Social media glossary: terms explained simply

The 48 terms are in alphabetical order. Platforms change their rules often, so numbers and rules come with the date of their source in the text. This page is current as of October 13, 2026.

The terms from A to Z

Ad labeling

Ad labeling means marking content as an advertisement (“Werbung” or “Anzeige” in German) when a third party gives something in return for it. In Germany, this is required by § 5a UWG (Act against Unfair Competition) and § 6 DDG. The label goes first in the text and must be visible without expanding it. According to the guide of the German media authorities (Medienanstalten, as of May 2025), your own products on a clearly recognizable company account usually need no label. In companycore, you put “Anzeige” (“ad”) at the start of the text yourself; on TikTok there is also the option Disclose commercial content. When labeling is mandatory is explained in Labeling ads.

AI info (AI label)

AI info (also called an AI label) marks AI-generated content. It is set by the platform or by you as the creator. Meta shows “AI info” on Instagram and Facebook when it detects technical markings in the file or when you declare it yourself (Meta Newsroom, April 5, 2024). TikTok and YouTube have their own switch when you upload (TikTok guidelines, YouTube Help). In companycore, images that can look real carry the visible label AI-GENERATED or AI-MODIFIED. For such media, the AI disclosure for TikTok and YouTube is pre-filled when you schedule; more in AI labeling in companycore. We can’t promise that Meta automatically marks an image from companycore as AI info, so set the label yourself if needed. When labeling is mandatory is covered in AI labeling requirements.

Algorithm

The algorithm is the system that decides which posts someone gets to see. Instagram ranks Feed, Reels, Stories and Explore separately (Mosseri, January 2025, reported by Social Media Today), so “the” algorithm is really four systems. Which signals count is explained in the algorithm guide.

Alt text

Alt text is the image description that screen readers read aloud and that platforms and search engines evaluate. Describe what is visible and what message the image conveys; repeat any text that appears in the image (Bundesfachstelle Barrierefreiheit, the German federal accessibility agency). In companycore, you click the image in the publication editor and enter it under Image details in the Alt text field. All fields of the editor are covered in Schedule a post.

Aspect ratio

The aspect ratio is the ratio of width to height of an image or video, for example 4:5 or 9:16. For Instagram feed posts that you schedule through a tool, 4:5 (1,080 × 1,350 px) is the safe choice. Since May 2025, the Instagram app also supports portrait photos at 3:4 (1,080 × 1,440 px) (Instagram Help, Meta for Developers and PetaPixel, as of October 13, 2026). If an image falls outside 4:5 to 1.91:1, companycore posts it with a border instead of cropping it. All dimensions are in Image sizes and formats.

Brand voice

Brand voice is the recognizable tone of a brand: word choice, form of address and attitude. In companycore, you set it in Backstage › Text Settings and on the Tone of voice card of the CI Overview, for example Du or Sie (informal or formal German address); companycore also learns from your published posts. More in Text settings.

Business account

A business account is a professional Instagram or TikTok account with insights and contact buttons. For Instagram, companycore needs a professional account (Business); personal accounts can’t be connected because Meta has offered no interface for them since December 4, 2024 (Meta for Developers). You don’t need a Facebook Page; the instructions are in Connect Instagram.

Call to action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is the specific request at the end of a post, for example “Call us”, “Save this” or “Send us a photo”. Pick one CTA per post that fits the goal: a salon asks for appointments, a trades business asks for a photo of the damage. Templates are in Hooks, captions and CTAs.

Caption

The caption is the text that accompanies a post. On Instagram, only about 125 characters are visible before “more” (guideline), and Instagram allows up to 2,200 in total (Meta for Developers, as of October 13, 2026). In the publication editor, the Visible before “more” display shows whether your first line works. How to build captions is explained in Hooks, captions and CTAs.

Carousel

A carousel is a post with several images or videos that people swipe through. On LinkedIn, the document post does this: several images become one PDF. In companycore, you build carousels in the Visual Designer as slides. Sent through a tool, up to 10 media items per post go out on Instagram; in the app itself it is up to 20 (Instagram Help and Meta for Developers, as of October 13, 2026). More in Carousels and templates.

Collab post

A collab post is a shared Instagram post by several accounts that appears on all participating profiles. In companycore, you enter up to 3 accounts under Collab partners (post together) for a feed post and a Reel; they have to accept the invitation (details in the publication editor). For collaborations with brands, ad labeling applies as well.

Community management

Community management means looking after communication with your followers: answering comments and direct messages and keeping an eye on reviews. That stays with you, because companycore doesn’t manage comments or messages. How to set aside time for it is shown in Social media without time.

Company page

A company page is a business profile on LinkedIn or a Page on Facebook, separate from your personal profile. companycore posts to Facebook Pages, not to personal profiles or groups; on LinkedIn, you choose your profile or a company page where you are an administrator as the target. The steps are in Connect LinkedIn.

Content calendar

A content calendar sets out when which content appears on which platform. In companycore, it doesn’t build itself: you plan in the Calendar, which shows you public holidays, special days and suggestions for empty days. The occasions for 2027 are in Content calendar 2027.

Content pillar

A content pillar is a recurring topic area that posts come from, for example knowledge, behind the scenes and offers. A hairdresser might choose looks, care tips and team; a trades business might choose job sites, tips and apprentices. In companycore, you maintain them as Content pillars on the Tone of voice card of the CI Overview; they feed into the texts. Ideas per pillar are in Content ideas for businesses.

Corporate identity (CI)

Corporate identity (CI) is the overall picture of a brand: colors, fonts, logo, tone and image style. companycore reads it from your sources; in Backstage › CI Overview, you check and correct what the analysis found. More: CI Overview.

Creator account

A creator account is the professional Instagram account type for individuals and creators; it is similar to the business account. Its music library does not clear trending sounds for business Reels: the platforms’ libraries are licensed for private use (Osborne Clarke, March 27, 2026), more in Music in Reels. In companycore, the app refers to the Business account for Instagram, see Connect Instagram.

Deepfake

Under the EU AI Act (Art. 3 No. 60), a deepfake is AI-generated or AI-manipulated image, audio or video content that resembles real people, places, objects or events and falsely appears authentic. Businesses that publish such content professionally have had to disclose it since August 2, 2026 (Art. 50 of the AI Act, according to the EU Commission); obviously fantastical content usually doesn’t count. A realistic AI “photo” of your own salon would be an example, a cartoon illustration would not. More: AI labeling requirements.

Direct message (DM)

A direct message (DM) is a private message on a platform. When a post is forwarded by DM (“send”), it counts on Instagram as one of the three most important ranking signals (Mosseri, January 2025). Which ones those are is explained in the algorithm guide.

Engagement

Engagement covers all interactions with a post: likes, comments, saves and shares. It shows how strongly people react, not how many people saw the post. Expressed as a percentage, it is called engagement rate. Which format brings how much response is shown in the format comparison.

Engagement rate

The engagement rate is the number of interactions divided by followers or by reach, as a percentage. Always state the basis: 30 interactions are 3% of 1,000 followers, but 5% of 600 accounts reached. For orientation, Socialinsider gives for 2026 (per follower) about 0.45% on Instagram, 0.15% on Facebook and 5.20% on LinkedIn (retrieved October 13, 2026). More figures and how to read them: Reels, carousel or image.

Evergreen content

Evergreen content stays relevant for a long time, such as how-tos, care tips or answers to common questions. In the content calendar, it serves as a buffer for weeks when nothing new comes up: a care tip from a parquet floor installer works in May as well as in November. How to build in that buffer: Content calendar 2027.

Explore

Explore (“Entdecken” in the German app) is the Instagram surface with recommendations from accounts you don’t follow. Since April 30, 2026, accounts that mostly post other people’s photos, carousels or Reels are no longer recommended there; their followers still see the posts (according to Social Media Today and MediaPost). For businesses, that means: mostly post your own photos and videos. More in Instagram algorithm 2026.

Feed

The feed is the main stream of a platform, where posts from followed accounts appear. In companycore, you choose the Feed post format for it (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn). All formats per platform are in the overview Formats by platform.

Follower

Followers are people who follow an account and see its posts in their feed. The number alone says little: Instagram can also recommend Reels of up to 3 minutes to non-followers (Instagram Creators, January 21, 2025), and for engagement, the reactions count, not the number.

For You feed (FYF/FYP)

The For You feed (FYF) is TikTok’s personalized recommendation feed, which also shows videos from accounts you don’t follow. Online, you will also see the abbreviation FYP (“For You Page”). According to TikTok’s guidelines, unoriginal or reused material with nothing new added is not eligible for it (retrieved October 13, 2026). If you only share other people’s material, you won’t be recommended there; more in Instagram reach dropped? The diagnosis.

Hashtag

A hashtag is a keyword with a # in front, through which posts on a topic can be found. Since December 2025, Instagram allows at most 5 per post (Instagram Help, announced December 18, 2025). The hashtag counter in companycore recommends 5 for Instagram and TikTok, 3 for LinkedIn and YouTube, and 2 for Facebook. The rules per platform are in Hashtags in 2026.

Highlights

Highlights are collections of Stories that stay pinned to your Instagram profile permanently. Salons and other businesses use them like a mini website, for example with prices, team, appointment booking and reviews; an example is in Social media for hairdressers and barbershops.

Hook

The hook is the opening: the first seconds of a video or the first line of a text, for example “Before and after: from copper to ash blond”. It decides whether someone keeps watching or reading. With video, it is directly tied to watch time. Formulas and examples: Hooks, captions and CTAs.

Impressions

Impressions count how often a post was displayed. Instagram (since April 2025) and Facebook (since November 15, 2025) have replaced them with views; the term still appears in tools and studies. If your statistics suddenly look worse, first check whether only the measurement changed – the diagnosis shows how.

Impressum (legal notice)

In Germany, the Impressum is the provider identification (legal notice) required by § 5 DDG (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz), which has replaced the TMG (Telemediengesetz) since May 14, 2024. Under case law and IHK practice (IHK: chamber of commerce), it also applies to business profiles. According to the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg (OLG Hamburg, ruling of May 21, 2026, a single-case decision), a clearly visible link directly below the bio is enough on Instagram if it leads to a website with a complete Impressum; name the link unambiguously, for example “Impressum”. Mandatory details and examples per platform are in Impressum on social media.

Insights

Insights (“Statistiken” in German) are a platform’s reports on reach, views and interactions; on Instagram, you get them with a professional account. companycore doesn’t show any statistics itself; you read the numbers directly in the platform. Further limits of the app are listed in What companycore can’t do.

Link in bio

The link in bio is the clickable link in your profile. It leads to your website, booking page or Impressum, because links in Instagram captions are not clickable; Instagram allows up to 5 links in the bio (since April 18, 2023, according to PetaPixel). Business profiles also use it to make the Impressum reachable, see Impressum on social media.

Organic reach

Organic reach is reach without paid advertising: people see your post because the platform serves it to them, not because you pay for it. You steer it through content, rhythm and format rather than through budget; how that looks on Instagram is explained in Instagram algorithm 2026.

Reach

Reach is the number of accounts that saw a post. It counts people, not displays: if 200 accounts see a Reel and 50 of them see it twice, that is 250 views but only 200 reach. If it suddenly drops, the diagnosis helps.

Reel

A Reel is a short vertical video on Instagram and Facebook; on Facebook, all new videos have appeared as Reels since June 2025 (Meta Newsroom, June 17, 2025). Instagram recommends Reels of up to 3 minutes to non-followers too, but not longer ones (Instagram Creators, January 21, 2025). In companycore, you upload a finished video and schedule it as a Reel; companycore can’t (yet) cut videos. When a Reel is worthwhile is compared in Reels, carousel or image.

Repost / aggregator account

A repost spreads other people’s content; an aggregator account consists mostly of such reposts. Since April 30, 2026, Instagram no longer recommends such accounts in Explore and in suggestions, while followers still see the posts (according to Social Media Today and MediaPost). Instagram has not confirmed a fixed limit such as “10 reposts in 30 days”. More on originality: Instagram algorithm 2026.

Safe zone

The safe zone is the area of an image that the app’s interface elements don’t cover, which matters mainly at 9:16. On TikTok, the action bar on the right and the description at the bottom cover parts of the image. In the Visual Designer, Safe zones for appears at 9:16 once TikTok is enabled for you; when you move elements, it shows what Story or TikTok cover. More in Image sizes and formats.

Saves

Saves are the taps on “Save” with which users put a post away for later. They count toward engagement and typically occur on carousels with tips, checklists or care instructions. When a carousel is worthwhile is shown in the format comparison.

Sends / shares

Sends are forwards of a post to others, usually by direct message; in general, they are called shares. According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri (January 2025, reported by Social Media Today), sends per reach are among the three most important ranking signals: with non-followers, sends weigh a little more; with followers, likes do. So ask yourself with every post whether someone would send it to a friend, for example as price info, a tip or a before and after. The other signals are explained in the algorithm guide.

Shadowban

Shadowban is a colloquial term for an unexplained drop in visibility that people suspect is a secret restriction. As a blanket explanation, it rarely helps, because other causes are often behind it: the switch to views, a lack of originality, more than 5 hashtags or a break in the posting rhythm. The check, step by step, is in the diagnosis.

Short

A Short is a short YouTube video in vertical or square format, up to 3 minutes long since October 15, 2024 (YouTube Help). companycore accepts Shorts in vertical format up to 180 seconds; how to connect the channel is explained in Connect your YouTube channel.

Social recruiting

Social recruiting is hiring through social networks. Social media makes your business visible, but people often search on Google: according to the Azubi-Recruiting-Trends 2026 (apprentice recruiting trends, reported by Haufe), the search for apprenticeship positions runs mainly through Google (69%). So link from recruiting posts to a careers page or job ad. An example from the trades: Social media for tradespeople.

Story

A Story is a vertical post that stays visible for 24 hours. Stories mainly reach existing followers, not new people. In companycore, you schedule a Story with exactly one image or video; text belongs in the image, and there are no link stickers. When Stories make sense is shown in the format comparison.

Trial Reels

Trial Reels are Instagram Reels that are first shown only to non-followers, as a test before the post goes to your followers. Instagram has offered them to professional accounts since December 2024; a minimum number of followers is not officially confirmed (according to a third-party source). They can’t be published through companycore. For new Instagram tools, see Instagram algorithm 2026.

UGC (user-generated content)

UGC (user-generated content) is content that customers create themselves, such as photos, reviews or tags. To use it in your own posts, in ads or on your website, you generally need their permission; if people are recognizable, the right to one’s own image applies as well (§ 22 KUG, the German Art Copyright Act). The best way is to ask in a comment, for example “May we share this?”, and keep a record of the reply. More on consent: Photos of employees and customers.

Views

Views are the metric Instagram and Facebook have used to count visibility since 2025: they replace impressions and plays and count every display or start of a post. Instagram made the switch in April 2025, Facebook on November 15, 2025 (according to Metricool and Emplifi). That is why you can’t compare old and new numbers directly; what to check when your numbers drop is in the diagnosis for falling reach.

Watch time

Watch time is the time someone spends watching a video. Instagram names it, alongside likes and sends, as one of the three most important signals (Mosseri, January 2025); TikTok generally weights interactions such as the time spent with a video higher than other factors (TikTok Support), and YouTube Shorts measure, among other things, average view duration (YouTube Help). That is why the hook of the first seconds counts; the signals compared are in Instagram algorithm 2026.

How do reach, views and impressions differ?

Reach, views and impressions appear in every analytics report. Instagram and Facebook changed their metrics in 2025, so old and new numbers often don’t match. The table shows the difference with an example.

Sources

Primary sources come first. Information that only a third-party source confirms is marked in the text with “according to” or “reported by”.

Primary sources

• Instagram Help: Use hashtags on Instagram, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Instagram Help: Record a reel on Instagram (note on Reels over 3 minutes), retrieved October 13, 2026
• Instagram Help: Photo resolution of the photos you share on Instagram, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Instagram Help: Share a post with multiple photos or videos, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Instagram Creators: Finding success on reels in 2025, January 21, 2025
• Meta for Developers: Instagram Content Publishing, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Meta for Developers: IG User Media Reference, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Meta for Developers: Instagram Platform Overview, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Meta for Developers: Instagram Basic Display API, shutdown on December 4, 2024
• Meta Newsroom: Making it Easier to Create Videos on Facebook, June 17, 2025
• Meta Newsroom: Meta’s approach to labeling AI-generated content, April 5, 2024
• TikTok Support: How TikTok recommends content, retrieved October 13, 2026
• TikTok Community Guidelines: Integrity and Authenticity, retrieved October 13, 2026
• YouTube Help: Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts, retrieved October 13, 2026
• YouTube Help: Search & discovery tips for Shorts, retrieved October 13, 2026
• YouTube Help: Disclosing altered or synthetic content, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Bundesfachstelle Barrierefreiheit (German federal accessibility agency): Alt text on Facebook and Instagram (in German), retrieved October 13, 2026
• § 5 DDG: General information obligations (in German), retrieved October 13, 2026
• § 5a UWG: Misleading by omission (in German) and § 6 DDG: Special information obligations for commercial communications (in German), retrieved October 13, 2026
• § 22 KUG: Right to one’s own image (in German), retrieved October 13, 2026
• Die Medienanstalten (German media authorities): Guide to labeling advertising in online media (in German), as of May 2025
• European Commission: Quick facts on the transparency rules for AI systems, last updated July 29, 2026
• AI Act, Art. 3: Definitions and Art. 50: Transparency obligations, retrieved October 13, 2026
• OLG Hamburg (Higher Regional Court of Hamburg), ruling of May 21, 2026, case no. 15 U 99/24 (dejure.org) (in German), single-case decision

Third-party sources and studies

• Social Media Today: Instagram shares algorithm insights 2025, January 22, 2025 (Mosseri signals, separate systems)
• Social Media Today: Instagram implements new limits on hashtag use, December 18, 2025
• Social Media Today: Instagram updates algorithm to benefit original creators, April 30, 2026
• MediaPost: Instagram algorithm update discourages reposted content, May 4, 2026
• Metricool Help: Instagram replaces impressions with views, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Emplifi Docs: Facebook metrics, change in November 2025, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Socialinsider: Social Media Benchmarks 2026, retrieved October 13, 2026
• Website Builder Expert: Instagram Trial Reels, December 2024
• PetaPixel: Instagram adds support for 3:4 photos, May 29, 2025
• PetaPixel: Instagram allows five links in the bio, April 18, 2023
• Haufe: Apprentice recruiting: how Generation Alpha looks for training places (in German), 2026
• RA Mauritz: Instagram Impressum, OLG Hamburg (in German), August 6, 2026
• Osborne Clarke: Use of music on social media platforms, March 27, 2026