Social Media Acronyms Explained

Social media are gaining more and more popularity. Professionals in the sphere of marketing, communications, search engine optimization (SEO), internet developments, even writers have to take into consideration the popularity of websites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Digg and many others.

The development of social media has led to the appearance of a whole new set of acronyms. Professionals should be familiar with these, in order to navigate smoothly and to use social media to the advantage of their business.

Here is a list of the most commonly used professional social media acronyms and their explanations.

SMO
Most of us know what search engine optimization (SEO) is. The new term to get acquainted with is Search Media Optimization (SMO). SMO strategies are used to attract visitors to specific pages and communities. The methods used include blogging, carrying out polls, participating in discussions, creating groups and sharing information.

SMM
The acronym SMM stands for Social Media Marketing. As its name suggest, SMM involves using social media for marketing purposes. SMM is tightly connected to activity in websites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Wikipedia and Youtube. The creation of corporate blogs and promotional blogs also falls under the category.

EM
EM stands for email marketing. Most of you know what EM is used for. Subscribed users receive informational e-mails concerning products, services and special offers from a company.

EZINE
Media are no longer what they used to be. EZINE stands for electronic magazine. These magazines are available solely online, some of them call for subscription to make all content available.

FB
FB is the acronym that stands for Facebook, probably the most popular social website. Facebook is a community allowing its users to connect to old friends, schoolmates, relatives, coworkers and new acquaintances. Its numerous options make Facebook an excellent tool for marketing experts due to the options to create groups, fan pages, discussion forums and product presentations.

PRT
The world of Twitter has created its own acronyms. Two of the most popular Twitter acronyms are RT (Retweet) and PRT (Please Retweet). Tweeting is the manner in which users of the website post information. Other users are given the chance to retweet (republish) the information that they find useful and interesting. PRT is a request that a user makes, asking other users to repost the information.

SM
SM is a simple one – this acronym stands for Social Media.

SMPR
Social Media Press Release (SMPR) is a special public relations digest created for usage in social media solely. What makes SMPR different from traditional press releases is that it has to interest and give some useful information to social media users. The concept is quite new and still in the process of being fully developed. A whole new approach is needed to hold the attention of social media users who have access to tons of information.

SN
The acronym SN stands for Social Network.

SROI
ROI is a term most of us are familiar with. To add some confusion to the picture, a new term appeared. SROI stands for Social Return of Investment. It is used by businesses and NGOs to measure the social value of campaigns and the term lacks financial implications.

UGC
UGC is an acronym for User Generated Content. This is the manner in which social media users contribute to the content of the website. UGC in fact applies to all websites that ask for the active involvement of visitors (forums, profile pages, etc).