Tweets, DMs, mentions and impressions, these are just a few of the terms you will find floating in the pool of social media jargon. Even as a social media marketer or a digitally savvy business owner, it can get overwhelming trying to keep up with the latest trends and hashtags. We have compiled a list of social media terms you should add to your vocabulary if you want to stay in the know.
- User Generated Content (UGC)
User Generated Content is content which is created by unpaid contributors or fans of a brand. Blogs, tweets, videos, testimonials, quotes, etc, are all examples of UGC. It is where users promote the brand instead of the brand promoting itself, and marketers can collect this content to support a campaign or initiative.
- Ephemeral Content
Ephemeral content is rich media (images, videos and the like) that disappear after a set period of time. Think of ‘stories’ on Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook which disappear after 24 hours.
- Lens
First came ‘filters’ then came lenses. But what are they? A ‘Lens’ is an animated overlay effect used when the camera is in selfie mode. It can animate the user’s image to appear as anything from a cat, a clown or any other quirky motion graphic.
- Newsjacking
Luckily, newsjacking doesn’t involve balaclavas and criminal activity. It actually refers to the process of leveraging trending news to elevate your brand’s message. The logic is simple: if a topic or an event is already generating a lot of buzz, why not insert your brand into the conversation?
- Story
A ‘story’ is a collection of photos or videos compiled into one album that can be shared with other users on the platform. Stories are found on Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram. These Stories are only visible for 24 hours, which also makes them ephemeral.
- Twitterati
Celebrities, influencers and the like are the ‘Twitterati’. They are users on Twitter who post frequently and have a huge following. If the Twitterati are posting about a particular topic or sharing a certain hashtag, you can expect it to start trending among other Twitter users.
- Follow Friday (#ff)
Follow Friday is a trend via the hashtag #ff every Friday on Twitter. Users select other usernames and tweet them with #ff in their post, meaning they recommend following those Twitter users.
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people seek direction from those around them to determine how they are supposed to act or think in a given situation. In social media, social proof can be identified by the number of interactions a piece of content receives or the number of followers you have. The thought is that if others are sharing something or following someone, it must be good.
If you need help reaching customers on social media, contact WSI OMS today.