Social media glossary

Name: SocialPatra
Availability: InStock

This glossary defines the terms you meet when you plan, schedule and measure social media posts, in plain English.

55 terms, from A/B testing to vanity metrics. Each one has its own page with a short definition, how it works in practice and, where it applies, how SocialPatra handles it.

A

Glossary terms starting with A
Term	Definition
A/B testing	A/B testing means publishing two versions of a post to see which one performs better.
AI caption	An AI caption is post text drafted by an AI model from an idea, some text or a link.
Algorithm	A social media algorithm is the set of rules a platform uses to decide which posts people see.
Alt text	Alt text is a short written description of an image, read aloud by screen readers.
Approval workflow	An approval workflow holds a post until a named reviewer signs it off, then lets it publish.
Auto-posting	Auto-posting means a tool publishes your content to social accounts without you pressing post.

B

Glossary terms starting with B
Term	Definition
Best time to post	The best time to post is the hour when your own audience is most likely to see and react.
Brand voice	Brand voice is the consistent personality and wording that makes your posts sound like you.
Bulk scheduling	Bulk scheduling is creating many scheduled posts at once, usually from a spreadsheet upload.

C

Glossary terms starting with C
Term	Definition
Call to action	A call to action (CTA) is the line that tells readers the one thing to do next.
Caption	A caption is the text that goes with a photo, video or other media in a social post.
Carousel	A carousel is a single post made of several images or videos that people swipe through.
Click-through rate (CTR)	Click-through rate (CTR) is the share of people who saw a link and clicked it.
Client workspace	A client workspace is a separate space holding one client’s accounts, posts and team access.
Community management	Community management is replying to, moderating and nurturing the people who engage with your accounts.
Content calendar	A content calendar is a dated plan of what you will post, where and when.
Content curation	Content curation is sharing useful posts and articles from other sources, with credit and context.
Content pillar	A content pillar is a core topic your account posts about again and again.
Content repurposing	Content repurposing is turning one piece of content into several formats for different platforms.
Cross-posting	Cross-posting is publishing the same content on more than one social account or platform.

D

Glossary terms starting with D
Term	Definition
Draft	A draft is a saved post that is not scheduled or published yet.

E

Glossary terms starting with E
Term	Definition
Engagement	Engagement is any action people take on your post: likes, comments, shares, saves and clicks.
Engagement rate	Engagement rate is the number of interactions on a post divided by a base such as reach or followers.
Evergreen content	Evergreen content stays useful long after it is published, so it can be shared again.

F

Glossary terms starting with F
Term	Definition
First comment	A first comment is a comment you add under your own post right after it goes live.
Follower growth rate	Follower growth rate is the percentage change in your followers over a set period.

H

Glossary terms starting with H
Term	Definition
Handle	A handle is your unique username on a social platform, usually shown after an @ sign.
Hashtag	A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # sign that groups posts on the same topic.
Hook	A hook is the opening line or frame meant to make someone keep reading or watching.

L

Glossary terms starting with L
Term	Definition
Link in bio	A link in bio is the single clickable link in your profile, used because captions often cannot link.
Live streaming	Live streaming is broadcasting video in real time so viewers can react while it happens.

M

Glossary terms starting with M
Term	Definition
Mention	A mention is a post or comment that includes another account by its @handle.

O

Glossary terms starting with O
Term	Definition
Organic reach	Organic reach is the number of unique people who see your post without paid promotion.

P

Glossary terms starting with P
Term	Definition
Pinned post	A pinned post is a post fixed to the top of your profile so it is seen first.
Poll	A poll is a post that asks the audience to vote on a question with a few fixed answers.
Post queue	A post queue is the ordered list of posts waiting to be published at their set times.
Posting frequency	Posting frequency is how often you publish on an account in a given period.

R

Glossary terms starting with R
Term	Definition
Reach vs impressions	Reach counts the unique people who saw a post; impressions count every time it was shown.
Recurring posts	Recurring posts are posts set to publish again automatically on a daily, weekly or monthly pattern.
Reel	A Reel is a short vertical video format on Instagram and Facebook.
RSS auto-posting	RSS auto-posting turns each new item in an RSS feed into a social post automatically.

S

Glossary terms starting with S
Term	Definition
Short	A Short is a vertical video of up to three minutes that YouTube shows in its Shorts feed.
Social listening	Social listening is tracking mentions and conversations about your brand, topics and rivals across platforms.
Social media audit	A social media audit is a review of your accounts to see what works and what to change.
Social media KPI	A social media KPI is a measurable number that shows progress toward a specific goal.
Social media management	Social media management is planning, publishing and monitoring an organisation’s accounts day to day.
Social media manager	A social media manager is the person responsible for a brand’s social accounts and results.
Social media scheduling	Social media scheduling is choosing a future time for a post so a tool publishes it for you.
Social media strategy	A social media strategy is a written plan for goals, audience, platforms and content.
Social proof	Social proof is evidence that other people trust you, such as reviews, testimonials and follower counts.
Story	A Story is a short post in a vertical format that disappears from view after a set time.

T

Glossary terms starting with T
Term	Definition
Thread	A thread is a series of connected posts, each replying to the one before it.

U

Glossary terms starting with U
Term	Definition
User-generated content (UGC)	User-generated content (UGC) is content such as photos, reviews and videos made by your customers.
UTM parameters	UTM parameters are tags added to a link so analytics shows where the visit came from.

V

Glossary terms starting with V
Term	Definition
Vanity metrics	Vanity metrics are numbers that look good but do not show whether you are meeting a real goal.

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