Glossary

Social media words,
explained simply.

Short, plain definitions of the terms you meet when you plan, write and measure posts. Each one with an example.

A

Alt text: Alt text is a short written description of a picture, read aloud by screen readers to people who can't see it. Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Bluesky all let you add it.
Approval workflow: An approval workflow is the agreed path a post takes from draft to “yes”: who reviews it, in what order and where the feedback goes. It keeps posts from going out unchecked.
Audience persona: An audience persona is a short portrait of the person a brand writes for: what they need, what stops them and where they spend their time. It turns “everyone” into someone.

Best time to post: The best time to post is when your own followers are online and ready to act, which differs for every brand. Your analytics show it better than any general chart.
Brand brief: A brand brief is a short document of what anyone writing for a brand must know: who it talks to, how it sounds, what it offers and which facts are true today.
Brand voice: Brand voice is the way a brand sounds in writing: the words it uses, the words it avoids and how it speaks to people. It stays the same while the tone shifts with the moment.

Call to action (CTA): A call to action is the line that tells the reader what to do next: book, save, comment or tap the link. One clear CTA works better than several.
Carousel post: A carousel is a single post with several pictures or videos that people swipe through. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn all have them.
Click-through rate (CTR): Click-through rate is the share of people who clicked a link after seeing a post or an ad. It is clicks divided by impressions, as a percentage.
Content calendar: A content calendar is the plan of what a brand posts, where and when, usually for the weeks ahead. It shows gaps, clashes and what still waits for a decision.
Content pillars: Content pillars are the three to five themes a brand posts about again and again. Each pillar has a job: to show expertise, to build trust or to sell.
Cross-posting: Cross-posting is publishing the same post on several platforms. It saves time, but each platform has its own sizes and limits, so the post needs adjusting.

Engagement rate: Engagement rate is the share of people who reacted to a post: liked, commented, shared or saved it. It is usually engagements divided by reach, as a percentage.

Hook: A hook is the opening of a post, its first line or first second, written to stop the scroll. It decides whether anyone reads or watches the rest.

Impressions: Impressions are the number of times a post was shown on a screen, counting every view. One person who scrolls past a post three times adds three impressions.

KPI: A KPI, key performance indicator, is the one number that tells you whether a goal is being met. On social media it might be bookings from posts, saves or new followers.

Reach: Reach is the number of different people who saw a post or a profile at least once. Each person counts once, however many times they saw it.

Social media campaign: A social media campaign is a set of posts over a set time, built around one goal and one audience. It ends with a result you can measure, not just with the last post.

Usage rights: Usage rights say where, how and for how long a brand may use a photo, video or piece of music. They come from the author, a licence or a stock agreement.
User-generated content (UGC): User-generated content is anything customers create about a brand: photos, videos, reviews or posts. Brands share it because people trust other customers more than ads.

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