If you’ve ever seen the same hashtags popping up over and over on Snapchat and Instagram posts and wondered, “What does that mean?“, here’s one of them explained.
What does SFS mean on Snapchat and Instagram?
The term “SFS” can mean different things depending on the social media platform or personal preference.
Either means “snap for snap”, “shoutout for screamout” or “spam for spam”.
But don’t be fooled – they all mean the same thing. As the name suggests, this is an exchange between two users.
One user tags another in their post to direct their followers to the other’s page, with the goal of increasing their respective followers.
Simply put, influencers do this as a way of promoting each other.
The other user will then hopefully return the favor by doing the same.
But it doesn’t have to be a coincidence, users agree in advance to brag about their content to each other – that’s where the hashtag comes from.
How is the hashtag used?
Searching #SFS on social media platforms helps users follow others who want to increase their followers and promote themselves.
A hashtag can also be used as a way to quickly get likes on a post.
Searching for #SFS brings up hundreds of posts that users can double-tap — and “Like” — on content they care about, making the person who posted the content appear more popular.
Other hashtags used in the same way include #L4L – “like for like” – and #F4F – “follow for follow”.
Where did the term come from?
The term “shout” has been around for much longer than social media.
It was used by radio hosts, DJs and MCs as far back as the 1980s as a way to greet a friend or loved one over the air, in the audience or at the club.
In recent years, with the rise of social media, it has evolved to also mean a promotion or “plug”.
Therefore, “shout for shout” simply means one promotion in exchange for another.
“Snap for snap” or “spam for spam” are just variations of this.
