time correlates with customer satisfaction – Happy customer, happy business!
Retargeting #
In social media advertising, retargeting (also known as remarketing) refers to targeting ads on users who have interacted with your page or website before. Retargeting will help your brand reach the users who don’t convert straight away.
Sentiment Analysis #
Social sentiment analysis gives you insight in customers’ attitudes towards a topic, brand or product. It analyses the social conversation and can detect whether the feedback is positive, negative or neutral.
Targeted Advertising #
Most social platforms allow you to select which audience should see your social ads based on age, location, gender, interests, traits and the list goes on. This somewhat specific information is collected by tracking users’ online activity. Invasion of privacy? – That’s a discussion for another day.
Tag #
A feature often used on Facebook and Instagram with the original purpose of categorising related content. It also allows users to tag other people or brands, which creates a link back to the profile associated with the content.
URL #
Shortening for Uniform Resource Locator and represents the location or address of your webpage. You can promote your LinkedIn profile and allow other users to easily identify you by changing or customise your URL.
User-Generated Content #
Media that has been created and published by users on their social platforms. Brands will then share this content on their own marketing channels. UGC generates authentic endorsement, brand awareness while boosting your credibility in the process.
Vlogging #
Vlogging or vlog is a piece of content that essentially blogging but using video to share it on video sharing platforms. A vlog can cover different types of topics such as tutorials, reviews, how to guides and many, many more.
Vanity Metric #
A statistic that may seem like a positive indicator of performance but does not really provide you with any valuable insights. Impressions is a common example as this only shows you how many times people scrolled past a post on their feed without revealing the bigger picture. This particular metric may be of better use when contextualised by more concrete numbers such as click-through rate.
WhatsApp #
Owned by Facebook, WhatsApp is a free messaging app allowing smartphone users to send text messages, voice messages and make video calls, and share images and other media with one another.
Youtube #
Google-owned Youtube is a social platform allowing users to upload, view and share videos. Users can subscribe to channels to make sure they don’t miss out on any of the content their favourite accounts post.
