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200 terms

Social media marketing glossary

The words you meet when you promote a business online, explained in plain English: what each one means, why it matters and what to do about it. Social media, video, captions, branding, copywriting, ads and AI media.

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Terms by topic

Terms A to Z

A

A-roll
A-roll is the main footage of a video that carries the story, usually a person speaking to camera or the core action, with B-roll cut in around it.
A/B testing
A/B testing compares two versions of an ad, page or post that differ in one thing, to see which performs better on a chosen metric.
Ad copy
Ad copy is the written text of an ad: the headline, primary text, description and call to action that persuade people to click or buy.
Ad creative
Ad creative is the visible part of an ad: the image, video, headline and text people actually see, as opposed to targeting and budget.
Ad frequency
Ad frequency is the average number of times each person in your audience has seen your ad. It equals impressions divided by reach.
AI agent
An AI agent is an AI system that works toward a goal by planning steps, using tools and acting on results, with less step-by-step human input.
AI avatar
An AI avatar is a computer-generated person or character that can speak a script on video, with lip movements synced to an AI or recorded voice.
AI copywriting
AI copywriting is using AI language models to write marketing text such as captions, ads, headlines, emails and product descriptions.
AI hallucination
An AI hallucination is false or made-up information that an AI model presents as fact, such as invented statistics, quotes, features or sources.
AI image generator
An AI image generator is a tool that creates images from a text description, and sometimes from a reference image, using a trained AI model.
AI marketing
AI marketing is the use of artificial intelligence to plan, create, target and measure marketing, from writing copy to choosing who sees an ad.
AI music generator
An AI music generator creates original music, from short background beds to full songs, based on a text description of genre, mood and length.
AI voice generator
An AI voice generator turns written text into natural-sounding speech, often with a choice of voices, accents, languages and speaking styles.
AI watermark
An AI watermark is a visible mark or hidden signal embedded in AI-generated content so software can later identify it as AI-made.
AIDA model
The AIDA model is a copywriting framework: grab Attention, build Interest, create Desire, then ask for Action.
Animated captions
Animated captions are on-screen captions that appear or highlight word by word in time with speech, common in Reels, TikTok and Shorts.
Aspect ratio
Aspect ratio is the shape of an image or video, written as width to height, such as 16:9 for widescreen or 9:16 for vertical video.
Audience retention
Audience retention shows what share of viewers are still watching at each moment of a video, revealing where people drop off.
Average view duration (AVD)
Average view duration (AVD) is the average time viewers watch a video, found by dividing total watch time by the number of views.

B

B-roll
B-roll is supporting footage cut into a video over the main shot, such as product close-ups or scenes of a space, to show what is being said.
Banner ad
A banner ad is a rectangular image or animated ad shown on websites and apps, in standard sizes like 300×250, 728×90 and 320×50.
Best time to post
The best time to post is when your own followers are most active, so a new post gets early engagement. It differs by audience and platform.
Bitrate
Bitrate is how much data a video or audio file uses per second, usually in Mbps or kbps. Higher bitrate usually means better quality and bigger files.
Brand ambassador
A brand ambassador is a person who represents and promotes a brand over time, often a customer, creator or employee with a long-term arrangement.
Brand archetype
A brand archetype is one of 12 character types, like the Hero, Sage or Caregiver, used to describe and keep a brand's personality consistent.
Brand assets
Brand assets are the reusable files and elements that make up a brand: logos, colors, fonts, photos, icons, templates and sounds.
Brand awareness
Brand awareness is how familiar your target audience is with your brand: whether they know it exists and can recall or recognize it.
Brand colors
Brand colors are the specific colors a business uses consistently, defined by hex, RGB and CMYK codes, so its content is recognizable.
Brand consistency
Brand consistency is presenting a brand the same way everywhere: same logo, colors, fonts, voice and promise across every channel and post.
Brand equity
Brand equity is the extra value a brand name adds to a product, from awareness and trust, beyond the product's features and price.
Brand guidelines
Brand guidelines are a document of rules for using a brand's logo, colors, fonts, imagery and voice so everyone presents it the same way.
Brand identity
Brand identity is everything a business controls about how it presents itself: name, logo, colors, fonts, voice, values and messaging.
Brand kit
A brand kit is a compact set of a brand's core assets: logo files, colors, fonts and voice notes, ready for anyone making content.
Brand messaging
Brand messaging is the set of core messages a brand repeats: what it offers, for whom, why it is different and what proof backs it up.
Brand personality
Brand personality is the set of human traits people associate with a brand, such as warm, bold, playful or dependable.
Brand positioning
Brand positioning is the place a brand aims to hold in customers' minds: who it is for, what it offers and why it beats the alternatives.
Brand recognition
Brand recognition is people's ability to identify a brand from cues like its logo, colors or sound, even without seeing the name.
Brand safety
Brand safety is protecting a brand's reputation by keeping its ads and content away from harmful contexts and its own content free of risky claims.
Brand story
A brand story is the narrative of why a business exists, the problem it solves and the people behind it, told to connect with customers.
Brand voice
Brand voice is the consistent personality a business shows in its words: the vocabulary, rhythm and attitude that make its writing recognizable.
Buyer persona
A buyer persona is a fictional profile of an ideal customer, based on research, that helps a business write and plan for real people.
BYOK (bring your own key)
BYOK (bring your own key) means using your own API key for an AI provider inside an app, so you pay the provider directly for what you use.

C

Call to action (CTA)
A call to action (CTA) tells people exactly what to do next, such as Shop now, Book a class or Save this post. It turns attention into action.
Caption
A caption is the text that goes with a social media post. It adds context, tells a story, invites action and helps the post be found in search.
Carousel post
A carousel post is a single social post with several images or videos that viewers swipe through, often used for tips, steps and stories.
Case study
A case study is a detailed story of how a real customer used a product or service to solve a problem, with the results.
Click-through rate (CTR)
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click a link, ad or button after seeing it: clicks divided by impressions.
Closed captions (CC)
Closed captions (CC) are text versions of a video's speech and key sounds that viewers can turn on or off, made for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.
Codec
A codec is software that compresses and decompresses video or audio. H.264 is the most widely supported; H.265 (HEVC) and AV1 are newer and more efficient.
Collab post
A collab post is one Instagram post or Reel shared by two or more accounts, appearing on each profile with combined likes and comments.
Color grading
Color grading is adjusting the colors, contrast and tone of video footage in editing to fix problems and give it a consistent look or mood.
Color palette
A color palette is a defined set of colors chosen to work together in a design or brand, usually with set roles and exact color codes.
Community management
Community management is engaging with your audience on social media: replying to comments and messages, moderating and building relationships.
Completion rate
Completion rate is the percentage of video views that reach the end. In ads it is often called view-through rate (VTR).
Content batching
Content batching is making many pieces of content in one focused session, such as filming a month of reels in an afternoon.
Content brief
A content brief is a short document telling a writer, designer or creator what a piece of content is for, who it is for and what it must say.
Content calendar
A content calendar is a schedule of what you will post, where and when, so social content is planned ahead instead of made at the last minute.
Content creator
A content creator is a person who makes and publishes videos, posts, photos or writing for an online audience, often for brands too.
Content credentials (C2PA)
Content credentials are tamper-evident metadata, based on the C2PA standard, that record who made a file, with which tools and whether AI was used.
Content marketing
Content marketing is attracting and keeping customers by publishing useful posts, videos, articles and guides instead of only running ads.
Content pillars
Content pillars are the three to five core topics a brand posts about again and again, giving its content a clear focus and variety.
Content repurposing
Content repurposing is turning one piece of content into several formats, like a blog post into a carousel, a reel and an email.
Content strategy
A content strategy is the plan for what content you make, who it is for, where it goes and how you will judge whether it works.
Conversion rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of people who take a desired action, like buying or signing up, out of everyone who could have.
Copywriting
Copywriting is writing words meant to make people take an action: buy, sign up, click, book or remember a brand.
CPA (cost per acquisition)
CPA, or cost per acquisition, is what you pay in ads for each conversion, such as a sale, sign-up or lead. It equals spend divided by conversions.
CPC (cost per click)
CPC, or cost per click, is what you pay on average each time someone clicks your ad. It equals ad spend divided by the number of clicks.
CPM (cost per mille)
CPM, or cost per mille, is what an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions. It is the standard way to compare the price of reach across platforms.
Creative fatigue
Creative fatigue is when an ad stops performing because the audience has seen it too often, so clicks fall and costs per result rise.
Creative testing
Creative testing is running several versions of an ad against each other to learn which image, video, hook or copy brings results most cheaply.
Creator economy
The creator economy is the industry of independent creators who earn money from content, audiences and brand deals, plus the tools that serve them.
Customer journey
The customer journey is the full path a person takes with a brand, from first hearing about it to buying and coming back.

D

Dark social
Dark social is sharing that happens in private channels like DMs, messaging apps and email, which analytics tools cannot easily track.
Deepfake
A deepfake is AI-generated or AI-altered video, audio or images that realistically show a real person saying or doing something they did not.
Diffusion model
A diffusion model is a type of generative AI that creates images, video or audio by starting from random noise and removing it step by step.
Display ad
A display ad is a visual ad (image, animation or video) shown on websites, apps and video platforms, as opposed to text ads in search results.
Dynamic creative
Dynamic creative is an ad feature that mixes your images, videos, headlines and text into combinations and shows each person the ones likely to work.

E

Employee advocacy
Employee advocacy is staff sharing and promoting their company's content and story on their own social accounts, especially LinkedIn.
Engagement
Engagement is how people interact with a post: likes, comments, shares, saves, replies and clicks. It shows content is landing, not just being seen.
Engagement rate
Engagement rate is the share of people who interacted with a post, usually engagements divided by reach or followers, shown as a percentage.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content stays relevant and useful long after it is published, such as how-to guides, FAQs and tips, unlike news or trend posts.
Explainer video
An explainer video is a short video that explains what a product, service or idea is, the problem it solves and how it works.

F

Facebook cover photo size
The Facebook cover photo displays at about 820×312 on desktop and 640×360 on phones. Upload at least 851×315, and keep key content centered.
Faceless video
A faceless video is a video where nobody appears on camera; it relies on voiceover, text, footage, screenshots or graphics to deliver the message.
Features vs benefits
Features are what a product has or does; benefits are what the customer gains from them. Good marketing leads with benefits.
Font pairing
Font pairing is choosing two or more typefaces that work well together, usually one for headings and one for body text.
Frame rate (FPS)
Frame rate is how many still images a video shows each second, measured in frames per second (FPS). Common rates are 24, 30 and 60 FPS.

G

Generative AI
Generative AI is artificial intelligence that creates new text, images, audio or video from a prompt, based on patterns learned from training data.

H

Hashtag
A hashtag is a word or phrase after a # sign that groups posts by topic, so people can find them by tapping or searching the tag.
Headline
A headline is the main line of text at the top of a post, ad, page or article, written to grab attention and make people read on.
Hook
A hook is the opening line, image or moment of a video or post that grabs attention and makes people keep watching instead of scrolling past.

I

Ideal customer profile (ICP)
An ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the type of customer, usually a company, that gets the most value from you and is most valuable to you.
Image to video
Image to video is AI that animates a still image into a short video clip, guided by a prompt describing the motion you want.
Impressions
Impressions are the total number of times content was shown on screen, counting repeat views by the same person. Reach counts people.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is paying or partnering with creators who have an engaged audience to promote a product in their own content and voice.
Instagram grid
The Instagram grid is the layout of post thumbnails on your profile. A consistent grid helps visitors understand your brand at a glance.
Instagram post size
The Instagram post size is 1080 px wide, at 1080×1080 (square), 1080×1350 (portrait 4:5) or 1080×1440 (3:4); portrait fills the most screen.
Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels are short vertical videos on Instagram, shown in a full-screen feed that recommends them to people who do not follow you.
Instagram Remix
Instagram Remix lets you create a Reel alongside or after another person's Reel, to react, respond, compare or build on it.
Instagram Story
An Instagram Story is a full-screen vertical photo or video that disappears after 24 hours, unless saved to a Highlight on your profile.
Instagram story size
The Instagram story size is 1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame. Keep text and buttons out of the top and bottom edges, where the app overlays UI.

J

Jump cut
A jump cut is an edit between two shots of the same subject from almost the same angle, so the subject seems to jump forward in time.

K

Ken Burns effect
The Ken Burns effect is a slow pan and zoom across a still photo in a video, adding gentle movement so the image feels alive.
Kinetic typography
Kinetic typography is animated text that moves, scales or appears in time with speech or music to express meaning and keep attention.

L

Landing page
A landing page is a web page built for one goal, like a signup or booking, that visitors reach from an ad, post or email.
Large language model (LLM)
A large language model (LLM) is an AI model trained on huge amounts of text to understand and generate language, powering chatbots and AI writers.
Lead magnet
A lead magnet is something free and useful, like a guide, checklist or discount, offered in exchange for a person’s email address.
Link in bio
Link in bio is the single clickable link in a social profile, often pointing to a landing page that lists several links, offers or products.
LinkedIn banner size
The LinkedIn banner size is 1584×396 pixels (4:1) for a personal profile. Company Page covers are 1128×191. Keep text clear of the profile photo.
Lip sync
Lip sync is matching mouth movements to audio, whether a person mouthing words to a song or AI that animates a face to match a voice track.
Logo
A logo is the graphic mark, name or symbol that identifies a business. It can be a wordmark, a symbol, or both combined.
Logomark
A logomark is a logo symbol or icon with no words, which comes to stand for the brand on its own once people know it.
Lookalike audience
A lookalike audience is a group of new people an ad platform finds because they resemble a source audience you provide, such as your customers.
Loop video
A loop video is a short clip edited so its end flows back into its start, letting it replay continuously without a visible break.
Lower third
A lower third is a graphic in the lower part of the video frame that shows a name, title, location or short message without covering the main action.

M

Marketing automation
Marketing automation is software that runs repetitive marketing tasks on rules or triggers, like scheduled posts, email sequences and lead scoring.
Marketing funnel
A marketing funnel models how people move from first hearing about a brand to buying, with fewer people at each stage.
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to outside tools and data, so they can read information and take actions.
Micro-influencer
A micro-influencer is a creator with a smaller, focused following, often about 10,000 to 100,000, and usually close ties with their audience.
Microcopy
Microcopy is the small text in a product or page, like button labels, form hints and error messages, that guides people to act.
Mission statement
A mission statement is a short description of what a company does, who it serves and why, used to guide decisions and explain its purpose.
Mood board
A mood board is a collage of images, colors, type and textures used to agree on the look and feel of a brand or project before design starts.
Motion graphics
Motion graphics are animated graphic design elements such as text, shapes, icons, charts and logos, used to explain ideas or style a video.
MP4
MP4 is the most common video file format: a container that holds video, audio and subtitles, accepted by almost every platform, browser and phone.

N

Negative prompt
A negative prompt tells an AI image or video model what to leave out, such as text, blur, extra fingers or a watermark.
Newsjacking
Newsjacking is creating content that ties your brand to a breaking news story or trend while people are actively paying attention to it.

O

Objection handling
Objection handling is answering the doubts that stop people buying, such as price, trust or timing, before or when they come up.
Open captions
Open captions are captions burned into the video picture, so they always show and cannot be turned off. They are the norm for social video.
Open Graph image (OG image)
An Open Graph image is the picture shown when a link is shared on social media or in chat apps, set with the og:image tag. Use 1200×630 pixels.
Organic reach
Organic reach is the number of unique people who see your content without paid promotion, through feeds, search, shares and recommendations.

P

Paid social
Paid social is advertising on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn, where you pay to show posts to a chosen audience.
Pain points
Pain points are the specific problems, frustrations and costs your customers face that your product or service can solve.
PAS framework
The PAS framework is a copywriting formula: name the Problem, Agitate it so it feels urgent, then present your Solution.
Pattern interrupt
A pattern interrupt is anything unexpected in a video, ad or post that breaks the viewer's autopilot and wins their attention back.
Pinned post
A pinned post is a post fixed to the top of your profile or feed so visitors see it first, no matter how many newer posts you share.
Positioning statement
A positioning statement is a short internal sentence naming a brand's target customer, category, key benefit and reason to believe.
Product demo video
A product demo video shows a product being used to explain its main features and how it solves a problem, so buyers can see it before they buy.
Promo video
A promo video is a short marketing video that promotes a business, product, offer or event, made to grab attention and drive an action.
Prompt
A prompt is the instruction or input you give an AI model, such as a question, a task or a description of the image you want it to create.
Prompt engineering
Prompt engineering is the practice of designing and testing prompts so an AI model gives accurate, useful and consistent output.

R

Reach
Reach is the number of unique people who saw a post or ad at least once. Impressions count every view, including repeats.
Rebrand
A rebrand is a deliberate change to a brand's identity, from refreshed logo and colors to a new name, positioning and messaging.
Retargeting
Retargeting shows ads to people who already interacted with your business, such as site visitors or video viewers, to bring them back to buy.
ROAS (return on ad spend)
ROAS, or return on ad spend, is the revenue earned for each dollar spent on ads. A ROAS of 4 means $4 in sales for every $1 of ad spend.
Royalty-free music
Royalty-free music is music licensed for a one-time fee or subscription, with no per-play royalties, so you can use it in videos and ads.

S

Safe zone
A safe zone is the area of a video or image where text and key content will not be hidden by platform buttons, captions or cropping.
Screen recording
A screen recording is a video capture of what happens on a computer or phone screen, often with a voiceover, used for demos and tutorials.
Share of voice (SOV)
Share of voice (SOV) is how much of the conversation or ad space in your market your brand owns compared with competitors, as a percentage.
Short-form video
Short-form video is video under about three minutes, usually vertical, made for Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts; long-form video runs longer.
Shot list
A shot list is a checklist of every shot needed for a video, with framing, angle, location and notes, used to plan and run the shoot.
Slogan
A slogan is a short, catchy phrase used in advertising to make a product, campaign or idea memorable, often changed between campaigns.
Social commerce
Social commerce is selling products directly inside social platforms, through shoppable posts, product tags, live shopping and in-app checkout.
Social listening
Social listening is tracking what people say online about your brand, competitors and industry, then using it to improve products and content.
Social media algorithm
A social media algorithm is the system a platform uses to decide which posts each person sees, and in what order, based on predicted interest.
Social media audit
A social media audit reviews every social profile, its content and its results to see what works, what does not and what to change.
Social media image sizes
Social media image sizes are the pixel dimensions and aspect ratios each platform recommends for posts, stories, ads, profile banners and link previews.
Social media manager
A social media manager plans, creates, posts and measures a brand's social content, and handles comments, messages and community.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing is using platforms like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube to build an audience, earn attention and drive sales.
Social proof
Social proof is the tendency to follow what others do. In marketing it means reviews, testimonials, customer counts and endorsements that build trust.
Spark Ads
Spark Ads are TikTok ads that promote existing organic TikTok posts, from your account or a creator's, keeping their likes, comments and profile link.
SRT file
An SRT file is a plain-text subtitle file listing numbered captions with start and end times. Most video platforms and players accept it.
Storyboard
A storyboard is a sequence of sketches or frames that shows each shot of a video in order, with notes on action, text and audio.
Storytelling
Storytelling in marketing is using stories, with a character, a problem and a change, to make a brand’s message memorable.
Subtitles
Subtitles are on-screen text of the spoken words in a video, often translated, for viewers who can hear the audio but need or prefer to read it.
Synthetic media
Synthetic media is any image, video, audio or text created or substantially changed by AI, from AI voiceovers to generated photos and avatars.

T

Tagline
A tagline is a short, lasting phrase that sits with a brand's name or logo and sums up what it stands for or promises.
Talking head video
A talking head video shows a person speaking directly to the camera, framed from the chest or shoulders up, often with captions and B-roll.
Target audience
A target audience is the specific group of people a business wants to reach with its marketing, defined by needs, traits and behavior.
Testimonial
A testimonial is a statement from a real customer about their experience with a business, used in marketing as proof.
Testimonial video
A testimonial video features a real customer describing their experience with a business, used as social proof in marketing and sales.
Text to image
Text to image is AI that turns a written description into a picture. You type a prompt and the model generates matching images.
Text to speech (TTS)
Text to speech (TTS) is technology that turns written text into spoken audio, used for voiceovers, accessibility and voice assistants.
Text to video
Text to video is AI that creates video from a written prompt or script, either as generated footage or as an edited video with scenes and voice.
Thought leadership
Thought leadership is content that shares original expertise, opinions or insights to make a person or brand a trusted voice in its field.
Thumb-stopping content
Thumb-stopping content is a post or ad that makes people stop scrolling on their phone, usually through a striking first frame or hook.
TikTok Duet
A TikTok Duet puts your video side by side with someone else's as it plays, so you can react, sing along, compare or collaborate.
TikTok Stitch
A TikTok Stitch clips a few seconds of another person's video and plays it before your own, so you can react, answer or continue it.
Tone of voice
Tone of voice is how a brand's writing sounds in a given moment: more formal, playful, urgent or gentle, depending on channel and situation.
Transition
A transition is the way a video moves from one shot or scene to the next, such as a cut, fade, dissolve, wipe, zoom or match cut.
Trending audio
Trending audio is a song, sound or voice clip being used in many short videos at once, which can help new videos get discovered.
Tutorial video
A tutorial video teaches viewers how to do a specific task step by step, such as setting up a product, using a feature or making something.
Typography
Typography is the art of choosing and arranging type: fonts, sizes, spacing and hierarchy that make text readable and give a brand its feel.

U

UGC ads
UGC ads are paid ads that use user-generated content, or content made to look like it: real customers or creators talking about a product on camera.
Unique selling proposition (USP)
A unique selling proposition (USP) is the one benefit or feature that sets a product apart from competitors and gives buyers a reason to choose it.
User-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is content made by customers or fans, not the brand: photos, videos, reviews and posts about a product.

V

Value proposition
A value proposition is a clear statement of the benefit a customer gets from a product, and why it is better for them than the alternatives.
Vertical video
Vertical video is video taller than it is wide, usually 9:16 at 1080x1920 pixels, made to fill a phone screen on Reels, TikTok, Shorts and Stories.
Video marketing
Video marketing is using video to promote a business, explain its products and build an audience across social media, websites, email and ads.
Video resolution
Video resolution is the number of pixels in each frame, written as width x height or a shorthand like 1080p or 4K. More pixels means more detail.
Video script
A video script is the written plan for a video: what is said, what appears on screen and in what order, scene by scene.
Video thumbnail
A video thumbnail is the still image shown before a video plays. It works like a cover and strongly affects whether people click or tap.
Viral video
A viral video spreads quickly and widely as people share it and platforms recommend it, reaching far beyond the creator's usual audience.
Visual identity
Visual identity is the visible side of a brand: logo, colors, typography, imagery, icons and layout rules applied the same way everywhere.
Voice cloning
Voice cloning is AI that copies a specific person's voice from a recording sample so it can speak any new text in that voice.
Voiceover
A voiceover is narration recorded separately from the picture and laid over a video to explain, tell a story or guide the viewer.

W

Watch time
Watch time is the total time people spent watching your video or channel. Platforms like YouTube use it as a key signal of quality.
Wordmark
A wordmark is a logo made only of the brand's name, set in distinctive type or custom lettering, with no separate symbol.

X

X (Twitter) header size
The X (Twitter) header size is 1500×500 pixels, a 3:1 ratio, as JPG or PNG up to 5 MB. Keep text clear of the profile picture in the lower left.

Y

YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos of up to about three minutes on YouTube, shown in a swipeable Shorts feed alongside long-form videos.
YouTube thumbnail size
The YouTube thumbnail size is 1280×720 pixels (16:9), at least 640 px wide, as JPG, PNG or GIF, within YouTube's file size limit (long 2 MB).

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