Social Media Glossary

Do you know the difference between a feed and a timeline? Find out by using the below feature to search through our Social Media Glossary.

The glossary is being updated all the time. If you think there is anything missing, please get in touch to let us know at justin@theonlineadvertisingguide.com

Please note: The below contains terms related to social media, acronyms of social media terms, abbreviations of social media terms, and synonyms of social media terms!

If you’re looking for something specific, we recommend you use the search box.

 

Want to learn more about social media marketing? Check our SMM Guide!

 

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  • a

  • An acronym for Ask to Answer. On Quora users can request answers to questions from specific...   Learn More >
  • When a moderator is reading the majority of posts or comments on a website or social network to...   Learn More >
  • A bit of text that is attached to an image on a webpage appears when the image doesn't load....   Learn More >
  • AMA stands for Ask Me Anything and is a form of question and answer session that originated on...   Learn More >
  • The rate at which an individual post is shared on social media. This is calculated by taking the...   Learn More >
  • The measurable statistics of a website or an ad campaign (such as impressions). Typically...   Learn More >
  • A provider of website analytics such as Google Analytics.
  • A Gif that cycles through different images. Gif is an acronym that stands for graphic...   Learn More >
  • App is an abbreviation of Application and is generally used to refer to applications on mobile...   Learn More >
  • The rate at which an individual post is liked on social media. This is calculated by taking...   Learn More >
  • App is an abbreviation of Application and is generally used to refer to applications on mobile...   Learn More >
  • AMA stands for Ask Me Anything and is a form of question and answer session that originated on...   Learn More >
  • An acronym for Ask to Answer. On Quora users can request answers to questions from specific...   Learn More >
  • A way of representing yourself with an icon or figure. Reddit launched a new Avatar builder at...   Learn More >

  • b

  • Behavioural Segmentation is the process of splitting people by their activity (or lack of...   Learn More >
  • An emoji that is intended to look like you, and is used as your avatar on many social platforms.
  • A list of (usually permanently) banned people or things. For example, users who break rules...   Learn More >
  • The informal collective name for all blogs.
  • The informal name for any book-related content on TikTok. Notable for the fact that this...   Learn More >
  • Buffer is a social media scheduling tool.
  • Bulletin is Facebook/Meta's email newsletter product.

  • c

  • Also known as Title Case. Camel Case Means Capitalising Every Word In a Sentence. This is used...   Learn More >
  • A popular and simple design tool that can be accessed through a browser. Canva has a large...   Learn More >
  • A version of hashtags on Twitter that are used for stocks. Instead of the #, Cashtags use $ -...   Learn More >
  • A chatbot is a program that talks to the public on a companies behalf. They can be used to...   Learn More >
  • What is a Click? When it comes to online advertising, a click refers to a user clicking on an...   Learn More >
  • Last updated May 2023 What does CTR mean? CTR stands for Click-Through Rate. It is the...   Learn More >
  • An audio-chat social network app which launched in 2020. Users of Clubhouse can listen to and/or...   Learn More >
  • A consumption is a metric Facebook uses, which basically means the number of clicks on any of...   Learn More >
  • A policy that explains which cookies are dropped by a website, and what they are being used for....   Learn More >
  • A way for two accounts on Twitter to tweet together (the Tweet will say it's from both of them)....   Learn More >
  • A Creative Agency is a company that creates advertising on behalf of other companies. They...   Learn More >
  • A way to manage posts and assets on LinkedIn for creators.
  • Last updated May 2023 What does CTR mean? CTR stands for Click-Through Rate. It is the...   Learn More >

  • d

  • Traffic from social media platforms that doesn't contain any referral information so cannot be...   Learn More >
  • Demographics are factors such as age, race, gender, sex, location which are often used to break...   Learn More >
  • An internal message on a social network (such as Twitter). Often abbreviated to DM, it is now...   Learn More >
  • Discord is a chatroom app popular with gamers, which is often described as a social media platform.
  • A commenting plugin that can be used on any website which requires users to create profiles....   Learn More >
  • An internal message on a social network (such as Twitter). Often abbreviated to DM, it is now...   Learn More >
  • A phrase referring to the idea of Dog Food makers should test their own dog food (presumably on...   Learn More >

  • e

  • Also known as Free Media, Earned Media is advertising that was inspired rather than placed or...   Learn More >
  • eCommerce refers to buying or selling goods or services online, as well as online transactions....   Learn More >
  • An online sale. A subset of conversion in general, which don't have to be sales or money related...   Learn More >
  • The conversion rate of online sales (as opposed to other types of conversions).
  • Effective Cost Per Engagement. This term is used when a cost per engagement is being calculated...   Learn More >
  • Effective Cost Per Engagement. This term is used when a cost per engagement is being calculated...   Learn More >
  • A standard set of small images that can be added to messages and posts that is used to express...   Learn More >
  • An Engagement is any sort of interaction with content. For example on a video it would...   Learn More >
  • Engagement Rate (or ER) is the percentage of people who saw a piece of content or ad and engaged...   Learn More >
  • Engagement Rate (or ER) is the percentage of people who saw a piece of content or ad and engaged...   Learn More >
  • In ad platforms, this is an option to specify that ads should be delivered evenly as possible...   Learn More >

  • f

  • A social networking site, where users can post updates in their timeline which include text,...   Learn More >
  • Facebook's website analytics program (similar to Google Analytics) that was officially retired...   Learn More >
  • The free Facebook advertising course run by Facebook. It is very comprehensive.
  • Facebook Boost is a system where you pay Facebook to show organic posts to more people, with no...   Learn More >
  • Facebook's built-in social media management tool for Facebook and Instagram. It can be used to...   Learn More >
  • Broadcasting live onto Facebook, with a video appearing in your feed which is shown in real-time.
  • The messaging system that is built into Facebook, which is broken out into a separate app on...   Learn More >
  • A social networking site, where users can post updates in their timeline which include text,...   Learn More >
  • An acronym that stands for Fear Of Missing Out, which refers to the idea that people always...   Learn More >
  • A social media term meaning either the list of updates you have posted or the list of updates...   Learn More >
  • The act of choosing to add someone's updates to your social media feed (and becoming their...   Learn More >
  • A follower is a social media term that means someone who has chosen to see your updates on that...   Learn More >
  • An old tradition on Twitter where people would suggest interesting accounts to follow (these...   Learn More >
  • What does Follow Ratio mean? Follow Ratio is the number of followers compared to the number of...   Learn More >
  • An acronym that stands for Fear Of Missing Out, which refers to the idea that people always...   Learn More >
  • A service that has a basic version that is free to use, but for which a premium version of the...   Learn More >

  • g

  • Google Analytics is one of the most commonly used providers of web statistics. It's free and...   Learn More >
  • A type of image file, which can be animated. Gif is an acronym that stands for graphic...   Learn More >
  • Google+ was a social network from Google. It has now been switched off.
  • Google Analytics is one of the most commonly used providers of web statistics. It's free and...   Learn More >
  • A type of image file, which can be animated. Gif is an acronym that stands for graphic...   Learn More >
  • The mechanism that makes a startup grow in a sustainable fashion. This can often mean a...   Learn More >

  • h

  • In digital marketing, half-life is defined as the time it takes for a piece of content to...   Learn More >
  • On Snapchat, a half-swipe is when you uncover a message to read it without notifying the other...   Learn More >
  • A hashtag is this symbol #. It is used on social media to categorize posts so that other users...   Learn More >
  • Hootsuite is a (great!) social media scheduling tool.
  • A social network based around group video chats.

  • i

  • The new version of Story Pins. Idea Pins however are intended to be long-term 'stories' rather...   Learn More >
  • Instagram is a free photo and video sharing social network, created in 2010 and acquired in 2012...   Learn More >
  • What does Impression mean? Impression means when something (usually content, an ad or post) is...   Learn More >
  • In email marketing, the term ‘Inactive Subscriber’ refers to someone who has chosen to continue...   Learn More >
  • Infinite Scroll refers to a feature on websites where a user can continue scrolling down a page...   Learn More >
  • An Influencer is essentially the internet version of a celebrity. The unofficial definition of...   Learn More >
  • Using influencers to market a product or brand. This can be direct via paying an influencer (eg...   Learn More >
  • Instagram is a free photo and video sharing social network, created in 2010 and acquired in 2012...   Learn More >
  • Broadcasting live onto Instagram, with your video appearing live in your feed.
  • Instagram Reels is Instagram's version of TikTok. You can record a 15-60 second clip set to...   Learn More >
  • A way that users can curate a group of their own Instagram posts. These stories are only...   Learn More >

  • j

  • jpg is the file extension abbreviation of a JPEG image file. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic...   Learn More >
  • jpg is the file extension abbreviation of a JPEG image file. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic...   Learn More >

  • k

  • Keyword targeting is the process of targeting marketing activities at specific sets of useful...   Learn More >
  • Kik Messenger is an instant messaging platform that is sometimes referred to as a social network.
  • An acronym standing for Keep It Simple Stupid. KISS is a sort of pseudo-ethos that advocates for...   Learn More >

  • l

  • The page where a person enters a website (ie the page they "land on"). In online advertising,...   Learn More >
  • Sometimes referred to as Last Touch, this is the most common type of attribution for conversions...   Learn More >
  • A potential customer, or a way to get in touch with a potential customer (eg email address,...   Learn More >
  • Lead generation (or Lead Gen) is the gathering of potential customers' contact information and...   Learn More >
  • Originally contributed by Eun Rockwell. Last updated May 2023. LinkedIn is a social network...   Learn More >
  • LTV (often called Customer Lifetime Value or CLTV) is an attempt at predicting the amount of...   Learn More >
  • A "Like" is a social media term, meaning when a user clicks a button to show they like or...   Learn More >
  • Originally contributed by Eun Rockwell. Last updated May 2023. LinkedIn is a social network...   Learn More >
  • LinkedIn's built in email marketing platform. There are a lot of suprisingly good ones on there...   Learn More >
  • A way of broadcasting live on Instagram with up to three guests. The 'host' starts an Instagram...   Learn More >
  • An influencer whose followers are concentrated in one geographic area.
  • LTV (often called Customer Lifetime Value or CLTV) is an attempt at predicting the amount of...   Learn More >

  • m

  • A metric that social networks use to describe how many people are using their site. The point of...   Learn More >
  • Facebooks version of Zoom. A large scale video messaging service.
  • A tag that is used to define what something online is about. While there is still an HTML meta...   Learn More >
  • Metrics are measurable statistics that are used in digital marketing to improve performance such...   Learn More >
  • An influential person on social media with less than 10,000 followers. Often thought to be more...   Learn More >
  • Moderation is the act of reviewing comments or forum posts to ensure they don’t breach rules set...   Learn More >
  • Someone who reads comments or posts on a website and decides whether or not that content is...   Learn More >
  • A modified tweet (or MT) is a form of retweet on Twitter, in which changes have been made (often...   Learn More >
  • A metric that social networks use to describe how many people are using their site. The point of...   Learn More >
  • A modified tweet (or MT) is a form of retweet on Twitter, in which changes have been made (often...   Learn More >
  • Sometimes referred to as multi-channel attribution, this is a way of attributing conversions...   Learn More >

  • n

  • Native Ads are ads that are intended not to look like ads. For example, they could be an...   Learn More >
  • When a reply to a comment is slightly indented or hidden under the comment it is replying to (so...   Learn More >
  • Etiquette on the internet.
  • A unique identifier for a digital good. NFTs utilise blockchain technology to make it possible...   Learn More >
  • A specific or specialised interest or section of the population. Websites are often spoken about...   Learn More >
  • A video where an influencer promotes a bunch of different brands at once. This type of...   Learn More >
  • A unique identifier for a digital good. NFTs utilise blockchain technology to make it possible...   Learn More >

  • o

  • Organic traffic means website traffic that is not paid for - ie users finding your site through...   Learn More >
  • Owned Media refers to advertising using channels an advertiser controls. This includes your own...   Learn More >

  • p

  • Traffic which comes to a website from advertising on social networks. This term usually only...   Learn More >
  • Phishing is a type of scam through digital communication in order to obtain personal information...   Learn More >
  • The word for a post on Pinterest.
  • Someone who posts on Pinterest.
  • Pinterest is a social network that focuses on collecting images and ideas for inspiration from...   Learn More >
  • A platform is a generic term that means a computer/server which does something. An Ad Platform...   Learn More >
  • Post is a generic term for anything you put on social media or a blog. It can also be used as a...   Learn More >
  • In this case, post means "after", so Post-Moderation means moderating comments after they have...   Learn More >
  • Public Relations (or PR) is the process by which a company tries to manage its image or...   Learn More >
  • When all comments or posts on a site are checked by moderators when they are submitted, and only...   Learn More >
  • Pronouns are the terms a person would like to be referred to by (eg he/him, she/her, they/them...   Learn More >
  • Public Relations (or PR) is the process by which a company tries to manage its image or...   Learn More >

  • q

  • A quote tweet is a term on Twitter for when you retweet the URL to a tweet and add a comment....   Learn More >
  • Founded in 2009, Quora is a social network based around knowledge. Users of the site may post...   Learn More >
  • A quote tweet is a term on Twitter for when you retweet the URL to a tweet and add a comment....   Learn More >

  • r

  • Reach is a metric (most commonly used in social media) referring to the number of users who saw...   Learn More >
  • Launched in 2005, Reddit is one of the top ten largest social networks in the world. Reddit is...   Learn More >
  • Someone who uses the website Reddit (as a registered user).
  • Reddit's version of Clubhouse. A voice chat function that can be opened in a sub.
  • Instagram's version of TikTok Duets. You can record a reel that is a response to someone else's...   Learn More >
  • Instagram's version of reposting or sharing.
  • The equivalent of a share on Pinterest - when you pin something to your profile/board which...   Learn More >
  • RT stands for 'retweet' in social media. A retweet on Twitter is when a user posts something...   Learn More >
  • Revue was launched in 2015 and bought by Twitter in 2021, which then shut it down in January...   Learn More >
  • RT stands for 'retweet' in social media. A retweet on Twitter is when a user posts something...   Learn More >

  • s

  • A business model where users are charged a subscription fee for using software as opposed to a...   Learn More >
  • A feeling of opinion on something. Sentiment analysis is often used wherever there are comments...   Learn More >
  • Sharing is a term mostly used in social media that is a softer way to talk about posting...   Learn More >
  • An instant messenger tool used by companies. Sometimes referred to as a Social Network.
  • Social Media refers to websites entirely made up of user-generated content, in which users can...   Learn More >
  • Social Media Marketing (or SMM) is the blanket term for any type of marketing using social...   Learn More >
  • Social Media Optimisation (or SMO) refers to any activity which is aimed at improving results...   Learn More >
  • The central concept is Snapchat is that messages shared are only temporary. All messages delete...   Learn More >
  • A place on Snapchat where users of the platform can save snaps for later. Memories are only...   Learn More >
  • The process of monitoring social channels for people talking about your brand or things related...   Learn More >
  • Social Media refers to websites entirely made up of user-generated content, in which users can...   Learn More >
  • Social Media Marketing (or SMM) is the blanket term for any type of marketing using social...   Learn More >
  • Social Media Optimisation (or SMO) refers to any activity which is aimed at improving results...   Learn More >
  • What is a Social Media Scheduler? A Social Media Scheduler is a tool used to plan social...   Learn More >
  • When someone is banned from social media. Social media suspensions usually have a specific...   Learn More >
  • A way of expressing that people like/agree with an action, often by using usage stats. For...   Learn More >
  • A business model where users are charged a subscription fee for using software as opposed to a...   Learn More >
  • Short for Social, Local, Mobile, SoLoMo is a marketing mindset that seeks to integrate three...   Learn More >
  • SP stands for Sponsored Post and means a social media post has been paid for by an advertiser....   Learn More >
  • SP stands for Sponsored Post and means a social media post has been paid for by an advertiser....   Learn More >
  • A popular and powerful social media management tool that allows users to manage their social...   Learn More >
  • Statusbrew is a social media scheduling tool. We highly recommend it - read more about why here >   Learn More >
  • A blockchain based social network that pays users for their content using the STEEM cryptocurrency.
  • This is the name for a person or group of people who have voluntarily decided to become notified...   Learn More >
  • A tweet that refers to someone without mentioning them directly (often as a way to mock...   Learn More >
  • A service from Twitter where people can Super Follow an account. Super Following an account...   Learn More >
  • An acronym standing for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. SWOT is used to start...   Learn More >

  • t

  • A secure messaging app that lets you set messages to delete themselves (like Snapchat)....   Learn More >
  • Cookies that are dropped onto a person's computer when visiting a website that are not from the...   Learn More >
  • A small picture (often auto-generated from a larger version of the picture) that goes alongside...   Learn More >
  • A high concept social network, where users can post 15 seconds videos with a song or audio clip...   Learn More >
  • A way to pay to show posts on TikTok to more users. As with Facebook Boost, there are almost...   Learn More >
  • Influencers with over 100,000 followers can enrol in TikTok Pulse for an ad rev share of...   Learn More >
  • A way to apply for jobs through TikTok using a short video CV.
  • A timeline in social media refers to a type of feed where all posts are listed in reverse...   Learn More >
  • A way to pay content creators. This functionality is implemented in different ways on different...   Learn More >
  • In digital marketing, ToFu means "Top of Funnel" and refers to the first real contact someone...   Learn More >
  • In digital marketing, ToFu means "Top of Funnel" and refers to the first real contact someone...   Learn More >
  • A hyperlink that is designed to be easily trackable, often by adding UTM parameters, or else by...   Learn More >
  • Traffic in online advertising is a catch-all term for visitors to a site (the online equivalent...   Learn More >
  • A “trigger warning” (often abbreviated to TW) is a notice at the start of a piece of content...   Learn More >
  • An online travel company that features user-generated content (which is why it is sometimes...   Learn More >
  • Tumblr is a multimedia social network owned by Automattic (who bought it from Verizon). Founded...   Learn More >
  • A way to pay to boost posts on Tumblr to random users (with no ability to target ads...   Learn More >
  • A “trigger warning” (often abbreviated to TW) is a notice at the start of a piece of content...   Learn More >
  • A tweet is a post on Twitter. They are limited to 140 characters, with the intention being that...   Learn More >
  • A social media scheduling tool.
  • A streaming social network type service, where users film themselves playing video games and...   Learn More >
  • What is Twitter? Twitter is a social media platform that is based around conversation topics...   Learn More >
  • A subscription version of Twitter which has extra features such as an Undo button.
  • Twitter Circles is a feature from Twitter where people can build a list of 'trusted friends' and...   Learn More >
  • Twitter Engagement Rate is the number of times a tweet was loaded into someone's feed, divided...   Learn More >
  • Launched in late 2020 but turned off in August 2021, Fleets were Twitter's version of the...   Learn More >
  • Twitter's built-in social media management platform.
  • Twitter Spaces is a live audio space that users can launch to talk to other people. It was...   Learn More >

  • u

  • UGC (or User Generated Content) means any content generated by the users of a site as opposed to...   Learn More >
  • The web address of a website or webpage. For example, the address of this website is...   Learn More >
  • An acronym standing for Unique Selling Point. This is a concept based around how a...   Learn More >
  • Moderation is the act of reviewing comments or forum posts to ensure they don't breach rules set...   Learn More >
  • When someone unsubscribes from something, it means they have decided they no longer want to...   Learn More >
  • In email marketing, the unsubscribe rate means the percentage of your users who are choosing to...   Learn More >
  • The web address of a website or webpage. For example, the address of this website is...   Learn More >
  • UGC (or User Generated Content) means any content generated by the users of a site as opposed to...   Learn More >
  • An acronym standing for Unique Selling Point. This is a concept based around how a...   Learn More >

  • v

  • A verified badge is a way that Twitter identifies accounts as being owned by who says owns...   Learn More >
  • A piece of content that is shared a lot by individuals (without payment) in a short period of...   Learn More >
  • Viral Marketing is where someone creates content so interesting that people share it widely for...   Learn More >
  • A video blog.
  • A video blogger.

  • w

  • A Chinese social media platform, that includes a payment platform. It is so popular than many...   Learn More >
  • A secure instant messenger owned by Facebook. Groups can be made within WhatsApp to communicate...   Learn More >

  • y

  • Microsoft's answer to Twitter & Slack. Generally used internally on companies intranet for staff...   Learn More >
  • YouTube is a video network owned by Google. It runs the most VOD ads of any video network, and...   Learn More >
  • A user of the website YouTube as a creator - by uploading/managing videos, creating videos, or...   Learn More >
  • YouTube is a video network owned by Google. It runs the most VOD ads of any video network, and...   Learn More >

 

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