Four Social Media Terms Every PR Pro Should Know

It’s no surprise social media is an integral part of public relations, and growing your audience is paramount to every social media strategy. Understanding the best way to engage your audience can be challenging. Particularly as social media platforms continue to evolve and update their performance measurements.

When creating your social media strategy, here are four key terms to understand and explore.

Audience

It may sound silly to be defining the term Audience, but it’s vital to understand who you are reaching on social media. Your Audience goes further than your Followers; it encompasses anyone that sees or interacts with your posts. Ultimately, the goal here is to convert those viewers to Followers, so make your content count!

Boosted Post

On Facebook, a Boosted Post starts as an Organic Post that money is put behind to increase the reach with a Targeted Audience. This differs from a Facebook Ad, which is created to be an ad and not appear organically on your feed. Boosted Posts are a great tool to leverage Organic Content that performed well by targeting a specific Audience during a specific time range.

Engagement Rate

Time for a math lesson! Your Engagement Rate on social media equals (# of people who engaged with your post / # of people who saw your post) x 100%. A high Engagement Rate is a good sign that your content is interesting to your Audience or worthy of interaction.

It’s important to know that your Engagement Rate on Twitter and Facebook may not necessarily be comparable, as each platform defines Engagement differently. Still, this is a great way to know what content performs well on specific platforms.

Impressions

Impressions show how many times your post has been delivered in a User’s Feed. This is different from Reach, which shows how many users have seen your post.

That means one user could view your post multiple times, and those views would count toward Impressions. Just like Engagements, each platform defines Impressions differently. Make sure to keep that in mind during your reporting.

The Takeaway

This is only a starting point for any PR pro entering the world of social media. As you dive into your social media strategy, keep these definitions in mind. Stay apprised of the latest and greatest each platform has to offer. And if you need help, contact us for your social media and digital needs.

For more on social media and digital strategy, check out Emily’s insights on “Four Tips for Writing a Social Media Video Script,” or José’s, Guide to Social Media Organic Video Specs.”

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