There are several social media terms. Not everyone is familiar with all the words used. To help you out, I’ve handpicked social media terms to guide you through social media sites. I have also included visuals to help you better understand the words. If a free service is available, feel free to click the image; it will take you to the site offering it. Updated as of 2026 to reflect new jargon that we use today.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Topics
- What does Bitly mean?
- What is a Business Page’s “About” Section?
- What does a “blog” mean?
- What is the term Creative Commons?
- What is a “handle”?
- What is a hashtag?
- What is a meme?
- What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
- What does the word “trending” mean?
- What is the algorithm?
- What is engagement rate?
- What are Reels and Stories?
- What is user-generated content (UGC)?
- What is a micro-influencer?
- FAQs
Key Takeaways
- The article explains key social media terms to help users navigate platforms effectively.
- Definitions include ‘Bitly’ for URL shortening, ‘handle’ as a username, and ‘hashtag’ for content categorization.
- It discusses the importance of SEO (affiliate), engagement rate, and trending topics for business visibility.
- Newer terms like micro-influencer and user-generated content (UGC) reflect changing social media dynamics.
- Readers can access visuals and links for further learning on social media terms.
What does Bitly mean?
Bitly is a free URL shortening service. It shortens long URLs for use on social media sites like Twitter. I’m not a fan of Bitly, but you may find it helpful. While you can create a few free URL shorteners, they run out very quickly.
What is a Business Page’s “About” Section?
The About section is the area on a social media business page where you describe what your business does. This applies to Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and most other platforms now, not just Facebook. This section should be updated regularly. People may not read it often, but when they do, you want them to find accurate, current information about your business.
What does a “blog” mean?
A blog is a regularly updated section of a website, typically maintained by an individual or a business, where they write about topics specific to their industry. Not all blogs use “/blog” in the URL anymore – mine, for example, is just the main URL without the word “blog” in it.
What is the term Creative Commons?
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides free licenses and legal tools to mark and share creative work.** It helps people grow and sustain a thriving commons of shared knowledge and culture. Visit their website for more information on licensing your own content or using someone else’s.
What is a “handle”?
A handle is your username on a social media platform; it’s how people find and tag you. On X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok, mine is @smqorg. When you want to mention or tag another business, use “@” followed by their handle. If you’re sharing someone else’s content, crediting their handle in your caption is good etiquette and helps build relationships with other small businesses.
What is a hashtag?
**A hashtag** (“#”) is used to mark keywords and phrases on social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. It helps categorize your content and helps each platform’s algorithm understand what your post is about, which can improve how many people see it. On Instagram, the number of hashtags is limited to 5 as of 2026.
What is a meme?
A meme is an image, video, or phrase, usually humorous, that spreads widely online, often with text layered above or below it. Memes remain hugely popular across all age groups, not just younger audiences, and can be a fun, low-cost way for small businesses to show personality online when done thoughtfully.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the quality and quantity of unpaid (organic) traffic to a website from search engines. Good SEO (affiliate) on your blog posts and social profiles helps more potential customers find you without paid ads.
What does the word “trending” mean?
When something is “trending,” it means it’s currently one of the most talked-about topics on a platform. You can see trending topics and hashtags across different social media sites, and jumping on a relevant trend early can help a small business get extra visibility.
You can find trending topics on different platforms; below is a list of trending pages that will help you plan what to write and share.
| https://trends.pinterest.com/ | |
| Hootsuite Free Trend Tracker | https://www.hootsuite.com/trend-analysis-tool |
| https://trends.google.com/trends/ | |
| TikTok Creative Center | https://ads.tiktok.com/creative/creativeCenter/trends |
| Reddit Pro Trends | https://www.business.reddit.com/pro |
| X (formerly Twitter) Explore | https://x.com/explore |
| Instagram Trend Tools | https://www.facebook.com/business/tools/meta-business-suite |
A Few More Terms You’ll Hear in 2026
Social media keeps evolving, so here are some newer terms that have become part of everyday small business marketing conversations.
What is the algorithm?
The algorithm is the set of rules a platform uses to decide which posts show up in a user’s feed, and in what order. Modern algorithms prioritize watch time, comments, shares, and saves, not just how recently you posted, which is why consistent engagement matters more than posting frequency alone.
What is engagement rate?
Engagement rate measures how much your audience interacts with your content, likes, comments, shares, and saves, relative to your total followers or reach. It’s a more useful metric than follower count alone for understanding whether your content actually resonates.
What are Reels and Stories?
Reels are short-form vertical videos (popularized by Instagram and TikTok, now used on nearly every platform), while Stories are temporary posts that disappear after 24 hours. Both formats are heavily favored by today’s algorithms and are worth incorporating into a small business’s content mix.
What is user-generated content (UGC)?
User-generated content is any photo, video, review, or post created by customers or followers rather than the business itself. Sharing UGC (with permission) builds trust and gives small businesses a steady stream of authentic content.
What is a micro-influencer?
A micro-influencer is a content creator with a smaller but highly engaged following, typically between 1,000 and 100,000 followers. Partnering with micro-influencers is often more affordable and can drive better engagement for small businesses than working with larger influencers.
I hope this helps you understand some of the terms that are on social media. Let me know which word you want to learn or have learned by leaving a comment.
FAQs
No. Start with the basics: hashtags, handles, and engagement rate, and build from there. You don’t need to master every term to run an effective social media presence.
Fairly often. Platforms introduce new features and jargon every year, which is why I revisit and update this list periodically.
A handle is your username (who you are), while a hashtag categorizes content by topic (what your post is about). You can use both in the same caption.
Yes. Scheduling tools handle the posting, but understanding terms like engagement rate and algorithm still helps you decide what to post and when.
Looking for help with your social media strategy and schedule management? Check out our service here.
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Great topics to talk about and help other people… they surely could use it. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for visiting and commenting, Kristen. I really appreciate it.
Sabrina – a good primer, especially for those just getting into social media. I think the term meme is one of the most misunderstood. Thanks for clarifying.
Me too, meme is one that it took me awhile to understand. Thanks for commenting.
I”m proud of myself knew all except for one: creative commons. Is this something that everyone should be doing?
That’s awesome, Lisa! Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Love that I knew all of them and use many. Good idea not only to educate but for others to see that you know what you are talking about.
Good for you, Roslyn. Thanks for commenting. I started off easy because I didn’t want to frustrate the newer small business owner. =)
Thanks for the great list, Sabrina. I know most of these, although I had a different understanding of the “official” meaning of a meme. I guess I am already doing them based on this. 😉 I will look up the meme generator you show in your graphic. It’s amazing how the more we are in the online world, the more we “learn” and yet often we don’t even know we know it. Enjoyed the post!
Most like you are, Beverly. My daughter, the expert of Memes, said the images or videos must be popular images and that people know but modified to make it talk about something else. Still figuring this one out myself. =) Thanks for commenting, Beverely.
I remember the first time I heard the term SEO. I had no clue what it meant, of course, and I understood even less when it was explained to me! That was long ago, in a galaxy far away, and now I can spout it off like I born knowing it. 😉
I know what you mean, Jackie. To goes to show, we all can learn. I love that about us as humans. Thanks for commenting.
For some reason I never got the meme thing..:) Thanks for making me a little smarter today. Also, I am interested to have a look at Creative Commons. Thanks for sharing this list!
You are not the only one. I had to read it a few times myself. =) Thanks for commenting.
Thanks Sabrina, I really liked the way you incorporated the images with the explanations. It makes everything clear for those who are not certain about a particular terms. Te creative commons caught my attention. I never thought of applying my own work to it.
Thank you, Joyce. I am visual and hope other visitors will benefit from it as well. Thanks for commenting.
Nice! This article will be of great help to newbies who are bewildered – drowning in a sea of new words. I like that you added images for each one.
Thanks Beth, There are so many terms out there and very complicated descriptions. I think I will do this one again with different terms. It is really helpful. Thanks for commenting.