In today’s digital age, learning how to use social media is important for businesses to stay relevant and competitive. Part of learning how to use social media means staying up to date on common social media terms. This can help your business remain relatable and responsive to the ever-changing dynamics of online communication. Check out our glossary below and bookmark it for your reference later.
Social Media Platform
A website or application which allows individual users to interact in a virtual environment. Some examples of platforms are Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram.
Content
Anything that is posted on a social media platform as a stand-alone piece of information. This can take the form of text, images, video, or a combination.
Post
Both a noun and a verb, a “post” is the action of sharing content on a social media platform. For example, content needs to be posted to be viewed by others.
Feed
The homepage of each platform. Which aggregates news, articles, images, and videos from all of the users you follow.
Impressions
The total number of times a post has been delivered to a user’s feed. This number can be much higher than your actual follower count. This is because Impressions count each time your content is on a feed. Which can be multiple times for the same user.
Reach
Reach focuses on the unique number of individual users who have seen your content. It can be hard to distinguish between impressions and reach, but the latter only counts views once per person.
Evergreen
This refers to any content that can hold its value for a longer period of time. This type of content can be reused and shared using social media.
Algorithm
Programs used by social media platforms to determine what content they will display to users.
Engagement
Any sort of connection your followers make with your post. This can be a “like,” a “comment,” a “save,” or a “repost.”
Carousel
A type of social post or ad that features multiple images or videos and allows a user to swipe through. This is most commonly seen on social media platforms like Instagram.
Disappearing Content
Often called “Stories” on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, these are short snippets of content that disappear after a set amount of time.
Page
On LinkedIn and Facebook, there are also “Pages,” which are profiles for companies and organizations.
Profile
The section of the social media platform specific to you, where all your posts are collected. It also includes your bio, profile image, and contact information, that you can customize.
Handle
A users name on social media. This is what comes after typing the “@” symbol. This term also applies to both personal and company pages.
Follow/Follower
A social media user who chooses to see the content that is being posted by your account.
DM/PM
A private channel of communication between individuals on social media is called Direct Messaging (DM) or Private Messaging (PM).
Hashtag
The pound sign (#) which, when connected to a keyword or phrase, turns it into a searchable link. See How to Develop an Effective Hashtag Strategy for Social Media for more information.
Tag
Besides hashtags, social media platforms also allow users to add location tags or to tag other users.
Mention
The act of tagging a profile in a post is often referred to as a “Mention”.
Repost
Sharing content from someone else’s account on your profile with credit back to the original poster.
This compiled list is a great resource to brush up on your social lingo but is by no means complete. In fact, these terms are always changing and evolving. It’s a good idea to refresh your social media terminology every once in a while, to stay current.
