SM 101 TermThere are so many terms that are used within social media it can be confusing for those that are new to the world of social media. This glossary will help you navigate your way –

A

Algorithm – An algorithm is a set of formulas developed for a program to perform a certain function. This is important in the social sphere as the algorithms sites like Facebook and Google use are critical for developing content promotion strategies.

Avatar – An avatar is an image or username that represents a person online, usually within forums and social networks.

B

Bio – A bio on social media refers to a short piece of text that explains who the user is.

Blog – Blog was created from “web log.” Blogs are usually maintained by an individual or a business with regular entries of content on a specific topic, description of events, or other resources such as graphics or video. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

C

Chat – Chat can refer to any kind of communication over the internet but traditionally refers to one-to-one communication through a text-based chat application, often referred to as instant messaging (IM) applications.

Comment – A comment is a response that is often provided as an answer or reaction to a status post or message on a social network.

Connections – The LinkedIn equivalent of a Facebook ‘friend’.  As LinkedIn is a social networking site, the people you are connecting with are not necessarily people you are friends with, but rather professional contacts that you’ve met, heard speak, done business with, or know through another connection.

Content – describes text, pictures, video and any other meaningful material that is on the Internet

Conversion Rate – refers to a common metric tracked in social media that is the percentage of people who completed an intended action (i.e. filling out a form, following a social

D

Direct Message – Direct messages — also referred to as DM — are private conversations that occur on Instagram/Twitter.

E

Ebook – is an electronic version of a book. However, most ebooks are not actually available in print (unless you print them). These are typically published in PDF form. For marketers, ebooks commonly serve as lead generating content .

Endorsement – An endorsement on LinkedIn refers to an instance in which another LinkedIn user recognizes you for one of the skills you have listed on your profile.

Engagement Rate – is a popular social media metric used to describe the amount of interaction — likes, shares, comments — a piece of content receives.

F

Facebook – is a social media platform. The site connects people with friends, family, acquaintances, and businesses from all over the world and enables them to post, share, and engage with a variety of content such as photos, videos and status updates. The platform currently boasts around 1.49 billion active users.

Fans – Fans is the term used to describe people who like your Facebook Page.

Forums – Also known as a message board, a forum is an online discussion site. It originated as the modern equivalent of a traditional bulletin board, and a technological evolution of the dial-up bulletin board system.

Follower – In a social media setting, a follower refers to a person who subscribes to your account in order to receive your updates.

Friends – Friends is the term used on Facebook to represent the connections you make and the people you follow. These are individuals you consider to be friendly enough with you to see your Facebook profile and engage with you.

G

Geotag – A geotag is the directional coordinates that can be attached to a piece of content online. For example, Instagram users often use geotagging to highlight the location in which their photo was taken.

GIF – GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format. In social media, GIFs serve as small-scale animations and film clips

Group – This can be public or private, and gives users the chance to come together to talk about a specific subject in one place.

H

Handle – Handle is the term used to describe someone’s @username on Twitter.

Header image – A header image refers to the large photo displayed at the top of your profile on Twitter. The header image is also commonly referred to as the banner image on LinkedIn or the cover image on Facebook.

Hangout – is a video service on Google+ that allows you to video chat with up to 10 Google+ users are a time. You can name these chats, watch YouTube videos during them, open a Google Doc with colleagues, and much more.

Hashtag – A hashtag is a tag used on a variety of social networks as a way to annotate a message. A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a “#”. Social networks use hashtags to categorize information and make it easily searchable for users.

Hyperlink – is the direct connection to specific online material

I

Inbox – the mailbox that receives your online mail.

K

L

Lead-Generation – usually the exchange of free content (eg ebook) for email address or other personal information

Like – A Like is an action that can be made by a Facebook or Instagram user. Instead of writing a comment or sharing a post, a user can click the Like button as a quick way to show approval.

Link – see Hyperlink

Live streaming – Live streaming is the act of delivering content over the internet in real-time.

Lurker – A lurker online is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, social network, or other interactive system, but rarely or never participates in the discussion.

M

Mashup – A content mashup contains multiple types of media drawn from pre-existing sources to create a new work. Digital mashups allow individuals or businesses to create new pieces of content by combining multiple online content sources.

Meme – A meme on the internet is used to describe a thought, idea, joke, or concept that’s widely shared online. It is typically an image with text above and below it, but can also come in video and link form.

Mention – A mention is a Twitter term used to describe an instance in which a user includes someone else’s @username in their tweet to attribute a piece of content or start a discussion.

N

News Feed – A news feed is literally a feed full of news. On Facebook, the News Feed is the homepage of users’ accounts where they can see all the latest updates from their friends. The news feed on Twitter is called Timeline.

Notification – A low importance message either generated automatically or as a result of a friend’s action

P

Page – This is your business profile or “page” where customers can find your posts and business information.

Personal Message – Personal messaging (PM) is a form of real-time, direct text-based communication between two or more people. More advanced instant messaging software clients also allow enhanced modes of communication, such as live voice or video calling. Also known as Direct Messaging and Instant Messaging

Permalink – is an address or URL of a particular post within a blog or website that remains indefinitely unchanged.

Platforms – the various online products to assist users online eg social media

Podcast – A podcast is a series of digital media files, usually audio, that are released episodically and often downloaded through an RSS feed.

Post – also known as a status update. These may include text, pictures, links videos and audios.

Privacy – knowing and understanding the security settings for each platform will ensure that you are aware what data you are making available to the world.

Profile – A personal page created for individual use. It is the personal details of you online.

Profile Picture – The image that represents you or your business. This is a smaller photo that shows up alongside all of your posts.

Q

R

Reach – The number of people who saw your post. This includes the number of people you reached through organic and paid reach.

Reaction – a variation to the standard “Like” for Facebook. FB also offers variations during holiday times.

Recommendation – A recommendation on LinkedIn is a term used to describe a written note from another LinkedIn member that aims to reinforce the user’s professional credibility or expertise.

RSS Feed – RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blogs and videos in a standardized format. Content publishers can syndicate a feed, which allows users to subscribe to the content and read it when they please from a location other than the website (such as Feedly or other RSS readers).

RSS Reader –  allows users to aggregate articles from multiple websites into one place using RSS feeds. The purpose of these aggregators is to allow for a faster and more efficient information consumption.

S

Search Engine Optimisation  – is the process of improving the volume or quality of unpaid traffic to a website from search engines.

Schedule – to set social media posts for future dates.

Selfie – is a self-portrait that is typically taken using a smartphone or by using a selfie stick (a pole that attaches to your camera). Selfies are commonly shared on social media networks using the hashtag #selfie.

Share – to forward another’s post to your own timeline for viewing by others

Social Media Monitoring – is a process of monitoring and responding to mentions related to a business that occur in social media.

Social Proof – refers to a psychological phenomenon in which people seek direction from those around them to determine how they are supposed to act or think in a given situation. In social media, social proof can be identified by the number of interactions a piece of content receives or the number of followers you have. The thought is that if others are sharing something or following someone, it must be good.

Social Selling – is a sales concept in which representatives leverage the power of social communication to engage with prospects by answering their questions, providing helpful content, clarifying information, etc.

Status – a post to a personal or business social media profile

T

Tag – Tagging is a social media functionality commonly used on Facebook and Instagram that allows users to create a link back to the profile of the person shown in the picture or targeted by the update.

Timeline – a record of events from your social media life that you (or your friends) have posted

Trending Topic – refer to the most talked about topics and hashtags on a social media network. These commonly appear on networks like Twitter and Facebook and serve as clickable links in which users can either click through to join the conversation or simply browse the related content.

Tribe – a group of followers

Troll – A troll or internet troll refers to a person who is known for creating controversy in an online setting. They typically hang out in forums, comment sections, and chat rooms with the intent of disrupting the conversation on a piece of content by providing commentary that aims to evoke a reaction.

U

User-Generated Content – is content — blogs, videos, photos, quotes, etc. — that is created by consumers. Marketers typically tap into their audience in an online setting to collect this type of content to support a campaign or initiative.

URL – an address on the world wide web

V

Viral – is a term used to describe an instance in which a piece of content — YouTube video, blog article, photo, etc. — achieves noteworthy awareness. Viral distribution relies heavily on word of mouth and the frequent sharing of one particular piece of content all over the internet.

Vlogging – or a vlog is a piece of content that employs video to tell a story or report on information. Vlogs are common on video sharing networks like YouTube.

W

Wall –A wall is a section on a Facebook profile where others can write messages, post pictures etc.

Webinar – is an online seminar or presentation that is hosted by an individual or a company. Most often, the host requires attendees to fill out a form before granting them access to stream the audio and slides. In marketing, webinars are held to educate audiences about a particular topic while opening up the floor for a discussion to occur on social media using the webinar’s unique hashtag.

YZ