130 most important social media acronyms and slang you should know – Sprout Social

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Written byby Jacqueline Zote
Published on August 7, 2020
Reading time 12 minutes
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If you’ve been observing social media conversations, you might have come across a ton of lingo or acronyms that take you a while to figure out. Social media acronyms like TFW, TBH and LMK get thrown around very casually in comments, captions and conversations between people.
So when you’re in charge of creating social media content or responding to customers, it’s essential that you arm yourself with knowledge about the most common social media acronyms and slang. This will help you understand what your audience is saying and how to speak their language.
Plus, there are some acronyms that might find their way into marketing or sales reports and business meetings. This makes it even more crucial to know what they stand for so you become even better at your job.
Check out this list of social media acronyms and common internet slang to stay updated with the latest online lingo.
Want to unlock social media success in 2022? Check out these five resources designed to inspire stronger content, campaigns and customer care.
First, let’s start with the common acronyms related to specific social media networks and work our way up. While these network-specific acronyms are generally intuitive, it’s important that you know them inside out.
You might also come across some acronyms that refer to the features on those networks. These are particularly important if you’re on Twitter, where social media abbreviations are commonplace. Knowing them will help you improve your communications with team members and followers alike.
RT if you’re ready for the new album.. pic.twitter.com/5vot6kU4N3
— PHORA (@PHORAONE) July 3, 2019

Next we have acronyms frequently used in a business setting. While you’d typically use these acronyms in your marketing meetings and communications, they’re equally useful for social media communications, especially if you’re in a relevant niche.
Evergreen publishing issue here at our Tech & Product Innovation Day: Build vs. Buy … and a new twist, Is the CMS really a business? Great discussion with @mslaurenrae @clockwerks and Jeff Turner. #DCNlive pic.twitter.com/ePSG0Wkcl7
— Digital Content Next (@DCNorg) June 27, 2019

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Technical abbreviations may not come up regularly in people’s everyday conversations. But if you’re working in a tech company or managing social for one, knowing these technical terms can help you engage with your brand’s audience. They could also come in handy in your conversations with the IT team.
Introducing Amazon EventBridge, a serverless event bus that ingests and routes data from your own apps, SaaS apps, and AWS services: https://t.co/AWC6JIu6EP #AWSLaunches pic.twitter.com/ozmTEnFXif
— Amazon Web Services (@awscloud) July 11, 2019

https://twitter.com/lauraklein/status/1151258435846955008
Most social media acronyms are less business-related and more casual and conversational. A lot of them have been around online for years, while others are a bit more recent. You’ll often find these acronyms used in public posts that your followers make or share, or in their comments on your posts.
It’s good to know what these social media abbreviations mean so you know what your audience is saying and provide them with a relevant response if needed. Some of these abbreviations are also used as hashtags, and you can take advantage of them for better visibility.
https://twitter.com/965TDY/status/1151491748134174721
#HIFW it's finally Fridaypic.twitter.com/lLOmJxwdx8
— . (@A_Side) December 8, 2017

The doctored shark photo that’s been around since Hurricanes Irene and Sandy is making its rounds again in 2019. Already people tweeting it suggesting it’s in New Orleans. #smh #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/3oVkXWLhzG
— Ed Piotrowski (@EdPiotrowski) July 13, 2019

Oh hi! Just FYI TL;DR ICYMI BTW: here’s a post on a few nifty features we’ve added of late, including drafts, dark mode on mobile and a whole new way to move conversations from email to channels. https://t.co/ppwZz2w95z
— Slack (@SlackHQ) June 11, 2019

While social media acronyms are extremely useful for anyone handling social, knowledge of internet slang is equally important. Social media users come up with new slang and abbreviations all the time. It will help you understand your audience better when you understand the most popularly used social media slang.
It me pic.twitter.com/9VwQgJdJX5
— Evernote (@evernote) January 15, 2019

Although knowledge of these social media acronyms and internet slang is important, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should fill up your social media posts with them. Here are a few best practices to help you use them right:
Regardless of how well you know and understand social media language, you should use it only if it truly fits your brand voice. Some of the more technical and business-specific acronyms would be a necessity for B2B companies and companies that want to maintain a professional voice. But it would look completely out of place if they tried calling their followers “fam” or calling their events “lit.”
For example, companies like Canva may maintain a casual brand voice, but it doesn’t try too hard to use these popular social media abbreviations and slang. It still uses a casual tone when addressing followers on social media but doesn’t force trending social media language where it doesn’t fit.
It’s been a crazy journey so far – thanks to you all for being with us along the way! We’re excited to continue empowering the world to design 🌏https://t.co/iXVIoQwtbJ
— Canva (@canva) May 20, 2019

Even in cases of companies that have a more casual brand voice, it’s not always a good idea to use casual social media language. You have to carefully assess the situation and know the right time to use the right acronym. For instance, a customer coming to you with a complaint may not appreciate it very much if you asked them to “hit you up.” Instead, you could tell them that you’re “hth.”
One of the worst things a brand could do is trying too hard to stay relevant and ending up a laughing stock. This best practice goes hand in hand with the first two tips. Try not to force it if it doesn’t fit your brand voice or the situation. But even if you’re not going to use a lot of slang yourself, understanding these popular social media acronyms will help you understand your audience and their replies better.
Most importantly, know exactly what kind of internet slang your audience is using through social listening. Make the most of Sprout Social’s social listening functionality to listen in on your audience’s conversations. This is a great way to identify common phrases and acronyms in their posts so you can understand their language.
How often do you use acronyms and slang in your posts? Before you start adding slang everywhere, make sure you understand your target audience: try out our worksheet for creating and improving connection with your audience to inspire better content.
Jacqueline Zote
Jacqueline Zote is a professional content writer and editor. Her interests range from pop culture and mythology to content development and social activism. In her free time, she goes on food adventures and writes unrhymed poetry. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by HarperCollins Publishers and Zubaan Books.
Read all articles by Jacqueline Zote
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