Social Media Terms : Part 4 of 7
By Debbie Gregory.
We all know the pain of too many terms and acronyms, especially on the web. What’s the difference between impressions and reach? A Profile and a Page? A Follower or a Fan? Here are even more of the most common social media buzzwords, keywords, terms and phrases…and their definitions. We are creating your own personal glossary.
Geotag
A geotag is a specific location added to a photo, video, or other social media post. Geotags can expose your posts to more people, since content is often searchable by location.
GIF
GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, a file format that supports both static and animated images. GIFs rose to popularity to react on social media without words. Facebook and Twitter both support animated GIFs.
Google Ads (Google Adwords)
Google Ads are a form of online advertising, previously known as Google AdWords. Google Ads appear at the top of the Google search listings for your target keywords. They can also appear on other websites through the Google Display Network.
Group
A group is an online community within a social network. Groups can be public or private. Within a group, community members with a common interest can share information and discuss relevant topics. Both Facebook and LinkedIn offer groups on their platforms.
Handle
Your handle is your username on social media. It is usually noted as @username. It can also be used in your personalized URL for each social network. It is a good idea to use the same handle across social networks to make it easier for potential followers to find your accounts.
Hangout
A Hangout is a video or voice call with one or more people using the Google Hangouts service. In 2019, Google Hangouts was divided into two products: Google Hangouts Chat and Google Hangouts Meet. Google Hangouts Meet is designed for video conferencing and includes features such as screen sharing, enabling video presentations to groups of up to 30 people.
Hashtag
Hashtags are used on social media to tag posts as part of a larger conversation (A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the “#”. Clicking a hashtag reveals the latest posts that include the tag. Hashtags are searchable and serve a similar role to keywords.
Header image
A header image is the picture that appears at the top of a social media profile. Also known as a cover image or cover photo, it provides a chance to showcase your products, your team, or any other aspect of your business that will make people want to explore your profile.
Impressions
Impressions is a metric that counts how many times an ad or promoted posts is fetched from the server and displayed on a social network. It is not a measure of how many people have seen the ad. For example, one social media user might have the same ad appear in their newsfeed multiple times over a certain period. Each of these instances is counted as one impression.
Inbound marketing
Inbound marketing is a strategy that involves creating valuable content and resources that attract potential clients to your business. It is called “inbound” because the resources you create help people to discover and learn about your company themselves, rather than reaching out to them with a sales pitch. Your team can then nurture these new contacts until they are ready to become customers.
Inbox
An inbox is the screen on which you read, organize, and respond to messages. Email inboxes are a common example. Social messaging services also use inboxes.
Influencer
An influencer is a social media user with a significant audience who can drive awareness about a trend, topic, company, or product. From a marketer’s perspective, the ideal influencer is also a passionate brand advocate.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a strategy involving collaboration with an influential person on social media (an “influencer”) to promote a product, service, or campaign.
Instant message
An instant message (IM) is a real-time text message sent using an online platform.
Key performance indicator (KPI)
A key performance indicator (KPI) is a metric tracked over time to determine progress towards a valuable business goal. Social media KPIs might include audience growth rate, amplification rate, and customer satisfaction score.
Klout
Klout was a social tool that gave social media users a “klout score” out of 100 to define their level of online influence (or clout). Klout shut down in 2018, but other services have emerged to fill this data gap, including Hootsuite Insights and Followerwonk
Lens
Lens is the term used on Snapchat to identify augmented reality face filters. Anyone can create a custom lens through the Snapchat Lens Studio.
Like
A Like is a form of engagement on social media. It is a quick way of showing that you like the content posted by simply clicking a button. On Facebook, the Like button is a thumbs-up, while on Instagram and Twitter, a Like is indicated by a heart. Liking content also works like bookmarking, since you can go back later to view the content you have Liked.
Link building
Link building is a marketing strategy to boost traffic and search engine rankings by getting other websites to link to yours. Common techniques for acquiring links as part of a link-building campaign include guest blogging and offering valuable content to repost.
Listed
If you are listed, that means you have been added to a Twitter list. Twitter lists are a way of organizing content to make it easier to keep up with a large number of Twitter connections. Being added to a Twitter list may increase your chances of being followed by the list creator’s followers.
Live stream
A live stream is a real-time video shared over the Internet. Most social networks now offer live streaming options that include the possibility to interact with viewers, who can submit written comments and questions throughout the broadcast.
Lurker
A lurker is someone who watches a social media feed or belongs to a social media group but does not engage with the content with a like or reply.
Meme
An online meme is a joke or comment made for sharing on social networks. It usually appears in the form of a graphic or GIF with text above the image or superimposed.
Mention
A mention is the act of tagging a user in a social media message. Sometimes called @ mentions, these usually trigger a notification for that user and allow your audience to click through to their bio or profile.
Hope you are enjoying this seven part series – stay tuned for the rest!