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When you\u2019re staring at slide 58 of an 80-slide presentation with yet another acronym that you don\u2019t understand, it feels like you could give up on social media altogether.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t worry, that\u2019s pretty much how every marketer feels. Social media acronyms are no different than any other kind of jargon: they are vaguely understood by the group to which they belong (and rarely anybody else).<\/p>\n
Like overly academic or pontificating language, acronyms can be annoying and should be used with caution. However, they hold the keys to better understanding your customers and fellow marketers\u2014so it\u2019s important that you stay on top of them.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve divided our list of social media acronyms and abbreviations into three categories:<\/p>\n
Our comprehensive list of the latest social media acronyms will help you survive your next meeting. Terms are organized alphabetically under each category.<\/p>\n
AMA: Ask me anything<\/strong><\/p>\n Most notably used on Reddit, \u201cask me anything,\u201d refers to crowdsourced Q&A sessions. Anyone can start an AMA session (and big names have, like\u00a0President Obama). Redditors then ask whatever they want and questions are voted up or down. The most popular ones get answered.<\/p>\n BAE: Before anyone else<\/strong><\/p>\n A term of endearment for your loved one. Careful though, this acronym has found its way into our\u00a0list of words and phrases to ban from your social media vocabulary<\/a>.<\/p>\n DM: Direct message<\/strong><\/p>\n A DM is a messaging function on Twitter that allows you to send a private message to another user. You can only send a direct message to a Twitter user who is already following you, and you can only receive messages from people you follow. (You can\u00a0change your account settings<\/a>\u00a0so that you can receive a DM from anyone).<\/p>\n ELI5: Explain like I\u2019m five<\/strong><\/p>\n Popular on Reddit, this acronym is used when someone is asking for a simple explanation of a complex topic, e.g.\u00a0\u201cGravitational waves detected? ELI5.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n FOMO: Fear of missing out<\/strong><\/p>\n The fear that if you miss a party or event, that you\u2019ll miss out on some amazing or memorable experience. (Everybody wants to be part of that memory on Instagram, right?)<\/p>\n FTW: For the win<\/strong><\/p>\n Used to add excitement or emphasis at the end of a social post, but more often used sarcastically, e.g.\u00a0\u201cHe missed his deadline again, FTW!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n ICYMI: In case you missed it<\/strong><\/p>\n Catching you up on the latest information and news.<\/p>\n IMO\/IMHO: In my opinion, In my humble opinion<\/strong><\/p>\n Make it known or emphasize that something you say is an opinion, not fact.<\/p>\n IRL: In real life<\/strong><\/p>\n To let people know you are talking about something in the real world and not in the internet world.<\/p>\n IKR: I know, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n Affirmation or agreement with someone\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n JIC: Just in case<\/strong><\/p>\n In the event that you might need something, e.g.\u00a0\u201cBring your sunscreen JIC.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n LMK: Let me know<\/strong><\/p>\n If someone writes this in a message to you, they\u2019re expecting a response.<\/p>\n MCM: Man Crush Monday<\/strong><\/p>\n A trend on social where you reveal who your \u2018man crush\u2019 is on social. And it must be done on a Monday (#ManCrushMonday, #MCM).<\/p>\n MT: Modified Tweet<\/strong><\/p>\n If a manual Retweet is edited for length, use MT to signify that you\u2019ve changed the original author\u2019s words.<\/p>\n NSFW: Not safe for work<\/strong><\/p>\n This means that your discussion or content isn\u2019t suitable for work, i.e. your boss would find it inappropriate.<\/p>\n OOTD: Outfit of the day<\/strong><\/p>\n A popular Instagram hashtag, #OOTD means you\u2019re showcasing an outfit you\u2019ve worn that day or an outfit that is suited for that day.<\/p>\n RT: Retweet<\/strong><\/p>\n A Retweet is a Tweet that is re-shared to the followers of another user\u2019s Twitter account. You can click the official Retweet button or type \u201cRT\u201d before the @username and content of the tweet you\u2019re re-sharing.<\/p>\n SMH: Shaking my head<\/strong><\/p>\n If you find something really stupid and you don\u2019t have the words to respond.<\/p>\n TL;DR: Too long; didn\u2019t read<\/strong><\/p>\n When someone hasn\u2019t read what you\u2019ve written but wants to reply anyways. Also used to give a brief synopsis of a post or article.<\/p>\n TBH: To be honest<\/strong><\/p>\n When someone wants to emphasize that they are giving their honest opinion, often used for negative feedback, e.g.\u00a0\u201cTbh I don\u2019t like those sunglasses.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n TBT: Throwback Thursday<\/strong><\/p>\n A trend on social media where people post old photos of themselves or others on Thursdays (#ThrowbackThursday, #TBT).<\/p>\n Check out:\u00a0T<\/a>he Power of Nostalgia: How to Use #TBT for Marketing<\/p>\n YOLO: You only live once<\/strong><\/p>\n Often said before (or after) you take a risk in life. Also, if you did something stupid and jokingly want to justify it, e.g.\u00a0\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have eaten that poison ivy as a dare, but YOLO.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n YSK: You should know<\/strong> WCW: Woman Crush Wednesday<\/strong><\/p>\n A trend on social where people reveal who their female crushes are on Wednesday (#WomanCrushWednesday, #WCW).<\/p>\n AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action<\/strong><\/p>\n AIDA is a marketing model that has been around for years.\u00a0MarketingProfs<\/a>\u00a0outlines the ways it should be applied to social media marketing:<\/p>\n API: Application Programming Interface<\/strong><\/p>\n An API is the mechanism that allows\u00a0one backend system to be connected to another<\/a>. For example, if you\u2019re using Google Maps to search for a transit or walking directions in San Francisco, Uber will appear as an option if you have the Uber app installed on your device. Google Maps and Uber are able to talk to each other in this way because Uber has an open API and Google chose to integrate it with their map service.<\/p>\n Check out:\u00a0Social Media APIs Transform Businesses\u2014Here\u2019s Why.<\/p>\n CMGR: Community manager<\/strong><\/p>\n A community manager builds relationships on social media. They engage with, and nurture, customers and key members of your community. If you\u2019re wondering how this differs from a social media manager,\u00a0we\u2019ve got a blog post to help you out.<\/p>\n CMS: Content Management System<\/strong><\/p>\n A content management system allows you to create and modify your content. If you\u2019re running a blog, website, or social channels, a CMS is the backbone that holds it all together. Popular content management systems include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.<\/p>\n CPC, PPC: Cost per click, Pay per click<\/strong><\/p>\n Cost per click (or pay per click) is an internet advertising model that is used to direct traffic to websites. It basically means\u00a0you pay for each click on your ads<\/a>.<\/p>\n CR: Conversion rate<\/strong> CRO: Conversion rate optimization<\/strong><\/p>\n Conversion rate optimization is the strategy employed to increase conversions.<\/p>\n CTA: Call to action<\/strong><\/p>\n A call-to-action is verbal, written, or visual instruction intended to prompt a response from your customer. On social media, a call-to-action can be anything from getting your audience to read content, engage with campaigns and contests, or try out a new product offering.<\/p>\n CTR: Click-through rate<\/strong><\/p>\n Click-through rate measures the number of people that click on a link. When you\u2019re running a social media campaign, you\u2019ll probably set benchmarks and goals for the number of click-throughs.<\/p>\n CX: Customer experience<\/strong><\/p>\n Customer experience is the relationship that a customer (or potential customer) has with your company. It covers every aspect of your business from sales, to customer service, to social media and marketing efforts, to product.<\/p>\n ESP: Email service provider<\/strong><\/p>\n An email service provider hosts email marketing services on their servers. Popular email service providers include MailChimp, Mad Mimi, and Vertical Response.<\/p>\n KPI: Key performance indicator<\/strong><\/p>\n Key performance indicator is a broad business metric used to determine success. KPIs will vary according to each organization and department.<\/p>\n PV: Page views<\/strong><\/p>\n A pageview is the number of views that your website or other online content has accumulated.<\/p>\n GA: Google Analytics<\/strong><\/p>\n Google Analytics is Google\u2019s web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic. It can show you important social metrics like referral traffic from social media.<\/p>\n ROI: Return on investment<\/strong><\/p>\n Return on investment is a way to measure the efficiency or effectiveness of your investment. It\u2019s the benefit of the investment divided by the cost of the investment.<\/p>\n To get buy-in on your social media strategy, it\u2019s important to demonstrate how social media contributes to overall business goals. You can learn how to measure and demonstrate social media ROI in our\u00a0comprehensive guide.<\/a><\/p>\n RSS: Rich site summary (Also known as: really simple syndication)<\/strong><\/p>\n RSS is a format for syndicating web content. Blogs, news publishers, and other publications use RSS feeds to broadcast content to their audiences.<\/p>\n RTD: Real-time data<\/strong><\/p>\n Real-time data is presented as it is received (i.e. in \u201creal time\u201d). It gives you the convenience of accessing the latest information whenever you need it.<\/p>\n SaaS: Software as a service<\/strong><\/p>\n Software as a service (sometimes referred to as web-based or hosted software) allows you to run an application on your web browser. For example, Hootsuite is software as a service\u2014we build the software and you can log in and use it from your own device.<\/p>\n SEM: Search engine marketing<\/strong> SEO: Search engine optimization<\/strong> SERP: Search engine results page<\/strong><\/p>\n A search engine results page shows the pages displayed in response to the search query. Results listings are useful to identify customer and search intent of a particular keyword phrase.<\/p>\n SM: Social media<\/strong><\/p>\n Something you\u2019re probably already familiar with, social media includes websites or applications that allow you to create and share content and engage in social networking.<\/p>\n SMB: Small and midsize businesses<\/strong><\/p>\n Small businesses are usually defined as\u00a0less than 100 employees<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0midsize businesses between 100 and 999 employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n SMP: Social media platform<\/strong><\/p>\n Refers to the platform of a particular social network. For example, when you log into Facebook\u2019s application, you\u2019re using their platform.<\/p>\n SMM: Social media marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n The use of social media by marketers to increase brand awareness, identify target audiences, find and nurture sales leads, and build relationships.<\/p>\n SMO: Social media optimization<\/strong><\/p>\n Similar to social media marketing, social media optimization refers to improving existing marketing strategies on social media.<\/p>\n SOV: Share of voice<\/strong><\/p>\n On social media, SOV measures what percentage of mentions within your industry are about your brand, and what percentage are about your competitors.<\/p>\n SoLoMo: Social, local, mobile<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nWhen you should already know what someone is talking about.<\/p>\nAcronyms used by social media marketers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nConversion rate is the number of people who take action through things like views, engagement, or purchase. Tracking conversions from social is an important part of attributing revenue to social media.<\/p>\n
\nSearch engine marketing is a form of internet marketing that typically refers to\u00a0buying traffic through paid search listings<\/a>\u00a0which will appear on search engines like Google.<\/p>\n
\nSearch engine optimization focuses on growing organic search engine results. As\u00a0Moz\u2019s comprehensive guide to SEO<\/a>\u00a0points out, \u201cSEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness in search engines.\u201d<\/p>\n