Social media is full of terms that are not normally used in everyday communication. Sometimes logging into your social media accounts can feel like stepping into a foreign country where you don’t know the language. Although it may seem like you have to be a technical expert to know these terms, they are actually pretty simple when explained! Here are 20 commonly used social media terms that will help you to understand the languages of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
1. Forum – an online meeting usually with a specific topic focus where people with similar views can chat
2. URL – short for Uniform Resource Locator, which is the web address that can be found in the top, center box of your internet browser
3. Meme – an image with a generated quote or phrase attached
4. News Feed – a list of posts by the accounts you follow usually seen on your home page
5. Bitly – a website that will shorten your long URLs (see #2) into a shorter link (Check it out HERE. *Hyperlink* )
6. Impressions – the number of times a piece of content is viewed once by a visiter
7. Following – the amount and type of profiles following your accounts
8. Engagement – the number of responses on a post or tweet whether it be likes, comments, or shares on Facebook and replies, retweets, or mentions on Twitter
9. Trending – when a piece of information, term, or event is being frequently tweeted or posted about
10. ReTweet – the re-posting of someone else’s tweet to your Twitter followers11. Reach (organic vs. paid) – the number of people that have seen a post (organic – without paid advertising, paid – boosted as an ad)
12. Hashtag – a pound sign (#) followed by a term, phrase or keyword that
13. Tag – when another social media user profile is linked to a post
14. Mention – when a user’s profile is tagged in a tweet
15. Handle – an at-sign (@) followed by a profile’s username to tag them in a post
16. Thread – a conversation posted with multiple responses between two or more profiles
17. Voice – the way you “brand yourself” on social media through your choice of text and content shared
18. Header vs Cover Photo – display image used at the top of a profile (header – Twitter, cover photo – Facebook)
19. Status – a post to your Facebook profile
20. Repost – sharing a post to your Instagram account that was posted by another user
Have any other cool social media terms that you use? Send us a tweet at @socialapemktg and let us know!
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