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The Definitive List of Social Media Acronyms and Abbreviations, Defined

Kevan Lee
Kevan Lee Former VP of Marketing @ Buffer
The Definitive List of Social Media Acronyms and Abbreviations, Defined
Summary

20 min read
You will learn

Just last week, someone hit me with a "GMTA" and I was left feeling like a T-Rex trying to operate an iPhone. (For those playing at home, it stands for "Great minds think alike".) But hey, if you're in the same boat, don't worry, we've got your back!

Turns out, acronyms and abbreviations are EVERYWHERE, especially in social media and digital marketing.

I thought it’d be great to share some that seem to come up quite often. I’ve collected over 170 social media acronyms and abbreviations and placed them here in this post, complete with definitions and quick navigation to help you find the terms you’re interested in. Let me know if there are others that you’ve noticed that didn’t make this list!

—A—

AFAIK – As far as I know

This is a quick way of saying that you're sharing information that you think is correct based on what you currently know, but you're not 100% certain. It's a handy abbreviation to use when you want to clarify that you're not an expert on a topic but you're happy to share what you know.

Ex. “AFAIK, there are no peanuts in a Milky Way bar.”

AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

This copywriting formula helps devise a list of events that a reader can take toward converting. It’s particularly effective in website copy, online ads, email, blog posts, and social media updates.

Ex. “Check this out! Moz is giving away free SEO for a year! Super great chance to grow your SEO skills and powers. Click here: bit.ly/link.

AMA – Ask Me Anything

These initials can be used in social media updates as an open call for questions, and the acronym is also quite popular as a recurring question-and-answer series on Reddit, featuring experts and/or well-known names in a huge variety of fields.

Ex. “I’m doing an AMA on Reddit tomorrow at 3pm ET all about space travel!”

API – Application Programming Interface

Have you ever wondered how your favorite app connects to so another of your much-loved services? Buffer, for instance, uses the Twitter API to schedule and post tweets. In general, an API outlines the specifics of software applications, telling components how they should act on an interface.

Learn more: Zapier’s introduction to APIs

ASMR - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

ASMR is a tingling sensation that some people experience in response to specific sounds or visuals. It is a popular genre of video on YouTube, where creators use various techniques such as whispering, tapping, or brushing to trigger ASMR in their viewers, providing a sense of relaxation and comfort.

ASL – Age/Sex/Location

Often used in getting to know one another.

Ex. “Great to meet you! ASL?”

—B—

BSAAW - Big smile and a wink

BSAAW can be used in a similar way as using the winking emoji

b/c, bc – Because

Ex. “I’m late b/c traffic.

B2B – Business-to-business

Companies that focus on selling goods and services to other companies. An enterprise analytics tool, for instance, would be a B2B product. Often times you may see marketing strategies and statistics broken up between B2B and B2C (business-to-consumer) because some of the tactics and tips may differ based on this distinction.

B2C – Business-to-consumer

Companies that focus on selling to consumers. A clothing retailer, for instance, would be a B2C company.

B4 – Before

Ex. “Ask Alice. She got there B4 me.”

BAE – Before Anyone Else

Used as a term of endearment for someone you care about.

Ex. “My BAE and I are staying in tonight.”

BFF – Best Friends Forever

Ex. “Troy and Abed are total BFFs!”

BRB – Be right back

Ex. “brb, making nachos.”

BTAIM – Be that as it may

It's a phrase used to acknowledge someone's point, but also to indicate that you have a different perspective or opinion. It's a polite way to express disagreement or to offer a counterargument.

Ex. “BTAIM, I still prefer comments on blog posts.”

BTS - Behind the scenes

Commonly used to refer to the process or activities that occur behind the camera or offstage during a production. This can be a fun way for creators to share the work that goes into their final product with their viewers.

Ex. “"Check out this exclusive BTS footage of our latest photo shoot! #instagram #photoshoot”

BWL - Bursting with laughter

Similar to LOL (“Laugh out loud”)

BTW – By the way

Ex. “captaindan is not my real name BTW.”

—C—

CAN-SPAM – Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act

This law was passed in 2003 in the United States in hopes of cutting down on unsolicited email. Per the rules of CAN-SPAM, there is a lengthy list of requirements that businesses or individuals must comply with when sending out email—items like providing the ability to unsubscribe, including a physical mailing address, and no misleading subject lines.

CC – Carbon copy

On social media, CC has the same usage as the CC on your emails: to make sure that a Twitter user sees your Tweet, used with the @ mention and their Twitter handle.

Ex. “Amazing new insights into digital marketing: bit.ly/link cc: @hnshah”

CMGR – Community manager

Often, this person is helpful in engaging with the community on social media, forums, and meetups. The social media manager job description has a lot of crossover with a community manager.

CMS – Content Management System

A CMS is software used to organize, edit, and publish content. Ghost is the CMS we use for the Buffer blog. WordPress is another popular blogging platform that could be used as a CMS.

CMV - Change my view

CMV is usually used in a context where someone is inviting others to challenge their perspective or opinion on a particular topic.

CPC – Cost per click

In online advertising, cost-per-click refers to the price paid by an advertiser who is charged every time someone clicks on an ad (rather than every time the ad is shown). The cost-per-click is the dollar amount that the advertiser pays for each click.

CPM – Cost per thousand

In comparison to cost-per-click, cost-per-thousand is based on the impressions (views) of an ad. In CPM, the advertiser is charged for every 1,000 impressions of an ad. Fun fact: The “M” in CPM stands for “Mille,” which is the roman numeral name for 1,000 (in case you were wondering why it’s CPM instead of CPT).

CR – Conversion rate

CR is the number of people who take an action, divided by the number of people who could have. For example, if you have 100 visits to your landing page and 25 people click the button, the button has a 25 percent conversion rate.

CRM – Customer Relationship Management

CRM is a way of managing the interaction and communication between your business and its leads or customers. In certain ways, CRM is like an address book with super powers. Salesforce is one of the leading CRM providers online.

CRO - Conversion Rate Optimization

CRO refers to the changes you make to improve your conversion rate.

CSL - Can’t stop laughing

CSS – Cascading stylesheet

This code language gives websites their look. The layout, colors, fonts, borders, spacing, and all other visual elements of a website occur because of the styles declared in CSS.

CTA – Call-to-action

The word or phrase that’s used to tell people what to do. Click here. Buy now. Learn more. Join us.

CTR – Clickthrough rate

Like conversion rate, this measures the amount of people who took an action—in the case of CTR, the action is a click—divided by the number of people who could have. In email marketing, for instance, CTR describes the rate at which people clicked on a link in an email, taking into consideration the number of people who received the email.

CX – Customer experience

The sum of all experiences a customer has with you. This could involve interactions with your product, your website, your customer support, or your social media.

—D—

DAE – Does anyone else … ?

Ex. “DAE have an invite code for Google Inbox?”

DFTBA – Don’t forget to be awesome

Ex. “Good luck in your interview! DFTBA!”

DM – Direct Message

This refers to messages received in your private social media inbox (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc).

Ex. “I’d love to connect! Can you DM me your email address?”

DYK - Did you know…?

Ex. "DYK that the Great Wall of China is not visible from space?"

—E—

ELI5 – Explain like I’m 5 (years old)

This one is often seen on Reddit. It’s used to ask for a simple explanation to a complex topic.

Ex. “ELI5, how does wind work?”

ESP – Email service provider

A program or software that allows you to send emails. MailChimp, for instance, is an ESP, and some large companies have their own ESPs for sending bulk email.

—F—

F2F – Face to face

Ex. “Let’s chat F2F instead of on the phone.”

FaTH – First and Truest Husband

This doesn’t necessarily refer to one’s actual husband but rather anyone you feel a particular bond toward.

Ex. “This relationship has been so incredible, you’ll always be my FaTH.”

FB – Facebook

FBF – Flashback Friday

A theme where you share an old picture or status from back in the day, FBF is often represented in hashtag form (and it’s quite similar to another weekly meme, Throwback Thursday).

FBO – Facebook official

This term refers to one’s relationship status on Facebook. When you’re FBO, you’ve set your status on Facebook to “In a relationship.” Along with signifying the start of a relationship, these initials can also be a way of stating that you won’t believe something until you see it online.

Ex. “I got a new car! It’s FBO! (picture)”

FF – Follow Friday

A trend that began on Twitter, Follow Friday lets you share the names of other Twitter users whom you think your followers should follow.

Ex. “FF: @buffer @joelgascoigne”

FIMH - Forever in my heart

FOMO – Fear of Missing Out

FOMO describes a type of social anxiety where you feel that if you miss an opportunity you might miss out on something great. FOMO comes into play quite often with social media where some people are compelled to stay connected so they never miss a big moment.

FTFY – Fixed that for you

A simple shorthand response when someone corrects someone else online.

Ex. “Salem, not Portland, is the capital of Oregon. FTFY.”

FTW – For the win!

A jubilant exclamation, and sometimes used in jest or sarcastically.

Ex. “Churros, FTW!”

FUTAB – Feet up, take a break

Ex. “Just sent his week’s newsletter! FUTAB. :)”

FYI – For your information

Ex. “FYI, my Macbook Air smells like fresh popcorn!”

—G—

GBP - Google Business Profile

Read more about connecting your Google Business Profile with Buffer.

G2G – Got to go

Ex. “Talk to you later! G2G!”

GA – Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the tool created by Google to help you track your website traffic. We use Google Analytics here at Buffer to pull reports on our most popular content and set goals for conversions of Buffer blog readers to Buffer app customers.

Learn more: The Marketer’s Guide to Google Analytics

GG – Good game

Ex. “That was fun! GG! Let’s do it again some time soon. :)”

Gr8 – Great

Ex. “Gr8 stuff! RT @buffer Check out our new transparency dashboard full of resources!”

GRWM - Get ready with me

GRWM videos are when creators film themselves getting ready, share makeup/hair styling tips, their outfit choices, etc. They are popular on YouTube and Instagram.

GMTA - Great minds think alike

Often used to express the idea that two people have come up with the same idea or solution, usually indicating a shared understanding or similarity in thinking.

Ex. “Was going to suggest getting a pizza, but then she suggested the same thing - GMTA!”

GOAT - Greatest of all time

Ex. “Did you watch the game last night? LeBron James is definitely the GOAT!”

GTG – Got to go

GTR – Got to run

Ex. “Sorry to cut today’s chat short! GTR!”

—H—

HBD – Happy birthday

Ex. “My best friend is turning 30 today! HBD @annief!”

HIFW - How I feel when

HIFW is usually used with a GIF or image that expresses the feeling they have when something happens.

Ex. "HIFW my boss tells me we're getting free pizza for lunch today" [inserts GIF of a person dancing]

HMB – Hit me back

A more casual way of saying "let me know" or "get back to me", to ask someone to respond when they have a chance.

HMU – Hit me up

Ex. “Let’s chat this week. HMB on my cell.”

HT – Hat tip

A hat tip is a way for users to give thanks or acknowledgement to other users. It refers to the practice of tipping one’s hat toward a person out of gratitude. You see HT a lot in association with shared content, along with “via,” “by,” and “cc.” In some cases, HT can also refer to “Heard Through,” which provides a similar meaning to Hat Tip.

Ex. “51 of the Best Writing Articles bit.ly/link HT: @redman”

HTH – Here to help / Happy to help

Ex. “Anyone need help figuring out the Facebook News Feed? HTH.”

HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language

HTML is the coding language used to build webpages and any other information viewable on the web. HTML is the foundation and the frame of every website you visit. CSS adds the color and layout to the page.

—I—

IANAD – I am not a doctor

Ex. “Whoa, sounds like strep throat! IANAD :)”

IANAL – I am not a lawyer

Ex. “IANAL, but it seems like you’ve got a pretty good case there!”

ICYMI – In case you missed it

This one can be used when resharing something from earlier or in a “things you should know today” format. You might find it often in recap-type posts and updates.

Ex. “ICYMI, the Buckeyes won the national championship! #gobucks”

IDC – I don’t care

Ex. “Raining today. IDC.”

IDK – I don’t know

Ex. “Super tough test today! Our 14th president? IDK. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”

IFYP - I feel your pain

IG – Instagram

IKR – I know, right?

Ex. “ikr RT: @vimeo The most amazing announcement ever. Gotta see this video.”

ILY – I love you

IM – Instant message

Popular instant messaging apps like AOL Instant Messenger predate the more modern social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Some social networks still have built-in instant messaging features. Facebook Messenger is perhaps the most well-known (and widely used) version of IM still around.

IMHO – In my humble opinion

IMO – In my opinion

Ex. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to eat and drive at the same time, IMHO.”

IMU - I miss you

IO – Insertion order

Used in advertising and marketing environments, an insertion order is a written contract between an advertiser and an ad agency or media rep, often used for print or broadcast ads. Typical IOs include air date and time, number of times for the ad to be shown, and costs.

IRL – In real life

This phrase is often used to distinguish between interactions and events that happen online versus the real world.

Ex. “Huge fan of @guy! We met IRL a few years back. :)”

ISP – Internet service provider

Who do you pay for Internet? This is your ISP. Comcast is the largest ISP in the United States.

—J—

JK – Just kidding

Ex. “I’m king of the world! JK.”

—K—

KPI – Key Performance Indicator

KPIs are the benchmarks and goals that are most important for your business. They help you determine how well your campaigns and strategies are performing. Social media KPIs could be the amount of engagement or shares you’re receiving on your profiles. You could also track clicks and conversions back to your website via social.

—L—

L8 – Late

Ex. “Running L8! See you in 15. :)”

LI – LinkedIn

LMAO – Laughing my a** off

Ex. “Camping was in tents/intense! LMAO!”

LMK – Let me know

Ex. “Anyone interested in chatting about small biz marketing? LMK. kevan at buffer.com”

LMS – Like my status

You might see this acronym appear on tweets or Facebook posts, asking those who read it to give the post a like. It’s also an acronym for “Learning Management System,” software for online education courses.

Ex. “Got the new iPhone! So stoked! LMS.”

LOL – Laughing out loud

LOLz – Laughing out loud (plural/sarcastic)

Lolz is the plural of LOL, but instead of having an “s,” people write it with a “z”. Some say that LOLz means you’re laughing out loud sarcastically.

—M—

MCM – Man crush Monday

This acronym refers to a weekly trend where users mention or post photos about a man whom they like or admire.

MFW - My face when

A way to introduce a reaction image or a meme that shows the facial expression one has in response to a particular situation.

Ex. "MFW I accidentally hit 'reply all' on a work email" [inserts a meme of someone facepalming]

MM – Music Monday

Music Monday was originally used to share the music you were listening to that day. It’s no longer as popular of an abbreviation as it used to be.

MSG - Message

MT – Modified tweet

Modified tweets occur when a user is attempting to manually retweet but the tweet is too long and you have to modify the original tweet. The issues with length can occur if you’re trying to add your own commentary to an already-long tweet.

Ex. “Incredible resources here! MT: @unbounce The Ultimate Guide to Landing Pages That Work”

MTFBWY – May the force be with you

A reference to the Star Wars movies, this abbreviation is used when someone is sending words of encouragement or motivation to another user.

Ex. “Finals this week! MTFBWY @amyjones!”

—N—

NBD - No big deal

Ex. “I'm running a few minutes late, but I'll be there soon. NBD if you need to start without me."

NM – Not much

Ex. “What are you up to?” “NM.”

NSFL – Not safe for life

NSFL is used to warn others that the content they are about to view is extremely graphic or disturbing, and might cause a strong negative reaction.

NSFW – Not safe for work

NSFW means that a link, photo, video, or text contains graphic or inappropriate content for the workplace.

Ex. “New movie trailer for The Hangover (some NSFW language)”

NVM – Never mind

Ex. “Ha, I thought all day that this was a Saturday. LOL. NVM.”

—O—

OAN – On another note

Ex. “@andydwer That makes sense. OAN, where’d you get your cool cover photo? :)”

OH – Overheard

Ex. “OH: The show is standing room only tonight.”

OMG – Oh my God

Ex. “OMG! I can’t believe how great this new app is. :)”

OMW – On my way

Ex. “OMW. See you in a few!”

OOO - Out of office

OOO is used to indicate that someone is not available to respond to messages or emails because they are away from work or not working at the moment.

Ex. “Just wanted to give you a heads up that I'll be OOO next week on vacation. I'll get back to you as soon as I can when I'm back."

OOTD – Outfit of the day

This social media meme has people sharing which outfit they’re wearing that day. Popular on Instagram, OOTD often will appear as a hashtag.

Ex. “New shirt. New pants. #OOTD”

OP – Original poster

Ex. “OP stated it best in her original question.”

ORLY – Oh really?!

Like LOLz, this abbreviation can be used sarcastically as well as seriously.

Ex. “ORLY? RT @kevanlee Firecrackers aren’t made from crackers.”

OTP – One true pairing

This refers to two people or characters that you feel are meant for each other.

Ex. “Lady and the Tramp are my OTP.”

—P—

P2P – Person to person, or peer to peer

Similar to F2F, this abbreviation can refer to an in-person meeting, as opposed to an online get together. Also, P2P can come up in a business arena as a way of distinguishing a type of network, tool, meeting, or event.

POTD – Photo of the day

Popular on Instagram, this abbreviation often appears as a hashtag for those who want to show off their best photo of the day.

Ex. “Check out this sunset! #POTD”

PPC – Pay per click

In online advertising, pay-per-click is when an advertiser pays based on the number of times their ad is clicked. This is also known as cost-per-click (CPC, mentioned above). Google’s ads are perhaps the most common type of PPC available.

PM – Private message

Ex. “Send me a PM! :)”

PPL – People

Ex. “Tons of PPL here. This place is packed!”

PR – PageRank, or Public relations

PageRank refers to an element of the Google ranking algorithm that assigns your webpage a numerical value from 0 to 10 based on the number and quality of links to the page. In this way, PageRank is hoping to measure the quality of the page itself.

Public Relations refers to the practice or department for communications and media relations.

PSA - Public service announcement

"PSA" can be used to refer to any type of message or announcement that is important or urgent, regardless of whether it's an official public service announcement or not.

Ex. "PSA: Don't sleep on this new album, it's fire!"

PV – Pageviews

One of the most widely-used metrics in Google Analytics and web traffic tracking, pageviews refers to the number of times a user visits a webpage. Unique pageviews goes a step further and counts only the pageviews of unique individuals (for example, if Tom visited a page three times and Amy visited once, pageviews would be four, and the unique pageviews would be two).

—Q—

QOTD – Quote of the Day

Used for sharing a funny or interesting quote, QOTD will often appear in a hashtag following the quote.

Ex. “You will get everything you want in life if you help other people get what they want. – Zig Ziglar #QOTD”

QQ - Crying

QQ can be used to indicate crying or tears. The two letters resemble a pair of eyes with tears streaming down the face, and are often used to express sadness, disappointment, or frustration.

—R—

ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing

Ex. “Listening to the new Brian Regan CD! ROFL! This is so great. :)”

ROFLMAO – Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off

Most often used with the simple ROFL, this abbreviation comes as a response to something really funny, to a greater degree than a LOL.

ROI – Return on investment

This marketing measurement looks at the amount of profit you make based on the difference between revenue and expenses. In social media marketing, ROI tends to be an elusive metric since revenue can be difficult to measure directly from social. Often times, ROI is extended to include a return in clicks, engagement, or new followers based on the time and resources devoted to a social network.

Ex. It costs $5,000 a year to maintain your website (domain, hosting, copywriting, design fees, etc.), but is generates $20,000/year in revenue. Based on this example your ROI would be 400% ($20,000 divided by $5000).

Learn more: What is ROI?

RSS – Really simple syndication

Many people choose RSS as the way to keep up with the latest blog posts from their favorite blogs, via a feed reader. Feedly is one of the most popular feed readers, letting you pull in content from any site with an RSS feed.

RT – Retweet

To reshare someone else’s tweet to your own Twitter profile.

RTD – Real-time data

Certain social media dashboards and website tracking tools measure data in real-time. For instance, some tools can tell you how many visitors are on your website this moment, including which pages they’re on and how they’re interacting with your site. This real-time data can be super interesting to see as well as valuable to help optimize your content and web pages.

—S—

SaaS – Software as a service

SaaS companies provide services via software either online or downloaded to your computer. For instance, Buffer is an SaaS company.

SC - Snapchat

SEM – Search engine marketing

SEM refers to the way that companies and brands promote their website within search engines. The two main elements of SEM are paid advertising and search engine optimization.

SEO – Search engine optimization

SEO refers to the practice of optimizing a website so that it ranks highly in search engine result pages. Some key elements of SEO are content, keywords, headlines, meta information, backlinks, and site structure/speed.

SERP – Search engine results page

This is the page you see when you perform a search.

SFW – Safe for work

The SFW abbreviation is sometimes used on content that seems like it may be NSFW but is actually quite non-offensive.

Ex. “Loved the new music video from Nicki Minaj! (SFW, btw)!”

SM – Social media

Learn more: What is social media?

SMB – Small and medium sized business

SMH – Shaking my head

This abbreviation signifies both something embarrassing and something with which the user might disagree.

Ex. “Mustard on my tie, again. SMH.”

SMM – Social media marketing

SMO – Social media optimization

Often used synonymously, these two terms refer to the process of getting the most out of social media for your business or brand.

SMP – Social media platform

Social media platforms may include sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok and Mastodon.

SoLoMo – Social, Local, Mobile

This refers to a localized and mobile-centric version of search engine results. SoLoMo takes advantage of a phone or tablet’s GPS technologies to deliver a user experience (search results, notifications, etc.) based on location.

SOV – Share of voice

Share of Voice is the percentage of all the online content/conversations about your company compared to the content/conversations about your competitors. You might think of it as a form of online market share.

SSDD - Same stuff, different day

SSDD is often used to express a sense of monotony or boredom with a routine or repetitive situation.

Ex. "I woke up, went to work, came home, ate dinner, and went to bed - SSDD."

Sus - Suspicious or sketchy

—T—

TBH – To be honest

Ex. “I’ve yet to see the appeal of snuggies, TBH.”

TBT – Throwback Thursday

Often used as a hashtag, TBT is when users share a photo from their past, often baby photos or, in the case of companies, photos from their early years.

Ex. “Here’s the first version of our logo! Wow, it’s come a long way! #TBT”

TFW - That feeling when…

Typically used to express a relatable feeling or emotion

Ex. “TFW you finally finish a big project”

TGIF – Thank goodness it’s Friday

Ex. “Been a long week. TGIF!”

Thx – Thanks

Ex. “Big thx to @moz for hosting an awesome conference this week!”

TIL – Today I learned

Ex. “TIL how tax credits work.”

TIME - Tears in my eyes

Used to indicate that something is so funny or emotional that it's causing the person to cry tears of laughter or sadness.

Ex. "I can't stop watching this video of the cat playing piano - TIME. It's just too hilarious!"

TL;DR – Too Long; Didn’t Read

This abbreviation may appear in a comment, post, or tweet, where the user is mentioning they weren’t able to completely read an article because of its length. Also, some articles or notes may include this abbreviation in lieu of a summary heading.

Ex. “tl;dr RT @cnn The Full Transcript from the State of the Union Address.”

TMI – Too much information

Ex. “TMI RT @mashable The Percentage of People who Use Social Media in the Bathroom.”

TNTL - Trying not to laugh

TOS – Terms of Service

Terms of service are the legal notices for browsing a website or using an app.

TTYL – Talk to you later

TTYN – Talk to you never

TTYS – Talk to you soon

TW - Twitter

Txt – Text

Ex. “Looking forward to the conference. Send me a txt when you get there!”

—U—

UGC – User generated content

This refers to all the different types of content—articles, updates, comments, videos, photos, etc.—that are produced by a site’s users. For instance, when someone creates an Instagram Reel about their favorite skincare products, that’s UCG.

Learn more: What is user generated content?

UI – User interface

User interface is the aspects of a website or product with which the user interacts with directly. To use an analogy, user interface is the saddle, the stirrups, and the reins. In an app like Buffer, the user interface is the buttons, the composer windows, the screen and mouse and keyboard.

URL – Uniform Resource Locator

A URL is the web address for a specific page. The URL for the Buffer blog is https://buffer.com/resources. You can see the URL for any web page by looking in the address bar at the top of your browser window.

UV – Unique visitor

A unique visitor is an individual website visitor who is counted only once in the traffic stats, regardless of how many times they visit or pages they view.

UX – User experience

User experience describes the way a user feels when using a website or a product. It’s the sum of the user’s experiences. To use an analogy, it would be like the feeling you get riding a horse (as opposed to the horse, the stirrups, the saddle themselves).

Learn more: What is UX?

—V—

Via

Used to refer to someone on social media, “via” often comes in to play when referencing a site that published a piece of content.

Ex. “All the Latest #SM Tools and Tips bit.ly/link via @buffer”

—W—

w/ – With

WBU – What about you?

Ex. “I’m going to Social Media Marketing World this year. WBU?”

WCW – Woman crush Wednesday

Like Man crush Monday, Woman crush Wednesday is a chance for social media users to share an update or a photo with reference to a woman they like or admire.

WDYMBT – What do you mean by that?

Ex. “WDYMBT @kevanlee?”

WFH - Working from home

WOM – Word of mouth

Another way to think about this is “sentiment.” What are people saying about your brand or product? Word of mouth has some huge implications for growth, and it spreads even faster as social media expands as a medium.

WOTD – Word of the Day

WOTD is a fun way to share a new word that you’ve picked up (and like many on the list, it could also be used sarcastically).

Ex. “Pandiculation – feeling stiff when you wake up from a nap. #WOTD”

WYWH - Wish you were here

—X—

—Y—

YGTR - You got that right

YMMV – Your mileage may vary

In other words, “your opinion might be different.”

Ex. “I thought that was great, but YMMV”

YOLO – You only live once

This abbreviation is usually preceded by or in reference to something someone did that was brave, foolish, or spontaneous.

Ex. “Signed up for bungee jumping! #YOLO”

YSK – You should know

Ex. “YSK there’s a really cool convo happening in the comments at @idonethis blog.”

YT – YouTube

—Z—

Further reading

This list of acronyms and abbreviations is far from complete. If there’s something you’ve found on social media that isn’t covered here, I’d love to add it to the list!

And if you’re curious for more, here are some links to several helpful articles about social media acronyms and abbreviations.

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