Sticki's Alphabetical Glossary for Influencer Marketing, UGC, and Social Media Success

Influencer marketing, user-generated content (UGC), social media strategy… There’s a LOT to keep up with, and they keep on coming.

Whether you’re a brand, creator, or just getting started in the big world of social media marketing, understanding the jargon is key to your success.

So, here’s a glossary of essential influencer marketing and UGC terms, making sure you can talk the talk while you rock your campaigns.

A

Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is where influencers earn a commission for driving traffic or sales to a brand’s website through tracked links. Think of it as the influencer marketing version of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” — with a sales kickback!

Algorithm
Algorithms are the behind-the-scenes decision-makers on social platforms, determining who sees what content and when. Every platform has its own algorithm, which can make or break the reach of your posts.

Average View Duration
Average view duration measures the amount of time viewers spend watching a video, helping brands gauge audience interest and engagement levels. Short view times may signal that content isn't engaging enough or could be refined to better fit the platform.

B

Boosted Post
A boosted post is a social media post that’s given a paid push to reach a broader audience. Typically used on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, boosting is a simple way for brands to extend reach without a full-blown ad campaign.

Brand Ambassador
A brand ambassador is an influencer (or sometimes a fan) who has a long-term relationship with a brand, often promoting it repeatedly and authentically over time. Ambassadors help build trust and familiarity with audiences, making them gold for brand loyalty.

C

Call-to-Action (CTA)
A CTA is a prompt that encourages followers to take a specific action, like "Swipe up," "Click the link," or "Shop now." A strong CTA can make a huge difference in conversions and engagement rates.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is the percentage of people who click a link or CTA out of the total number of people who saw it. It’s a vital metric to see how well your content or ad engages viewers and drives them to action.

Collaborative Ad
On Instagram, a collaborative ad is an ad type that allows brands and creators to collaborate seamlessly, showing the ad under both the brand and influencer’s profiles. They’re perfect for blending paid and organic reach.

Cost per Click (CPC)
CPC is the amount brands pay for each click on their ad. This metric helps measure the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of campaigns, especially for driving traffic.

Cost per Mille (CPM)
CPM, also called "Cost per Thousand Impressions," is the cost for every 1,000 impressions of an ad. This is one of the most common ways to measure the cost efficiency of brand awareness campaigns.

D

Dark Post
Dark posts, or unpublished posts, are social media ads that don't appear on the influencer's profile or feed but are targeted specifically to certain audiences. Brands love these for A/B testing and reaching niche audiences without disturbing an influencer’s aesthetic.

Duet
A duet is a TikTok feature allowing users to interact with another video, appearing side-by-side. It’s a popular way for users and creators to react to, or even poke fun at, trending content, songs, or challenges.

E

Engagement Rate
Engagement rate measures how much an audience interacts with content through likes, comments, shares, and saves, calculated as a percentage of total followers or impressions. It’s a key metric for gauging audience interest.

Exclusivity
Exclusivity agreements limit an influencer from working with competitors during a campaign. It’s a major point in contracts, ensuring that influencer recommendations come across as genuine and unique.

F

Follower Count
Simply the number of followers an influencer has. While it’s one of the most visible metrics, keep in mind that follower count doesn’t equal engagement.

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
A classic motivator in marketing, FOMO is used to make audiences feel they’ll miss out if they don’t act fast—like buying a product, joining a trend, or engaging with content before it’s gone.

G

Giveaway
A giveaway is a marketing strategy where brands and influencers offer prizes to incentivize audience engagement. These campaigns are designed to increase followers, engagement, and even email signups.

H

Hashtag
Hashtags are keywords or phrases preceded by the # symbol, which categorise content on social media and make it easier to find. Choosing the right hashtags can dramatically increase the reach and visibility of posts.

Hyper-Targeting
Hyper-targeting involves delivering content or ads to a very specific audience based on detailed data points, such as interests, behaviours, or demographics. It’s the reason why ads feel scarily on point sometimes!

I

Impressions
Impressions represent the total number of times a post or ad appears on users’ screens. It doesn’t necessarily mean they engaged with it—it just means they saw it!

Influencer
An influencer is anyone with the power to affect buying decisions due to their authority, knowledge, or relationship with their audience. They range from nano influencers with small, loyal followings to mega influencers with millions of fans.

In-Feed Ads
In-feed ads are paid advertisements that appear directly within a user’s feed, blending in with organic posts. They’re widely used on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

J

Join Feature
This is a tool on platforms like TikTok, allowing users to easily collaborate on or remix content by joining in on an existing video, usually in a duet or stitch format.

K

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
KPIs are metrics brands use to measure the success of campaigns. Popular KPIs in influencer marketing include engagement rate, reach, impressions, and ROI (Return on Investment).

L

Like-to-View Ratio
This metric looks at the number of likes relative to views on a post or video, showing how much users enjoyed the content. A high ratio usually indicates high-quality, engaging content.

Lookalike Audience
A lookalike audience is a targeting tool in social ads, designed to find users similar to your existing audience. It helps brands expand their reach to potential customers who are likely to be interested.

M

Media Kit
A media kit is like an influencer’s resume. It’s a document that highlights stats, demographics, case studies, and past work, making it easier for brands to evaluate potential collaborations.

Micro-Influencer
Micro-influencers are creators with between 10,000 and 100,000 followers. They typically have niche audiences, and while their reach is smaller, they often boast high engagement and loyal followers.

N

Nano-Influencer
Nano-influencers have a smaller following, often between 1,000 and 10,000. Known for their super-engaged audiences, they’re great for niche targeting and localised campaigns.

O

Organic Reach
Organic reach refers to how many people see a post without any paid promotion. It’s challenging to achieve, but well worth the effort for authentic brand presence.

Overlays
In social media, overlays are graphics, text, or stickers placed over videos or images. Overlays are great for adding a bit of flair, branding, or extra information to content.

P

Paid Partnership
This tag, seen on platforms like Instagram, identifies posts that are sponsored by a brand. It’s a way for influencers to be transparent about paid content.

Platform Agnostic
Platform agnostic content works well across multiple platforms, meaning you can post it on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or any other social media without major adjustments.

Post Engagement
Post engagement includes all actions users take on a post, including likes, comments, shares, and saves. It’s a quick way to gauge how interactive your audience is with your content.

Q

Quality Score
A quality score is a metric some ad platforms (like Google Ads) use to gauge the quality and relevance of an ad. A higher score can mean better performance and lower costs.

R

Reach
Reach is the total number of unique users who see your content. Unlike impressions, reach only counts each user once, regardless of how many times they see a post.

ROI (Return on Investment)
ROI measures the effectiveness of an investment, which in influencer marketing might include sales, engagement, or brand awareness gained from a campaign.

S

Spark Ads
Spark Ads on TikTok allow brands to sponsor organic content from creators, giving it a paid boost to reach a broader audience. It’s a clever blend of organic and paid content that feels authentic to viewers.

Sponsored Content
Sponsored content is created by an influencer on behalf of a brand in exchange for payment. This includes videos, posts, or stories showcasing a brand’s product or service.

Swipe-Up
The swipe-up feature on Instagram Stories allows users to swipe up on a story to access a link. It’s a quick way to drive traffic to a brand’s site or content, though it’s being replaced by the "link sticker" feature.

T

Takeover
A social media takeover happens when an influencer “takes over” a brand’s account for a day. It’s a great way to boost follower engagement and add fresh content from a new voice.

Trendjacking
Trendjacking is the practice of jumping onto a current trend or hashtag to boost visibility. It’s about staying relevant and engaging in what’s hot—but without being cringe!

U

UGC (User-Generated Content)
UGC is content created by customers, fans, or users of a brand, often shared on social media. It’s highly valuable because it’s authentic and relatable, boosting trust and engagement with audiences.

Usage Rights
Usage rights are the permissions a brand has to use an influencer’s content in their marketing materials. These should be negotiated in the contract to clarify how long and where the content can be used.

V

Vanity Metrics
Vanity metrics, like follower count or likes, look impressive but don’t necessarily translate to meaningful engagement or sales. It’s important to balance these with metrics like engagement and conversions.

Viral Content
Viral content is content that spreads quickly, reaching massive numbers of users in a short time. This is the dream for many brands and creators but can be difficult to achieve intentionally.

W

Whitelisting
Whitelisting allows brands to use an influencer’s profile to run ads directly from their account. It combines the authenticity of influencer content with the targeting of a paid ad.

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Now you've got a robust glossary to navigate influencer marketing, UGC, and social media metrics like a pro! For more detailed tips, check out other Sticki blog posts on metrics, influencer strategies, and platform features.

Or chat with the team! Since you're equipped with all the terms we're likely to use.