BigBuzzBlog

Glossary

Social Media is ever changing and so are the words associated with it. As we post, we will add to this glossary so that you may further understand the new world of Social Media.

app – Short for “application” which is a tool used to support a Social Media platform, enhancing how it can be used.

bigBUZZness – The Social Media Management company dedicated to helping small and new businesses make the most of limited marketing budgets.

Blackberry -  W line of wireless handheld devices, commonly known as smartphones,  which support e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services with a keyboard and touchscreen.

Blog – Short for “web log” this is a kind of website comprised mostly of article entries updated on a regular basis.

Blogger – Someone who writes blog articles; blogger.com is a free website on which you can post your blog articles.

BOGO - Buy one, get one free.

Click-through rate – The percentage of visitors to an Internet ad or link that actually click through to the website attached to it.

Cyber – Refers to the  computer version an existing product, service or community.

Decision Engine Optimization – Where some in the Social Media industry believe Search Engine Optimization is heading, DEO attempts to understand the user so that searches are even more accurately targeted for better results.

Demographics - The amalgam of information including age, gender, race, income, marital status and more that defines a group of people targeted by marketers.

Digg – An Internet site community that allows users to share content with others.

DM – Stands for “Direct Message”; used with Twitter. You can send a message to someone you are following only if they are following you too.

Facebook – is a free-access social networking website with which users can connect and interact with other people. In April 2008, it overtook competitor MySpace in users to become the most used social networking site.

Facebook Fan Page – A free page on Facebook which allows business to post updates to their network of friends. Allows for discussions and product reviews.

Follow – A term used with Twitter meaning that you are receiving updates from another Twitterer or they are receiving your updates.

iPhone – Though “iPhone” is an Apple Computers product, the term is becoming generic for any phone with a touch screen that functions as a phone, camera, portable media player and internet connection.

Keywords – Words, or phrases as in “key phrases” determined to the most used by people searching the Internet for a particular product, service, location, etc. Used often within websites to boost rankings in search results. A component of “Search Engine Optimization”.

Keyword Stuffing – Populating your website text – beyond normal use – with keywords so that search engines will more easily find your website. Generally disdained by the online marketing industry.

Landing Page - Where an Internet link “lands” anyone who clicks on it. May be a specially created page attached to a website that helps distinguish where people are coming from based on different links.

Linkbacks – creating links outside of your website – such as on Facebook, Digg, Twitter, etc. – that “link back” to your website, thus creating greater visibility to search engine spiders.

LinkedIn – is a business-oriented social networking site primarily used for professional networking.

MySpace – Once the most popular social networking website (now behind Facebook), it is rumored that MySpace will re-invent itself as a music-oriented site.

Posts/Posting – Articles added to a blog are called “posts”.

Retweets – When your “tweets” or updates on Twitter are forwarded by those who are following you to those who are following them.

ROI – Return On Investment.

SCORE – The “Service Corps of Retired Executives” is a resource partner of the Small Business Association that offers free guidance and workshops to entrepreneurs.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Developing a website using keywords and other techniques to attract Internet search engines so that a website ranks higher – and is more visible – in search results.

Social Media – The collection of tools such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs and more which allow people and businesses to connect and form relationships.

Social Networking – The common term for connecting with others through Internet sites and services designed to build relationships such as Facebook and Twitter.

Spamming – Frequently updating social networking accounts with only straight sales pitches.

Spiders – A means by which search engines identify, categorize and rank website content.

Static Content – Website components such as text and images that do not change often.

StumbleUpon – An Internet site community that allows users to share content with others.

Tweeps – People in your Twitter network.

Tweets – Messages of 140 characters in length which users of Twitter share with their network of followers.

Twitter – is a free social networking service that allows users to send and read each others’ updates, known as tweets. In March 2009, a Nielsen rated Twitter the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for previous month, in which it had a growth of 1382%.

Viral Marketing – Uses social networks such as Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube to post articles, videos, photos and updates which can be shared by everyone in your network with everyone in their network, thus the information spreads like a virus.

Webinar – a seminar presented on the Internet.

Website Analytics - Statistics gathered through a website program – or externally -  illustrating data such as how many visits the website had, from where, on what pages, for how long during a set period of time.

WordPress - a free, blog-based site that allows you to create a blog or even a simple website.