Glossary
Social Media Glossary
Social media has its own vocabulary, and half of it gets thrown around in meetings without everyone quite agreeing on what it means. This glossary covers the terms you'll actually run into — the metrics your platform dashboards report, the behaviors your audience exhibits, and the jargon your agency or team uses day to day.
Jump to a term
A/B Testing
Publishing two variations of a post to see which performs better.
ExampleTesting the same photo but with two different headlines.
💡 Google once A/B tested 41 different shades of blue for its links.
Algorithm
The automated rules platforms use to decide who sees your content.
ExampleTikTok showing your video to more people because the first 10 watched it twice.
💡 The word "algorithm" comes from a 9th-century Persian mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi.
Analytics
Raw data showing how well your content is performing.
ExampleChecking your dashboard to see your audience is 60% female.
💡 Companies using data-driven marketing are 6x more likely to be profitable.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of viewers who clicked the link in your post.
Example100 people saw the post, 5 clicked the link = 5% CTR.
💡 The average CTR for a social media ad is actually only about 0.9%.
Community Management
Building relationships by replying to comments and DMs.
ExampleReplying "Thanks for the support!" to a fan's comment.
💡 71% of consumers who get a quick brand response on social are more likely to recommend them.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of users who take a specific desired action.
ExampleOut of 1,000 profile visitors, 50 signed up for Sharey.
💡 Video content can increase conversion rates by up to 80%.
Cross-Posting
Publishing the same content across multiple social channels.
ExamplePosting a Sharey video to both LinkedIn and Twitter.
💡 Tailoring the caption slightly for each platform increases engagement by 20%.
DMs (Direct Messages)
Private messages sent between users on a platform.
ExampleA customer messaging your brand page for help.
💡 Over 1 billion messages are exchanged between people and businesses on Meta apps every week.
Engagement Rate
Interactions (likes/comments) relative to reach or follower count.
ExampleGetting 10 likes on a post seen by 100 people (10% rate).
💡 Micro-influencers generally have much higher engagement rates than celebrities.
Feed
The main scrollable interface where content is displayed.
ExampleScrolling through LinkedIn and seeing a colleague's post.
💡 The "infinite scroll" was invented in 2006 by Aza Raskin, who later regretted it due to its addictiveness.
Follower Growth Rate
How quickly your audience expands over time.
ExampleGaining 500 followers this month vs 100 last month.
💡 A steady growth rate is favored by algorithms over sudden, suspicious spikes.
Geotagging
Adding a specific location tag to your post.
ExampleTagging "Sharey HQ, Cologne" on a team photo.
💡 Posts with a tagged location result in 79% higher engagement.
Hashtag
A word/phrase with a # used to categorize content.
ExampleAdding #FutureOfWork to your latest LinkedIn post.
💡 The first hashtag was used on Twitter in 2007 by Chris Messina.
Impressions
Total number of times a post is displayed on a screen.
ExampleYour video popping up on a user's feed 5 different times.
💡 One user can generate multiple impressions if they see a post more than once.
Metrics
Specific data points tracked to measure success.
ExampleTracking shares, saves, and profile visits.
💡 Saves are currently considered the most valuable metric by the Instagram algorithm.
Native Video
Video uploaded directly to the platform, not via a link.
ExampleUploading an MP4 to LinkedIn instead of a YouTube link.
💡 Native videos get 10x more shares than linked videos on most platforms.
Organic Reach
The number of unique people who see your post for free.
ExampleA post going viral without spending a dime on ads.
💡 Organic reach on Facebook brand pages has dropped below 5% in recent years.
Reach
Total number of unique users who saw your content.
Example500 unique accounts viewed your Instagram Reel.
💡 Reach is always equal to or lower than Impressions.
Return on Investment (ROI)
What you gain compared to the time/money spent.
ExampleMaking $1,000 from a post that cost $100 to produce.
💡 Email and user-generated content consistently boast the highest marketing ROI.
Sentiment Analysis
Evaluating the emotional tone of the comments.
ExampleSeeing that 90% of comments use words like "love" or "great".
💡 AI is now used to instantly scan thousands of comments to determine public mood.
Shadowban
When a platform secretly hides a user's content.
ExampleUsing banned hashtags and suddenly getting zero views.
💡 Platforms rarely admit to shadowbanning, but they call it "content demotion."
Tagging / Mentioning
Linking another user's profile in your post.
ExampleWriting "Great work by @JaneDoe today!"
💡 Tagging relevant accounts can increase a post's reach by up to 50%.
Thread
A connected series of text posts.
ExampleA 5-part Twitter story about how Sharey was founded.
💡 Threads keep users on the platform longer, which algorithms heavily reward.
Troll
A user who intentionally posts inflammatory comments.
ExampleSomeone commenting "this is stupid" on a helpful tutorial.
💡 The term comes from the fishing technique of "trolling," dragging bait through water.
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Social Listening
Monitoring the web for brand mentions and keywords.
ExampleTracking the word "Sharey" across Twitter and Reddit.
💡 Brands that use social listening report a much faster crisis-response time.