The Ultimate Social Media Jargon Buster for AEC Professionals
One of the steepest learning curves in the social media sphere is the jargon particular to each platform. Some networks share terms, others have their own. This is your guide to social media terms and definitions. If you don’t see a term that you wish to have defined, comment!
Analytics: data that helps you track the performance of your social media account and content.
Algorithm: a set of formulas developed for an app to perform a certain function; dictates when, where, and how content is seen and to what extent; different across platforms.
Avatar: an image or username that represents a person online.
Bitly: a free URL shortening service that provides statistics for the links users share online; frequently used to shorten long urls and save space on word count-limited posts.
Bio: a brief description given on a social media profile to explain the user or business.
Blog: “web log”; a social media account used for interacting with other blogs and/or to publish material related to the established profile.
Bookmarking: enables users to save content for later for any number of reasons.
Clickbait: marketing or advertising material that employs a sensationalized headline to attract clicks or interaction due to curiosity or intrigue; frequently used by unreliable sites and businesses.
Comment: a text response to answer or react to blog posts
Connections: social networking on LinkedIn; professional contacts you've met, heard speak, and done business with and wish to connect to,
Conversion Rate: a trackable metric displaying the percentage of people who completed an intended action.
Direct Message: “DMs” or Instant Messaging/“IMs”; private conversations that occur between accounts.
Fans: Facebook members who officially like your page.
Feed/News Feed: where all the latest updates on followed accounts are seen; called a “timeline” on Twitter.
Fleets: Twitter’s “stories”; 6–30-second long posts/videos that last for 24 hours at the top of a user’s home timeline.
Follower: someone who subscribes to your account; the term applies to a variety of platforms.
Geotag: a label identifying the exact coordinates of a post, used to highlight a relevant location.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format; small, looping video clips.
Groups: A Facebook and LinkedIn feature where those of similar industries/interests can join and discuss related topics.
Profile: a description of individuals' social characteristics that identify them on social media sites; can include a profile picture, bio, and branding.
Spaces: a Twitter feature that allows accounts with 600+ followers to host live audio conversations.
Stories: Instagram and Facebook disappearing content; the 15-second content is available for 24 hours at the top of both platform feeds.
Hashtags: social media annotations used to make digital content more easily searchable; allows for interested users to search for and find a theme or content.
Instagram Live: a live video feed for the followers of any account; notifications must be on for followers who are not currently on the app to know a live event is occurring.
Like: Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/LinkedIn action that signifies a post has been validated or approved with a single click by viewers.
Meme: used to describe a thought, idea, joke, or concept that's widely shared online; meme formats are often copied and adjusted by and for anyone.
Permalink: an address or URL within a blog or website that remains indefinitely unchanged.
Platform: a web-based technology that enables the development, deployment and management of social media solutions and services.
Tags: used to link back to a relevant account on posts or replies; a.k.a. “@-ing” someone.
