Are you still up to date with all the terms, abbreviations and new developments on social media? No? Perfect, because then you are the ideal reader of our 4-part blog: the ultimate social media dictionary. With each letter of the alphabet we’ll provide you with 4 interesting words.
A
- A/B-testing
An A/B test is a method to compare 2 variations of an ad, a piece of content or other material, so you can see which version performs better. Split-testing is also sometimes used. During A/B-testing only a part of your audience will see each test. This allows you to create the most effective content before showing it to all your followers.
- AMA – Ask Me Anything
An AMA, short for “ask me anything”, is an interactive post in which someone answers questions, usually in real time. Often used on Facebook Live or Instagram Stories.
- AI – Artificial Intelligence
“Artificial intelligence” is the ability of computers, programs or machines to learn and adapt in a way that resembles human thought. Think, for example, of chatbots or Alexa. The more you work with your AI device, the more “intelligent” it becomes.
API – Application Programming Interface
An application programming interface (API) is a communication system in which 2 applications or platforms can “talk” to each other. Social network API’s allow these platforms to integrate with other software providers and apps. For example: you want to use a social media scheduler. Thanks to an API, an integration can be made between the social medium and the scheduler.
B
- Bio
Your bio, short for biography, is the part of each digital profile that tells new or future followers who you are. All social platforms offer space to write a bio. It’s the first thing users see when they discover your profile, a kind of digital business card.
- Bitmoji
A bitmoji is a custom avatar that can be added to various online networks. With the bitmoji-app you can make a cartoon view of yourself as if it were really you. Bitmoji is owned by Snap, the mother company of Snapchat, and is well integrated with the Snapchat app.
- Boosted Post
A boosted post is a form of social media promotion where a brand pays to show a social post to people who don’t already follow the social accounts of the brand. Not to be confused with detailed social media advertising, in which we can assist you.
- Brand Awareness
Brand awareness indicates how likely it is that people are aware of your brand. It includes online attention for your brand, in the form of mentions, reactions, engagement, … The more people talk about you online, the greater your brand awareness.
C
- Caption
A caption is a description for a photo on social media. Captions can contain text, but also @-mentions and emojis. It is an important part of your story that you want to convey as well as possible to your followers.
- CTR – Click-Through Rate
Click-through rate, shortly CTR, is a statistic for the number of people who click through a social post or advertisement to read more, buy something or take another action. It shows how effective your social content is. CTR has a formula: dividing the number of clicks by the total number of impressions. This is then usually displayed as a %.
- Conversion
A conversion takes place when a social media user or visitor of your website takes a specific, desired action. E.g. a purchase, but conversion can also include lead generation, subscribing to a newsletter, registering for a webinar, downloading an ebook, …
- Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing means engaging your online community for new ideas, suggestions, information or content. “User-generated content” is an excellent example of crowdsourcing. For example, launch an interactive poll to obtain ideas from your followers.
D
- Dark Post
A dark post is an unpublished social media post that is promoted as an advertisement for a specific audience. The post cannot be found organically on your timeline and ensures that your timeline is not flooded with promotional messages.
- Dashboard
A social media dashboard is a tool that allows marketers and social media managers to manage all their social media platforms from a single screen. Plan, post, view and respond. Both organic and paid social messages.
- DM – Direct Message
A direct message (DM) is a private message sent via a social medium. DMs from non-trackers are by default blocked or placed in a secondary inbox. Don’t want this? Then just adjust this in your settings.
- Disappearing content
Disappearing content refers to a social media post that disappears after a certain time, usually 24 hours. Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories and Snaps are all examples of this “disappearing” content.
E
- Ebook
Ebook is an abbreviation of “electronic book”. This is a digital file, such as a PDF, to be read on a computer, a mobile device or a special e-book reader.
Curious about our social media ebook? Download it here!
- Emoji
Emojis are a set of small images used in digital channels from text messages to social media. They derive from the emoticons, think back to the good old days on ‘MSN’ earlier :O. iOS and Android both have a built-in emojis keyboard.
- Engagement
Engagement is any form of interaction with your brand on social media. Likes, comments and shares are all forms of engagement. All this is expressed in an engagement rate: a measure of how many people interact with your social media content.
- Evergreen Content
Evergreen content is content designed to last for the long term. It is not tied to any specific event or promotion, and can drive traffic to your website for years to come.
F
- Favorite
Favorite was the term Twitter originally used to refer to Likes. Favorites were indicated with an asterisk. Currently Twitter uses a heart icon and uses the term likes, in the same line as other social networks.
- Feed
A feed is an updated list of all new content posted by the accounts a user follows on social media. Instead of chronological, most social media feeds are driven by an algorithm. Just think of your own Facebook feed.
- Filter
Since the arrival of Instagram we can’t live without: filters. A filter is a photo effect that can be applied to photos before they are published, from simple black and white or sepia, and so on. Filters are available on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger and many other apps with camera integrations.
- FF – Follow Friday
Follow Friday is a hashtag used to highlight some of your favorite Twitter accounts. Including someone in a #FF post is a way to recommend their account to your followers.