There are differing opinions within the ContactAtOnce! user community regarding the proactive use of IM/chat shorthand when chatting with a prospective customer, but whether you use shorthand or not you can be sure that some of your prospective customers will. Are you prepared? Can you at least understand their messages, even if you choose not to use type acronyms yourself?

This post provides a short list of the most commonly used IM/chat shorthand, and a link to an exhaustive list that may prove useful should a prospective customer ever surprise you with an unusual one.

The most commonly used shorthand abbreviations and their meanings are:

ASAP - As Soon As Possible
BTW - By The Way
BWM - Bear With Me
BRB - Be Right Back
CM - Call Me
IDK - I Don’t Know
IMO - In My Opinion
K - Okay
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
OTP - On The Phone
TY - Thank You
TTYL - Talk To You Later
YW - You’re Welcome
- Smiley Face
- Winking Smiley Face
:-0 - Shock and Surprise Face
- Sad Face

Billed as “The Largest List of Text Message Shorthand”, Netlingo is a site that you may want to bookmark just in case a prospective customer hits you with an acronym you don’t recognize.

And if you have a common acronym not listed above, by all means please leave a comment! TY