Social media marketing terms
Reach, engagement, hashtags, Reels, Stories, carousels, UGC and the algorithms that decide who sees a post. 40 terms, each with what it means, why it matters and what to do about it.
- Best time to post
- The best time to post is when your own followers are most active, so a new post gets early engagement. It differs by audience and platform.
- Brand ambassador
- A brand ambassador is a person who represents and promotes a brand over time, often a customer, creator or employee with a long-term arrangement.
- Call to action (CTA)
- A call to action (CTA) tells people exactly what to do next, such as Shop now, Book a class or Save this post. It turns attention into action.
- Caption
- A caption is the text that goes with a social media post. It adds context, tells a story, invites action and helps the post be found in search.
- Carousel post
- A carousel post is a single social post with several images or videos that viewers swipe through, often used for tips, steps and stories.
- Collab post
- A collab post is one Instagram post or Reel shared by two or more accounts, appearing on each profile with combined likes and comments.
- Community management
- Community management is engaging with your audience on social media: replying to comments and messages, moderating and building relationships.
- Content calendar
- A content calendar is a schedule of what you will post, where and when, so social content is planned ahead instead of made at the last minute.
- Creator economy
- The creator economy is the industry of independent creators who earn money from content, audiences and brand deals, plus the tools that serve them.
- Dark social
- Dark social is sharing that happens in private channels like DMs, messaging apps and email, which analytics tools cannot easily track.
- Employee advocacy
- Employee advocacy is staff sharing and promoting their company's content and story on their own social accounts, especially LinkedIn.
- Engagement
- Engagement is how people interact with a post: likes, comments, shares, saves, replies and clicks. It shows content is landing, not just being seen.
- Engagement rate
- Engagement rate is the share of people who interacted with a post, usually engagements divided by reach or followers, shown as a percentage.
- Evergreen content
- Evergreen content stays relevant and useful long after it is published, such as how-to guides, FAQs and tips, unlike news or trend posts.
- Hashtag
- A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # sign that groups posts by topic, so people can find them by tapping or searching the tag.
- Impressions
- Impressions are the total number of times content was shown on screen, counting repeat views by the same person. Reach counts people.
- Influencer marketing
- Influencer marketing is paying or partnering with creators who have an engaged audience to promote a product in their own content and voice.
- Instagram grid
- The Instagram grid is the layout of post thumbnails on your profile. A consistent grid helps visitors understand your brand at a glance.
- Instagram Reels
- Instagram Reels are short vertical videos on Instagram, shown in a full-screen feed that recommends them to people who do not follow you.
- Instagram Remix
- Instagram Remix lets you create a Reel alongside or after another person's Reel, to react, respond, compare or build on it.
- Instagram Story
- An Instagram Story is a full-screen vertical photo or video that disappears after 24 hours, unless saved to a Highlight on your profile.
- Link in bio
- Link in bio is the single clickable link in a social profile, often pointing to a landing page that lists several links, offers or products.
- Micro-influencer
- A micro-influencer is a creator with a smaller, focused following, often about 10,000 to 100,000, and usually close ties with their audience.
- Organic reach
- Organic reach is the number of unique people who see your content without paid promotion, through feeds, search, shares and recommendations.
- Pinned post
- A pinned post is a post fixed to the top of your profile or feed so visitors see it first, no matter how many newer posts you share.
- Reach
- Reach is the number of unique people who saw a post or ad at least once. Impressions count every view, including repeats.
- Share of voice (SOV)
- Share of voice (SOV) is how much of the conversation or ad space in your market your brand owns compared with competitors, as a percentage.
- Social commerce
- Social commerce is selling products directly inside social platforms, through shoppable posts, product tags, live shopping and in-app checkout.
- Social listening
- Social listening is tracking what people say online about your brand, competitors and industry, then using it to improve products and content.
- Social media algorithm
- A social media algorithm is the system a platform uses to decide which posts each person sees, and in what order, based on predicted interest.
- Social media audit
- A social media audit reviews every social profile, its content and its results to see what works, what does not and what to change.
- Social media manager
- A social media manager plans, creates, posts and measures a brand's social content, and handles comments, messages and community.
- Social media marketing
- Social media marketing is using platforms like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube to build an audience, earn attention and drive sales.
- Social proof
- Social proof is the tendency to follow what others do. In marketing it means reviews, testimonials, customer counts and endorsements that build trust.
- TikTok Duet
- A TikTok Duet puts your video side by side with someone else's as it plays, so you can react, sing along, compare or collaborate.
- TikTok Stitch
- A TikTok Stitch clips a few seconds of another person's video and plays it before your own, so you can react, answer or continue it.
- Trending audio
- Trending audio is a song, sound or voice clip being used in many short videos at once, which can help new videos get discovered.
- User-generated content (UGC)
- User-generated content (UGC) is content made by customers or fans, not the brand: photos, videos, reviews and posts about a product.
- Viral video
- A viral video spreads quickly and widely as people share it and platforms recommend it, reaching far beyond the creator's usual audience.
- YouTube Shorts
- YouTube Shorts are vertical videos of up to about three minutes on YouTube, shown in a swipeable Shorts feed alongside long-form videos.
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