Acronyms. They’re everywhere these days, in our everyday language, not just in a business context. Some are now so embedded that they are generally used without conscious awareness of their original full form. Examples include laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), radar (radio detection and ranging) and scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).
Of course, the internet has accelerated the rise of acronyms and initialisms, which are commonplace in the shorthand of the digital world. Add in the impact of social media, which has set a trend for the shortening of words and this has significantly influenced the way we communicate.
Businesses, however, are often warned that they should use acronyms sparingly, as the excessive use of acronyms, like jargon, can confuse and alienate customers. Of course, many sectors now rely on the use of acronyms, the aviation sector being one, which are part of the industry’s language and universally accepted.
Remember though that acronyms used in text messaging and social media are rarely, if ever, appropriate for a business or professional relationship. Also, if content needs to be translated into another language, then acronyms could cause confusion or worse, offence, if not properly explained and put into context. Similarly, acronyms should only be used for words or phrases that are repeated a number of times throughout your content.
To help you navigate your way through, Hertfordshire PR agency Blackbird has identified a list of the key digital-related acronyms:
API – Application Programming Interface
Third party software that enables two other software applications to communicate in order that information can be shared.
AR – Augmented Reality
An immersive experience allowing items in the real world to interact with computer generated imagery.
B2B – Business to Business
A commercial relationship between businesses.
B2C – Business to Consumer
Activities between a commercial organisation and a consumer.
BR – Bounce Rate
The length of time a user stays on a website, defined as a percentage. The lower this number, the better.
CMS – Content Management System
Software used to create and manage a website, commonly known as the ‘back end’.
CRM – Customer Relationship Management
A software application allowing businesses to input customer data, track leads and sales.
CTA – Call To Action
An invitation to website users to do something in response to an offer or promotion, such as send an email or phone call.
CTR – Click Through Rate
A calculation that shows the percentage of visitors to a web page who clicked on an advert.
GA – Google Analytics
A free web analytics tool offered by Google to help website owners to analyse visitor traffic and optimise their websites in response to user behaviour.
GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation
The European Union privacy law that came into force in 2018, which relates to the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the EU.
HTTP – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
The protocol language used to transfer data over the web. It is part of the Internet protocol suite and defines commands and services used for transmitting webpage data.
KPI – Key Performance Indicator
A formal method of tracking the performance of a business or individual.
PPC – Pay Per Click
A marketing tool where a digital advertiser pays each time someone clicks on their advert.
RFP – Request for Proposal
More commonly known in the marketing sector as a ‘creative brief’. A document that a client issues to agencies to invite proposals based on a specific tender requirement.
ROI – Return on Investment
A measure to see how effective your marketing has been in terms of the revenue or leads generated, against the cost of activity.
RT – Retweet
A re-posting of a tweet posted by another user on Twitter.
SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
This is the process of optimizing online content so that a search engine is able to identify it in accordance with key words and phrases and display it in organic search results.
SERP – Search Engine Results Page
These are the pages that Google and other search engines show in response to a user’s search query. They’re made up of organic and paid search results.
SSL – Secure Sockets Layer
The standard encryption technology for keeping an internet connection secure and safeguarding any sensitive commercial, financial or personal data that is sent between two systems.
UI – User Interface
The point at which human users interact with a computer, website or application.
UX– User Experience
The overall experience of using a product such as a website or computer application, especially in terms of how easy it is to use.
WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get
A computer term denoting the representation of text on-screen in a form exactly corresponding to its appearance on a printout.
And not forgetting our personal favourite.
TGIF – Thank God It’s Friday
Widely used to express the joy one feels in knowing that the working week has officially ended and (if you’re lucky) the weekend starts here.
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