Social Media Terms & What They Mean

Every industry has their own jargon and social media is not exempt. To help you understand the language a bit, we’ve compiled a list of words and their meanings that any digital marketer may use.

Platform- any social media profile, network, or site that you have. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are all platforms. 

Page- a dedicated profile for your business.

Engagement- Any action, such as likes, comments, shares, or clicks taken on a post. 

Engagement Rate- The percentage of people who are engaging on any post. This is calculated by taking the total number of engagements and dividing by the total reach of the post and multiplying by 100 (ex. 10 engagements on a post with a reach of 300 will have an engagement rate of 3%). 

Reach- the number of individual people who saw your post. 

Impression- the number of times your post was seen (specific to ads). This varies from reach in that one individual can see you post multiple times. 

Analytics- the data that helps determine what is and is not working. Facebook calls this data Insights. 

Metric- an individual piece of analytical information. The number of followers would be considered a metric. 

Likes/Followers- the number of people who want to continue to receive updates for your page.

Content Calendar- a plan of what is being posted on which platform and when. 

Content- what you are posting. 

Created Content- Content that you have created yourself. 

Curated Content- Content someone else has made that you can share with your audience. 

Response Rate- The speed at which you are responding to messages. 

Boost- A ‘boosted post’ is a post that you have decided to put ad dollars to. You are essentially taking a post you have already made and converting it into an ad. 

DM- Stands for Direct Message. This is a message that someone has sent to you. this can also be referred to as a PM.

Hashtag (#)- A hashtag is a way to connect your post to a larger conversation about a related subject. For example, if we search the hashtag #muncieindiana, we will see posts that have also used that hashtag relating to Muncie, Indiana.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)- these are the most important analytics that you view. At 4/4 Solutions, engagement is the most important KPI that we use. 

Vanity Metric- a metric that at face value looks good but in reality don’t say anything. For example, your follower count may be a vanity metric. Having 10,000 followers looks great. But 10,000 followers don’t mean anything if they don’t engage or convert to sales. 

Like this list? Keep it on hand for anytime you need it and print it here.