social media — Hear What We're Thinking

In a world where we work to make everything faster and more efficient, we have also begun to shorten our vocabulary. We use more slang terms and acronyms in our texts, emails, and especially on social media. If you feel like you’ve fallen behind, don’t worry – we’re here to help you keep up. Here are the 10 social media acronyms and hip terms that we think you should know.

1. DM vs. PM

In the world of Twitter, DM’s are “direct messages” that are shared between two users who follow each other. On other platforms, these messages are called PM’s, or “private messages”.

2. GIF

Aside from the controversial topic of how this term is pronounced, GIF stands for “graphic interchange format”. A GIF is an image (usually enticing a laugh) that moves as an animation and is used to add emotion and emphasis to your thoughts.

3. Meme

A meme is a concept, catchphrase, idea, or piece of media that spreads like wildfire across social media channels. The purpose of memes is typically to spread humor from person to person on various subjects by adding texts to comical images. If you are active on social media (which we highly suggest) it is likely that you have seen various memes spread across your social feeds.

4. RT

There is a plethora of information on social media. Twitter for example is a strong platform for things such as news and even just random intellectual thoughts. See something you agree with? Repost that users tweet, or rather “retweet” (RT) it.

5. TBT

Otherwise known as “Throwback Thursday”, people utilize this day to show off their best childhood glamour shots, or the lunch they ate last week. It helps other users relate to you, and encourages them to post a TBT as well!

6. SEO

Is your goal to get more people to your website? “Search engine optimization” is the best way to get there. SEO refers the key words a business chooses to use in their content that will rank them higher in search engines. Take some time to think about keywords you should be using, and get more action on your site!

7. CTA

If you are an active marketer, it is likely that you have a website, or have run some type of advertising campaign in your career. A CTA is a “call to action” that entices people on the web to either purchase your product, click on your ad, or request more information about your services. Popular CTA phrases include “Learn More”, “Sign up Free”, “Get Started”, and more. Do any of these ring a bell? They were likely the phrases that convinced you to sign up for that free 30-day trial of a new program. Start utilizing these CTA’s and start gaining more business!

Popular CTA phrases include “Learn More”, “Sign up Free”, “Get Started”, and more.

8. CPC

Another important term for a marketer is CPC. Defined as the “cost per click”, this term will tell you how much you are spending each time a user clicks on an advertisement that you are running. Whether on Facebook, Google, or other advertising platforms, the cost per click will tell you how relevant your advertisement is to your audience. The lower the cost per click, the more clicks you can receive with your given ad budget. Take a look at this number the next time you are in your Facebook ads manager, to see if you should be making changes to your ads.

9. ROI

Anytime you run an advertisement or purchase something to help grow your business, you are likely hoping to make some sales in return. ROI, or “return on investment” is the monetary value that you gain in relation to the money you spent to make it. In other words, this number will tell you if that investment you made last year really paid off.

10. UGC

People trust people. UGC is “user generated content” – essentially posts, reviews, videos, etc. created by consumers. It has been shown that 70% of people trust images taken from ‘people like them’ over brand created images according to Reevoo. Take this tip and create a contest, or promotional idea and get your consumers involved. Repost their content and see how other consumers relate to it!

70% of people trust images taken from ‘people like them’ over brand created images.

If you felt out of the loop with your social lingo, we hope this cheat sheet helped. Let us know if you learned something, or have another term that you think should be in the top 10. We love hearing from you! Like we said, UGC is important, and we’d love to share yours!

- Alicia, Marketing Assistant

There are many difficult choices in life: hot dog or hamburger, cat or dog, pen or pencil, Kendall or Kylie (do you see where we’re going with this?) But, while these choices are tough, there is typically one option that we will choose over another. In the world of ever-changing things, some choices are not so simple to make. Lets take the battle of Snapchat vs. Instagram for example. These two opponents have quickly taken over the social scene and have consumers and companies alike asking, “which one is better?” While you may already have your own personal opinion on the matter, we thought we would share our insight as well.

In the early years of 2011, Snapchat showed its face to the world for the first time. They introduced the idea of disappearing photos to us, and made us just a little less vulnerable to show people the “behind the scenes” moments of our lives. The app also gives you the option to put a filter over your face and become a dog for the day, you know, if you want a break from the human life. Of course, this took the world by storm, and before we knew it Snapchat had grown into the hub for quick social updates – cue Snapchat stories. It may have started out being the place that millennials would go to see what their friends did the night before, but it has now grown to provide consumers with entertainment, political, and world news.

While Snapchat took off with immense success, Instagram was not far behind to follow their lead. In 2016, Instagram launched its own version of “stories” – including many of the same features as its rival. This has led them to grow even more, bringing us to their latest update, Snapchat’s facial recognition filters (sound familiar?)

Businesses have begun encompassing the features of both platforms and have been trying to master how to use them to their advantage. This seems like a tough job, but understanding the benefits of using one over the other is important. Take Snapchat for example. The user base is mostly millennial (at a whopping 60% of users under 25), meaning that if you business model speaks mostly to that age demographic, focusing on branding through Snapchat would not be a bad call. Also, the app tends to be used for more “fun” and “unfiltered” content as opposed to pre-planned and designed photos shared in Instagram. In addition, Instagram showcases its “stories” feature based upon who viewers engage with the most on the platform. By showing the stories at the top of the news feed, brands have a higher chance of being viewed by their audience, which is often much larger on Instagram as stories are publically shown by default.

So what's the point? Well, while both platforms help to promote your brand, it’s all about where the eyeballs are. As Instagram continues to release new features, people will continue to be drawn to what is new. While these features may mimic Snapchat, users will still be drawn to check out the newest Instagram features – so why not utilize these and let your brand be what they see?

- Alicia, Marketing Assistant