Do you often hear a social media term or acronym that is a head scratcher? We’re here to help. This blog post covers commonly used terms for social media to help you speak the jargon. Think we missed a word or two? Leave it in the comments and we’ll get it added.
P.S. If you’re wanting to learn search engine marketing terms, head over to our SEO Glossary of Terms blog post.
A — B — C — D — E — F — G — H — I — J — K — L — M — N — O — P — Q — R — S — T — U — V — W — X — Y — Z
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AMA – AMA stands for ask me anything. It is commonly used when a social media user is doing a question-and-answer series.
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Block – When you block a user on social media, they will no longer be able to see your content or send you messages. If your profile is public, it is possible for them to see your content when they are not logged in.
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Clickbait – Clickbait is an article or blog post with an interesting title that drives engagement to a website. It is commonly misleading and often leaves readers disappointed.
Connection – A connection on LinkedIn is the same idea as a friend on Facebook. When making a connection on LinkedIn, it is commonly seen as a professional relationship between two people.
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Direct Message (DM) – Direct message, also abbreviated as DM, are used on Twitter when a private conversation occurs. A direct message can only be sent if both accounts are following one another.
Double Tap – Double tap on Instagram is liking a photo. If you double-tap an image, the heart lights up showing that you like an image.
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Emoji – Small graphics that can be used in social media posts or private messages.
Endorsement – On LinkedIn, a person can endorse an individual’s skills listed on their profile to help show that they do have the skill mentioned.
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Facebook – The social network that was started in 2004. It was originally started to allow friends to interact online with one another before expanding to have business pages, groups and more.
Favorite – On Twitter, users can click a star below a tweet to favorite it. Doing so shows that you like the tweet.
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GIF – GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It is an image that can be both animated and static. It is often used as a reaction or a response on social media platforms.
Google+ – Google+ is one of Google’s many attempts at a social media network. It was discontinued on April 2, 2019.
Groups – Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups allow people with similar interests to create a community where they are interacting with one another. These groups can sometimes be locked so only members of the group can see what information is being shared.
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Handle – A handle is your username on the social media platform and can commonly be found in the URL for your Facebook business page or Twitter profile. A handle often has an @ symbol in front of it.
Hashtag – Hashtags are a word or string of words with a hashtag (#) in front of it. It is clickable so you can see other content that is using the same hashtag and is often related.
Header Image – The image at the top of your social media profile is known as the header image. It is often referred to as the cover photo as well.
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IGTV – Specific to Instagram, IGTV is long videos on a profile.
Instagram – The social media profile Instagram was launched in October 2010. It is primarily used to share images with captions. It has since expanded to include short videos, long-form videos (IGTV) and reels.
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Like – Simply the act of liking a post, photo, etc. that was posted on social media. On Facebook, a like is represented with a thumbs up. On Instagram, a like is considered double-tapping to highlight the heart. A favorite on Twitter, shown by the heart, is also a like.
LinkedIn – Started in 2002, LinkedIn started as a professional networking website. While it still is, it has expanded to include business profiles for users to learn more about a company, as well as list job opportunities that can be applied for.
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Mention – A mention is when someone tags you using your username or handle. When a mention is used, a notification is sent to your profile.
Messenger – Facebook expanded to include an instant messenger feature with Messenger. It allows people to send direct messages to each other, which can also commonly be referred to as private messages which is abbreviated as PM.
Mute – Mute stops you from seeing a user’s content without unfriending or unfollowing them. You are still connected with the user and can interact with them, but do not see their content in your feed.
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News Feed – On Facebook, the news feed is the main screen that shows posts from the people or businesses you follow.
Notification – A notification is sent when a user or business interacts with your post or page in some way. You can also receive a notification when someone tags or mentions your business.
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Pinterest – Pinterest was started in March 2010. It is often referred to as a virtual corkboard where you can save images that link to the content of interest such as recipes or a vacation guide, etc.
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Reaction – In addition to ‘likes’ Facebook allows users to react to content including a heart, sad, angry, etc.
Retweet – On Twitter, a user can retweet another user’s tweet to share it with their followers.
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Snapchat – Snapchat is a social media platform where users can send messages, photos, and videos back and forth. The content is usually only available for a short amount of time before a user can no longer see it.
Social Media Monitoring – Social media monitoring is when an account is watched so a user, influencer or business can then respond to mentions or comments. Many tools can be used for social media monitoring, including Buffer, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social to name a few.
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Thread – A long string of messages or posts that go together. It is started by an initial post and then built off of with additional messages or comments.
TikTok – A social media platform that is primarily short-form videos covering a variety of topics.
Trending Topic – Trending topics are those that are currently being talked about in high volumes across a social media platform. A hashtag is sometimes associated with a trending topic.
Troll – A troll is a user on a social media platform that is looking for trouble. They often criticize an influencer or another user to create controversy.
Tweet – A tweet is a post on Twitter. The post can be no longer than 280 characters.
Twitter – A social media platform founded in 2006. It allows users to share messages known as tweets. People are then able to reply to the tweet to start a conversation. They can also retweet a message to share it with their followers or favorite at tweet as well.
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Unfollow – When you stop following a social media account, so you no longer are connected to them you are unfollowing them.
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Verified – An account that has been vetted and proven its identity. It is common for celebrities or public figures to be verified.
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