Social media terms, explained

The set of rules a social network uses to decide which posts each person sees, and in what order.

A short written description of an image that screen readers read aloud to people who can't see it.

Short for "ask me anything": a session where a person or brand invites the audience to send questions and answers them publicly.

The shape of a photo or video, written as width to height, such as 1:1 for square or 9:16 for tall vertical video.

The people who see, follow or interact with an account's content, whether or not they follow it.

A reference figure you compare your results against, such as an industry's average engagement rate.

A photo app that asks everyone to post one unedited photo a day, from both phone cameras at once, within two minutes of a daily prompt.

The hours and days when an account's audience is most active, so a post gets its early engagement quickly.

The badge beside a profile's name that shows the account is verified, or, on some networks, that it pays for a subscription.

An Instagram camera mode that records a burst of photos and plays them forwards and backwards as a short loop.

An existing organic post that you pay to show to more people, without building a full ad campaign.

Someone who represents a brand over a long period, promoting it on their own accounts, usually in return for pay, products or commission.

How many people know your brand exists and recognise it, the first goal of most social media marketing.

Any time someone names or tags a brand in a post, comment or caption, whether the brand is tagged or not.

Keeping a brand's ads and posts away from content that could harm its reputation, such as hate speech, violence or misinformation.

The consistent personality and tone a brand writes with, so its posts sound like the same company wherever they appear.

Short for "behind the scenes": content that shows how something is made or what happens away from the finished product.

The part of a post that tells people what to do next, such as "comment below", "save this" or "shop the link in bio".

A planned set of posts and activity with one goal, a set timeframe and a way to measure whether it worked.

The text that goes with a photo or video post, which can add context, tell a story, ask a question or carry hashtags.

A single post holding several photos or videos that viewers swipe through, on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Threads and Pinterest.

Short for "commenting for better reach": a comment left on a LinkedIn post to push it to more people's feeds.

The most text a network allows in one post, caption, bio or name.

The share of people who clicked a link after seeing a post or ad: clicks divided by impressions, as a percentage.

A headline, thumbnail or caption that exaggerates or withholds information to get clicks the content doesn't live up to.

Reviewing, hiding, deleting or replying to comments to keep an account's conversations useful and safe.

Building relationships with an audience by replying to comments and messages, joining conversations and looking after the people around a brand.

A schedule of what will be posted, where and when, usually planned weeks ahead.

The three to five themes an account posts about again and again, which keep its content varied but recognisable.

When someone takes the action you wanted after seeing your content, such as buying, signing up or downloading.

The share of people who converted after clicking or viewing: conversions divided by clicks or visitors, as a percentage.

What an ad costs, on average, for each click it gets: total spend divided by clicks.

What an ad costs for every thousand times it's shown, whether or not anyone clicks. Mille is Latin for thousand.

Someone who makes content for an audience on social media, often as a job funded by sponsorships, ads, subscriptions or products.

The businesses and income built around independent creators: sponsorships, ad revenue, subscriptions, merchandise and the tools that serve them.

Publishing the same post to several social networks, rather than writing each one from scratch.

An ad that appears in the feeds of a targeted audience but never on the brand's own profile.

Sharing that happens in private channels, such as DMs, WhatsApp, email and texts, where analytics can't see where the visit came from.

A private message sent to an account on a social network, visible only to the people in the conversation.

A TikTok feature that puts your video side by side with someone else's, so both play at the same time.

Employees sharing their company's news, jobs and content on their own social accounts, usually on LinkedIn.

Any interaction people have with a post: likes, comments, shares, saves, clicks, replies and, for video, watching.

Posts that ask for likes, comments, shares or tags purely to boost engagement, such as "comment YES if you agree".

Engagement as a share of the audience: interactions divided by followers, reach or views, as a percentage.

Content that stays useful and relevant long after it's published, rather than going stale with the news.

Instagram's page of recommended posts and Reels from accounts you don't follow, chosen for each person.

The scrolling stream of posts a network shows each person, mixing accounts they follow with recommendations.

A second, private Instagram account, short for "fake Instagram", kept for close friends and less polished posts.

Someone who has chosen to see an account's posts, usually in their feed, by following it.

How quickly an account gains followers over a period, often shown as a percentage of where it started.

TikTok's main feed of recommended videos, picked for each viewer from accounts they may or may not follow.

How often an account posts, or, in advertising, how many times on average each person sees the same ad.

A location attached to a post, which shows above it and links to other posts from the same place.

Short for "get ready with me": a video format where a creator talks to camera while getting ready, often chatting about something else.

The unique username that identifies an account, written with an @, such as @posttyy.

A word or phrase after a #, such as #woodworking, that groups posts on the same topic and makes them searchable.

The opening line of a caption or the first seconds of a video, designed to stop people scrolling.

Short for "in case you missed it": used to reshare something posted earlier for people who didn't see it.

The number of times a post was shown on screen, counting every time, including repeat views by the same person.

Someone with an engaged following who can affect what their audience thinks and buys, and who works with brands because of it.

A document a brand gives an influencer before a collaboration, setting out the goal, the message, the deliverables and the rules.

Brands paying or partnering with creators to promote products to the creators' audiences.

Interactive elements you add to Instagram Stories, such as polls, questions, quizzes, links, countdowns and location tags.

Short for "if you know, you know": used for an in-joke or reference only some of the audience will understand.

A number chosen in advance to show whether social media is meeting a goal, such as follower growth, engagement rate or sign-ups.

The single clickable link on a profile, most often on Instagram and TikTok, where posts can't carry links of their own.

Broadcasting video in real time on a social network, where viewers can watch, comment and react as it happens.

An image, video or phrase, usually funny, that people copy and adapt with their own twist, spreading it widely.

The company that owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp and Messenger, formerly called Facebook, Inc.

An influencer with a mid-sized, engaged following, usually between 10,000 and 100,000 followers, often in a specific niche.

An influencer with a small but close following, usually under 10,000 followers, often local or very niche.

How many people see a post without any paid promotion behind it.

How many people see a post or ad because money was spent to show it to them.

Advertising on social networks: boosted posts, sponsored posts and ad campaigns targeted at chosen audiences.

Short for "profile picture": the small image, usually shown as a circle, that represents an account.

A post on Pinterest: an image or video, with a description and usually a link, saved to one of your boards.

A post fixed to the top of a profile so visitors see it first, whatever has been posted since.

A collection of pins on one theme, such as "Kitchen ideas" or "Autumn recipes", on a Pinterest profile.

Content made to suit one network's formats, style and audience, rather than copied unchanged from somewhere else.

A post or sticker that asks followers to choose between set answers, with the results shown to everyone.

A step where a manager, a client or legal checks and signs off a post before it's published.

Short for "point of view": a video format where the viewer is put in someone's shoes, captioned "POV: …".

How many times people opened an account's profile, usually after seeing one of its posts.

When a post gets far more critical replies or quote posts than likes, a sign that people disagree with it.

The number of different people who saw a post, counting each person once.

A one-tap response to a post beyond a plain like, such as Facebook's love or haha or LinkedIn's celebrate and insightful.

A short vertical video on Instagram or Facebook, shown in a full-screen feed with recommendations from accounts you don't follow.

Turning one piece of content into several: a blog post into a carousel, a live stream into clips, a video into quotes.

Showing ads to people who have already interacted with you, such as visiting your website or watching your videos.

The part of a vertical video or Story that isn't covered by the app's buttons, captions and profile name.

The share of people who saved a post to come back to later: saves divided by reach or views, as a percentage.

Judging whether what people say about a brand online is positive, negative or neutral, usually with software.

When a network quietly limits who sees an account's posts, without telling the account it has done so.

How much of the online conversation in your market is about you compared with competitors, as a percentage.

Vertical videos usually under a minute or two, made for TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels.

Sending someone a direct message out of the blue, originally to flirt, now also for business approaches.

Buying and selling directly inside social networks, through features like TikTok Shop, Instagram and Facebook Shops and Pinterest product pins.

Tracking conversations about your brand, competitors and industry across social media, then acting on what you learn.

The person responsible for a brand's social media: planning, creating and scheduling posts, replying to the community and reporting results.

Watching for mentions of your brand, products or keywords so you can respond to them quickly.

Writing posts in advance and setting the date and time they publish, so they go out automatically.

The plan for what a brand wants from social media and how it will get there: goals, audience, networks, content and measures.

The tendency to trust something because others already do, shown through reviews, follower counts, testimonials and shares.

A post a brand has paid for, either an ad on a network or a creator's post made in return for payment or free products.

A TikTok feature that lets you clip a few seconds from someone else's video and follow it with your own.

A full-screen photo or short video that disappears after 24 hours, shown at the top of Instagram, Facebook and other apps.

Linking to another account in a post, photo or comment with an @, which notifies them and shows the post to them.

The specific group of people a brand wants to reach, described by who they are, what they want and where they spend time online.

Short for "Throwback Thursday": a weekly habit of sharing an old photo or memory, tagged #tbt.

A series of connected posts, each replying to the one before, used to tell a longer story or explanation on X, Threads or Bluesky.

Meta's text-first social app, launched in 2023 and linked to Instagram, where posts run to 500 characters.

The still image shown for a video before it plays, such as the picture on a YouTube video or a Reel's cover.

Slang telling someone they've been online too long and should go outside, usually after an overheated argument.

A format, sound, hashtag, challenge or topic that many people join in with over a short time.

Posts, photos, videos and reviews made by customers or fans rather than the brand itself.

A number that looks impressive but doesn't show whether social media is helping the business, such as follower count or likes alone.

The share of viewers who watched a video to the end: completed views divided by total views, as a percentage.

A post that spreads far beyond its usual audience, very quickly, through shares and recommendations.

The total time people have spent watching a video or all of an account's videos.

The social network formerly called Twitter, renamed in 2023, where posts (once tweets) run to 280 characters on a standard account.

Live audio conversations on X, where hosts and invited speakers talk and listeners join in real time.