15 social media terms you should know
Let's face it: social media is ever-evolving and so is the lingo. Keeping up can often feel like an uphill battle.
No more befuddling buzzwords. We're here to save the day with a list of 15 social media terms you should know.
-
Algorithm. This word is far less scary than it seems. The Algorithm is how each platform determines which content to display to a particular user at a given time. Keep engagement as your number 1 priority and you'll game the system every time.
-
Evergreen Content. This is any blog post or social media post that can be used again and again and again. Content that is evergreen is always relevant and isn't tied to a particular year or dated trend.
-
Organic Reach. Organic reach is how many people see your post without the help of ad dollars behind it. This is what I encourage all of my clients to strive for before they start dumping money into digital ads.
-
Batching Content. Batching is when you reserve time during your week to create and schedule content in advance, lessening the likelihood of overwhelm.
-
Content Pillars. These are the 3-5 topics or categories you post about the most on your social media platforms.
-
Social Proof. These are posts with lots of likes, comments, great testimonials, and influencer endorsements. Seeing positive engagement from others makes us more likely to trust and engage with a brand and there's nothing more compelling than trust.
-
User-Generated Content (UGC). You down with UGC, yeah you know me! This is content created by users who follow and support your brand. Never be afraid to make the ask of your followers to tag you in their posts or use your branded hashtag. UGC should be within your content pillar plan.
-
Social Listening. This is when you pay attention to what people are saying about your brand online. Make sure you're searching your company's name and regularly monitoring the conversation via reviews and google search.
-
Average Response Time. How quickly you respond to your social media audience's questions, comments, or complaints. 42% of customers expect a response within 60 minutes or less.
-
Carousel Post. Sharing multiple photos/video in one post. On Instagram, you're allowed up to 10. The reason why these are fire? The more time people spend on your post, the more platforms see your content as valuable and therefore push it out to more users.
-
DM. This is a direct message sent to a private inbox. The more you direct message with other users, the more likely your content will pop up on their newsfeed when they log on.
-
Follow for Follow. This is an absolutely no-no for social. This is when accounts ask for you to follow them in the exchange for them following your account. This only lowers quality of your followers. It is far better to have 100 followers that buy from you or are truly interested in the value you're providing than 10,000 followers that don't engage.
-
Geotag. When you add a location tag to your post or story. Adding a geotag can broaden your organic reach and a basic that should be part of your social strategy.
-
Handle. The unique username used on social media accounts. To keep your brand cohesive, use the same handle across all platforms. Make it easy to find you.
- Instagram pod. Another tactic you should avoid. Pods are when people create a message group where everyone agrees to alert the group when they have a new post up and everyone is expected to go and like and comment on the post quickly. It is not an authentic form of engagement.
Which term was new to you? Slide into my DMs and let me know @esvcreative.