Text abbreviations and acronyms are a staple of communication worldwide, including on social media, SMS, and instant messaging platforms. While these shortened acronyms are used between friends seamlessly, how can businesses use them without risking customer confusion or looking unprofessional?
This article will give you an overview of the most common texting abbreviations, how to use them in business settings, and examples of using acronyms in different SMS marketing campaigns to drive results.
Jump right to:
- How are text abbreviations useful for businesses?
- Conversational text abbreviations
- Business text abbreviations
- Marketing text abbreviations
- Social media text abbreviations
- Relational text abbreviations
- Tips for using texting abbreviations in business
- Examples of using abbreviations in business texts
<h2 id="Howare">How are text abbreviations useful for businesses?</h2>
Text abbreviations — shortened versions of words or phrases — help businesses save time and limit character count when texting or sending messages. For professional texting, these acronyms help companies to stay within the 160-character limit without losing the message's meaning.
Additionally, staying on top of the ever-growing list of text message slang can help you better understand your customers and reach them with relatable promotional messages.
<h2 id="conversational">Common conversational text abbreviations</h2>
Take a look at some of the most common text abbreviations and acronyms used in everyday conversations.
ADR — All Due Respect
AKA — Also Known As
AMA — Ask Me Anything
ASAP — As Soon As Possible
BRB — Be Right Back
BBS — Be Back Soon
BTS — Behind The Scenes
BTW — By The Way
BYOB — Bring Your Own Beverage
DIY — Do It Yourself
DL — Down Low or Download
DND — Do Not Disturb
ETA — Estimated Time (of) Arrival
FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions
FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out
FML — F*** My Life
FTW — For The Win
FYI — For Your Information
G2G — Good To Go
GOAT — Greatest Of All Time
HBD — Happy Birthday
HMU — Hit Me Up
HW — Homework
ICYMI — In Case You Missed It
IDC — I Don’t Care
IDK — I Don’t Know
IK — I Know
IKR — I Know Right
ILY — I Love You
ILYSM — I Love You So Much
IMHO — In My Honest Opinion
IMO — In My Opinion
IMU — I Miss You
IOU — I Owe You
IRL — In Real Life
ISO — In Search Of
JK — Just Kidding
K — OK
LOL — Laugh Out Loud
LMAO — Laughing My A** Off
LMK — Let Me Know
MFW — My Face When
N/A — Not Applicable
NBD — No Big Deal
NGL — Not Gunna Lie
NP — No Problem
NVM — Never mind
NSFW — Not Safe For Work
OFC — Of Course
OG — Original Gangster
OH — Overheard
OMG — Oh My God (Gosh)
OMW — On My Way
OOTD — Outfit Of The Day
OT — Off Topic
PDA — Public Display (of) Affection
POV — Point Of View
PSA — Public Service Announcement
RIP — Rest In Peace
RN — Right Now
ROFL — Rolling On (the) Floor Laughing
RSVP — Répondez S'il Vous Plaît (Respond Please)
SFW — Safe For Work
SMH — Shake My Head
SUS — Suspicious
TFW — That Feeling When
TBA — To Be Announced
TBD — To Be Determined (Decided)
TBH — To Be Honest
TGIF — Thank God It’s Friday
TL;DR — To Long; Didn’t Read
TMI — Too Much Information
TTYL — Talk To You Later
TTYS — Talk To You Soon
TY — Thank You
TYSM — Thank You So Much
VIP — Very Important Person
W/E — Whatever
W/O — Without
WTF — What The F***
WTH — What The H***
WYD — What (are) You Doing
YOLO — You Only Live Once
YSK — You Should Know
YW — You’re Welcome
Spice up your SMS marketing campaigns: Business emojis: How, when, and where to use them
<h2 id="business">Common general business text abbreviations</h2>
These abbreviations are often used in business settings to describe common scenarios, metrics, and more.
ACCT — Account
ACK — Acknowledge
AFK — Away From Computer
API — Application Program Interface
B2C — Business To Consumer
B2B — Business To Business
BCC — Blind Carbon Copy
BD — Business Development
CC — Carbon Copy
COB — Close Of Business
COGS — Cost Of Goods Sold
CSAT — Customer Satisfaction Score
CX — Customer Experience
DSC — Dedicated Short Code
EPS — Earnings Per Share
F2F — Face To Face
FW — Forward
FTE — Full-Time Employee
FTP — File Transfer Protocol
GA — Google Analytics
EOB — End Of Business
EOD — End Of Day
EOM — End Of Month
EOT — End Of Thread
EOW — End Of Week
HR — Human Resources
HQ — Headquarters
IAM — In A Meeting
IPO — Initial Public Offering
JV — Joint Venture
KPI — Key Performance Indicator
LOI — Letter Of Intent
OOO — Out Of Office
M&A — Mergers & Acquisitions
MGMT — Management
MMS — Multimedia Messaging Service
MoM — Month Over Month
MRR — Monthly Recurring Revenue
MSG — Message
MTD — Month To Date
NDA — Non-Disclosure Agreement
NGO — Non-Governmental Organization
NFS — Not For Sale
NPS — Net Promoter Score
NRN — No Reply Necessary
OS — Operating System
PIN — Personal Identification Number
PIP — Performance Improvement Plan
P2P — Peer To Peer
PC — Personal Computer
PTO — Paid Time Off
PTE — Part-Time Employee
POC — Point Of Contact; Proof Of Concept
QA — Quality Assurance
RFI — Request For Information
ROI — Return On Investment
SaaS — Software As A Service
SLA — Service Level Agreement
SMB — Small and Midsized Businesses
SME — Subject Matter Expert
SMS — Short Messaging Service
SPAC — Special Purpose Acquisition Company
UX — User Experience
T&C — Terms & Conditions
WFH — Work From Home
VPN — Virtual Private Network
YoY — Year Over Year
YTD — Year To Date
10DLC — 10-Digit Long Code
<h2 id="marketing">Common marketing text abbreviations</h2>
Marketing teams across the U.S. should be familiar with these common text abbreviations.
AOV — Average Order Value
BOGO — Buy One Get One
CLV — Customer Lifetime Value
CMS — Content Management System
CPA — Cost Per Acquisition
CPC — Cost Per Click
CPV — Cost Per View
CR — Conversion Rate
CRM — Customer Relationship Management
CRO — Conversion Rate Optimization
CTA — Call To Action
CTR — Click-Through Rate
ICP — Ideal Customer Profile
LTV — Lifetime Value
PPC — Pay Per Click
SEM — Search Engine Marketing
SEO — Search Engine Optimization
SERP — Search Engine Results Page
SOV — Share Of Voice
WOM — Word Of Mouth
<h2 id="social">Standard social media abbreviations</h2>
Check out some common abbreviations used online to describe actions on various social media platforms.
DM — Direct Message
FB — Facebook
FF — Follow Friday (Twitter)
FYP — For You Page (TikTok)
HT — Hat Tip (Twitter)
IG — Instagram
IM — Instant Message
LI — LinkedIn
MT — Modified Tweet
OP — Original Poster or Original Post
PM — Personal Message or Private Message
RT — Retweet
SM — Social Media
TW — Twitter
UGC — User-Generated Content
YT — YouTube
<h2 id="relational">Relational text abbreviations</h2>
These text abbreviations describe interpersonal relationships. They’re used commonly in social networks and between friends.
BAE — Before Anyone Else
BF — Boyfriend
BFF — Best Friend Forever
FWB — Friends With Benefits
GF — Girlfriend
LOML — Love Of My Life
LYLAS — Love You Like A Sister
MCM — Man Crush Monday
SO — Significant Other
WCW — Woman Crush Wednesday
<h2 id="tips">Tips for incorporating texting abbreviations in a business setting</h2>
1. Avoid overusing abbreviations
Using too many abbreviations in a single message can hinder readability. Instead, limit your use of acronyms per text to avoid confusion. If you’re using multiple abbreviations in a text to stay within the character limit, consider sending a short link to a website that contains more information or an MMS message instead.
Take a look at the following message examples. The first message uses five texting acronyms, which may confuse your audience. Instead, consider using the second message for enhanced readability.
🚫 TGIF! FYI our Summer Sale for our VIP SMS subscribers is this weekend. Present this text for 25% off in stores. BTW, our hours are 9 am to 7 pm.
✅ TGIF! Our Summer Sale is this weekend! Present this text for 25% off in stores. Our hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
2. Keep it simple
Text abbreviations are only helpful when your message recipient knows what they mean. Don’t make your audience struggle to decipher hard-to-understand acronyms. Instead, keep it simple by sticking to the standard abbreviations.
3. Understand your audience
One key to using acronyms in a professional setting is understanding your audience. This will help you understand what text acronyms you can use and how to segment your text messages better. Ask yourself:
- Does my audience commonly use abbreviations?
- Do they prefer using abbreviations?
- Will they know this particular abbreviation?
- Am I communicating with a younger or older audience?
4. Keep message tone in mind
Understand your desired message content and tone before hitting send. The use of text acronyms like LOL and TTYL are considered to be more informal. Keep that in mind.
5. Keep messaging scenario in mind
Pay close attention to the messaging scenario. There are some times when acronyms may not be appropriate. For example, you likely want to avoid using casual acronyms like LOL, TY, or YW when troubleshooting customer issues via SMS. It could appear as if you aren’t taking the issue seriously.
5. Proofread
Always proofread and double-check that acronyms are used correctly. Nothing screams out-of-touch like misusing an abbreviation. One of the best ways to ensure you’re using the acronym appropriately is to understand what it stands for and to read it in its spelled-out form while proofreading.
One of the most common mistakes people make is using redundant acronyms. This occurs when a texter uses a phrase containing an acronym plus a word or phrase already included in the acronym. Take a look at these examples:
🚫 VIP Person, Very Important Person Person
✅ VIP, Very Important Person
🚫 PIN Number, Personal Identification Number Number
✅ PIN, Personal Identification Number
6. Be creative but professional
Don’t be afraid to be creative with your SMS marketing campaigns, but always maintain professionalism. Avoid abbreviations with swear words in them for business texts.
<h2 id="examples">10 examples of how to use texting abbreviations in SMS campaigns</h2>
Check out 10 examples of how to use abbreviations in business texts to maintain professionalism and save character count.
1. Promote a new product
ICYMI: Our last spring collection is now available 🌸 Shop now: wilddove.com/spring-looks
Discover more: 14 promotional text message examples
2. Share a discount
Hi VIP Fit Members! Get 25% off all Fit clothing items now through May 26!
3. Run a sale
PSA: Our summer sale starts TODAY! 30% off all swim and shorts 👙 Shop now: swimmingsuits.com/summer-sale
4. Appointment reminders
Hi John! Your plumbing repair is tomorrow at 12 pm. LMK if you need to reschedule.
Discover more: 70 appointment reminder text templates by industry [FREE]
5. Customer service
Thanks for contacting Textline! Your ticket is in the queue. We will respond by EOD.
Discover more: 29 SMS templates for any business offering customer service
6. Event promotion
Hi Tim! Keep this on the DL, but we’re offering some Comedy Club members early ticket access. Secure yours: Comedyclub.com/VIP
7. Account management
Hi Sierra! Can we book a meeting next week to show YoY performance of your social media profiles?
8. Internal communication
Hi Anna. Can you complete the sexual harassment training course ASAP? It was technically due Friday.
9. Text alerts
The 5 pm soccer game is canceled due to thunderstorms. A new date is TBD. We will let you know when it’s decided.
10. Order updates
Great news, Monty! Your order is on the way. ETA is 6:10 pm.
Discover more: 100 customizable text message templates
Start using text abbreviations in your SMS campaigns
Text abbreviations help your business get important messages across in fewer words. If you’re looking for a user-friendly platform that allows businesses to scale SMS communications, look no further than Textline.
Textline has features like automations, two-way messaging, group texting, and mass SMS, making communicating with customers easier. Give Textline a try today for free.
