When you’re learning to master a new skill you first need to learn how to use the tools that skill requires. If I want to learn how to sew, for example, I’ll need to know how to thread a needle, tie a knot, operate a sewing machine if I have one. When it comes to communication, one of the tools we need is words. And when we’re trying to learn a very new skill, which involves new technology that never before existed, those words are either words that were previously used in different contexts or newly invented words to describe new phenomena. Social media terminology is a wonderful mix of both. And it is, to our delight and/or despair, constantly evolving. Mastering that terminology is the first step towards mastering social media communication. And that is why we begin our journey into social media communication with a glossary.
You may think you’re an expert on the subject. Words like content or influencer hold no mystery for you. After all, these aren’t new words at all.
But do you truly know what all those new words swirling around on social media really mean?
Chances are you know some very well. Use some on a regular basis. And bluff your way through the rest.
Content, for example, is a word that’s been around for a long time. The Merriam-Webster definition is brief and to the point, albeit useless for the social media expert, while this Wikipedia explanation, quite a bit lengthier, will give you an introductory notion of the concept of content in media in general.
Neither of the above definitions, however, will help you fully grasp the concept of content in the context of social media.
Before social media came around, the Internet and e-commerce told us that Content is King. Yet, back then, in the Dark Ages of the Internet, way back before Web 2.0, content didn’t resemble anything like what we know as content today.
Is content still king?
I’ll let you decide.
Guides like these, The Top 12 Types of Social Media Content to Create or The 9 Types of Social Media Content You Need to Use in 2020, will give you handy numerated lists of types of content to drive traffic to your website or increase your followers. They are the ABCs of any social media marketing strategy.
So, did the word content truly have no mystery for you? And if so, just how familiar are you with the latest social media terms?
Feeling confident? Skip this long “exhaustive” list of social media terms, Ultimate List of Social Media Definitions , and go straight to the quiz below.
You may be surprised!
Take the Social Media Terms Quiz
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