Social Media Management Glossary


Social Media Management

When you think of a career in social media, you most likely imagine someone tweeting, snapping, and posting for 8 hours a day. However, working in social media can require a variety of skills including management. Social media management is the thorough planning and execution of a social networks’ activity and the maintenance of a brand online. 

To better understand the techniques and tools used by leading social media managers, we have compiled a list of the 20 most important social media terms to know. Learning about all the components involved in the management of a brand via social media can provide you with a unique perspective on a virtual network you explore every day. With the majority of socialization occurring virtually, now more than ever, it’s important you know the professional side of social media.

Average Handling Time is the mean time needed for a brand to resolve a single client or customer’s issue or request via social media. 

Average Response Time is the mean time needed for a brand to reply to a single client or customer’s issue or request via social media. 

A Call To Action (CTA) is content specifically created and included in a post to prompt a viewer, listener, or watcher to perform a particular action. Examples of CTAs include, “Download Now”, “Sign Up”, etc.

Community Management is another term for the role a social media manager takes on when they are building, growing, and managing their brand or causes’ online network. Community management requires customer service skills as well as rapid response times.

A Direct Message is a particular type of message a client or customer can send privately to a brand’s social media manager. On each social media platform, there is a unique messaging platform that facilitates this process.

In social media, engagement is measured by how many users interact with a brand by either liking, commenting, or sharing the page or post. Engagement must be accurately measured to determine the effectiveness of a brand’s social media presence.

A Follower is an individual who, at some point in their virtual journey, was interested in a brand and had the desire to interact regularly with the content being shared. While the number of followers a brand has is noteworthy, the number of actively engaged followers is far more important.

A GIF is an animated image used in social media to remain relevant to popular culture and trends. Using GIFs allows a brand to select short clips or images to connect with their audience on a more relevant, relatable level. 

A Handle is another word for username, often used on Twitter. Developing catchy, authentic usernames/handles can add value to a brand and the way followers interact with content as a whole.

A Hashtag is a tagging method used to boost brand recognition and increase the reach of a brand’s social media presence. 

An Influencer is a dedicated social media user who has amassed an engaged following. This user has the reach potential to send a message to a unique audience about any topic, trend, or product. 

A Meme is an image or video created to evoke humor in an audience. Memes move around the web at a rapid pace and allow anyone, even brands, to join in on the fun. 

Native Advertising is a type of online advertising that a brand strategically designs to appear as organic content. These efforts aim to serve individuals ads without them realizing they are consuming a paid advertisement. 

News Feeds are routinely updated content channels on social media platforms that are organized by algorithms within the specific social network. Each person’s news feed algorithm determines what content they see and do not see. 

Organic Content is brand-made content developed with a specific audience and message in mind. This type of content will help move more traffic to a website through this direct channel to a webpage.

A Share is a method a brand can use to spread a particular message. Individual audience members engage by sharing content they find important or interesting enough to share with their friends or followers.

Social Media Listening is a way brands can locate and track digital conversations that relate to their brand or competitor’s brand. Monitoring daily interactions with content provides valuable patterns and trends that can improve product image and customer service. 

Social Media Monitoring is the action of locating a brand’s user-generated content or inquiries and responding to them. User interactions should be handled delicately as every comment can have as much impact as an entire post.

A Trending Topic is any idea, story, or post that is regionally, nationally, or globally relevant and popular. Staying on top of constantly changing, trending topics helps brands develop current messaging that relates to content audience members are already interacting with.

Manage A Career In Social

Reading about these social media management terms can be the first step you take towards an exciting career in digital marketing. Social technologies will continue to evolve and the corresponding workforce will need to match pace. The University of Miami Digital Marketing Bootcamp offers you an accelerated learning experience that will prepare you for a career in social media management in as little as one year.

Call (305) 569-6695 today to find out if you have what it takes to turn social media into a career.

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