Social media glossary for video creators

The software that decides which posts each person sees in a feed, based on predictions of what they will watch, like or share.

Each platform has several: Instagram uses different ranking for Feed, Stories, Explore and Reels.

The shape of a picture or video, written as width:height. 9:16 is tall (phone full screen), 1:1 is square, 4:5 is a tall feed post, 16:9 is widescreen.

How much of a video people watch before they leave, shown as a percentage or a curve over the video's length.

A steep drop in the first seconds usually means the hook didn't land. A curve that stays high tells platforms people want to keep watching.

In Octoque: Octoque shows YouTube retention on each post's page.

The total time people spent watching a video divided by its number of views.

The text posted with a photo or video. Each platform has its own length limit and shows only the first line or two before “more”.

In Octoque: Octoque has one caption tab per platform with a live counter for each limit.

A single post with several photos or videos that people swipe through. Instagram, LinkedIn (as a document or multi-image post), TikTok (photo mode) and others support some form of it.

In Octoque: Octoque posts carousels to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Bluesky and Reddit, up to each platform's own number of files.

A plan of what you will post, where and when, usually a week or month ahead.

One of the two to four themes an account posts about again and again, such as Teach, Show and Talk. Pillars keep a calendar varied without starting from zero each week.

The still image shown for a video before it plays: on your profile grid, in search and in suggestions. Most apps let you pick a frame or upload an image.

In Octoque: In Octoque you pick a frame or a photo as the cover for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (not Shorts), Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Posting the same video or post to several platforms. Done well, it is a native upload of a clean file to each app, with a caption and time suited to each.

Platforms recommend watermarked or reused clips less; your own clean video uploaded to each app is fine.

In Octoque: Octoque posts one upload to every platform you pick, each at its own golden hour.

TikTok features that let others use your video: a Duet plays theirs beside yours, a Stitch puts a clip of yours at the start of theirs. You choose whether to allow them on each video.

Actions people take on a post: likes, comments, shares or sends, saves, and sometimes clicks or follows. What counts varies by platform and by tool.

Engagements as a share of the people who could have engaged. The most common version divides a post's engagements by its reach.

Engagement rate by reach = (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ reach × 100

Other versions divide by followers (good for comparing posts), impressions (common for paid posts) or views (for video). Always say which one you used; the numbers aren't comparable.

A post that stays useful for months or years, such as a how-to, rather than news or a trend. Good to re-share and to put in a queue.

How quickly a new post collects views and reactions soon after it goes out. Platforms test new posts on a small group first and widen the ones that do well, so a fast start helps.

Instagram describes this test-then-widen step for Reels. Velocity is our shorthand for it, not a metric the apps show.

TikTok's main recommended feed, made for each viewer from their interactions and the video's information. Follower count is not a direct factor.

Some content is not eligible, including reused clips that show someone else's watermark or logo.

The hour, in your audience's local time, when your audience on one platform is most active. It differs per platform and per audience.

In Octoque: Octoque schedules each platform at its own golden hour by default.

A word or phrase after # that labels what a post is about and links it to others on the same topic. Limits differ: Instagram now allows 5 per post, and YouTube ignores all hashtags on a video that has more than 60.

The first line of a caption or the first one to three seconds of a video, made to make someone stop and keep watching.

A good hook promises something specific (“Three edits that wasted my month”) and pays it off in the video.

The number of times a post was shown on screen, counting repeat showings to the same person. Compare with reach, which counts people.

Uploading a file directly to a platform (by hand or through its official API) instead of sharing a link to it or re-posting another app's download.

A list of posting times you set once (say weekdays at 09:00); new posts drop into the next free time.

In Octoque: In Octoque, “Add to queue” puts a post in the next free slot of your posting times.

The number of different people (accounts) who saw a post at least once.

Instagram's (and Facebook's) short vertical video format. Reels up to 3 minutes can be recommended to non-followers.

Turning one piece of content into others: a long video into Shorts, a talk into a carousel, a thread into a LinkedIn post. Different from re-posting the same file.

The part of a vertical video that the app's buttons, captions and profile name don't cover. Keep text and faces inside it; the top and bottom bands get covered.

When someone shares your post in a direct message or to their own story or feed. Instagram lists resharing as one of the strongest signals for Reels.

YouTube's vertical short-video format, up to 3 minutes for videos uploaded from 15 October 2024. Shorts creators keep 45% of their allocated ad revenue.

Several posts linked in a row, each a reply to the one before, so a longer idea reads in order. Common on X, Threads and Bluesky.

In Octoque: Octoque posts threads of up to 10 posts to X, Threads and Bluesky from one caption box.

An Instagram option (from December 2024) to show a reel to non-followers first. Followers don't see it unless you share it, or you can let Instagram share it automatically if it does well in its first 72 hours.

In Octoque: Octoque can post a Reel as a trial reel when the post is a single video.

Someone else's material reposted without meaningful changes. Instagram swaps originals in for copies in recommendations, TikTok keeps such clips off the For You feed, and YouTube doesn't pay for it.

How many times a video (and on some apps, a photo or carousel) was viewed. Each platform counts a view differently, so compare views within a platform, not across them.

A logo or username stamped on a video, such as the one TikTok adds to downloads. Instagram says Reels eligible for recommendations should have no visible watermarks.