Creator marketing has its own language, and it changes fast. This glossary explains the terms you'll hear from agencies, creators, and platforms, in plain English. Bookmark it, share it with your team, and use it to cut through the jargon in the next proposal you read.
A to C
Affiliate programme. A programme that pays creators a commission on customers they refer. Vibiz, for example, pays a 30% recurring commission.
Ambassador account. A social account dedicated to promoting 1 brand, run by a creator. Often used interchangeably with a Canvas UGC account.
Base fee. The fixed amount a creator is paid for an agreed volume of content, regardless of performance. In Regen's programmes, $500 a month for 30 videos.
Branded content. Content a creator publishes in partnership with a brand. Platforms require it to be labelled.
Brand-owned account. A social account your company owns and controls, even if creators post to it.
Canvas UGC. A creator model where your brand owns a social account, usually a new one, and creators post short-form video to it at volume. Read What Is Canvas UGC?
CPA (cost per acquisition). The cost of each signup, trial, or customer.
CPM (cost per mille). Cost per 1,000 views or impressions. Creators in Regen's programmes earn $1.30 CPM on top of their base fee.
Creator. Anyone who makes content for social platforms. In UGC, followers matter less than on-camera skill.
Creator marketplace. A platform for finding and hiring creators, such as TikTok's Creator Marketplace, LinkedIn's Creator Marketplace, or UGC Tank.
Creator programme. An always-on system for recruiting, paying, and managing creators. See How to Build a Creator Programme.
CTR (click-through rate). The share of people who click after seeing a video or ad.
D to H
Disclosure. Labelling content as advertising, with #ad, a paid partnership label, or a clear brand name. Required by UK and US rules. See our UGC disclosure guide.
Hit rate. The share of videos that pass a set view threshold. The key measure of a volume programme.
Hold rate. How much of a video people watch after the first few seconds.
Hook. The first 1 to 3 seconds of a video, designed to stop the scroll. See UGC Hooks.
Hook rate. 3-second views divided by impressions. Shows whether a hook works.
Hook report. A regular report on which hooks are working across a creator network, used to decide what to replicate.
I to P
Influencer marketing. Paying creators to reach their existing audience. Compare it with UGC in Canvas UGC vs Traditional UGC vs Influencer Marketing.
Micro-influencer. A creator with a smaller, often more niche audience, commonly 10,000 to 100,000 followers.
Native content. Content that looks like it belongs in the feed rather than like an ad.
Organic reach. Views a post earns without paid promotion.
Paid usage rights. Permission to run a creator's content as paid ads, for an agreed period and set of platforms.
Partnership ads. Meta ads on Instagram and Facebook that run with both the creator's and the brand's names. Formerly branded content ads.
Pay-per-view. A model where creators earn bonuses based on the views their videos reach.
R to T
Replication. Taking a hook or format that worked for 1 creator and testing it across the whole network.
Screen recording. A video of a phone or computer screen, usually with a voiceover. The most important format for software UGC.
Seeding. Sending a product, or product access, to creators in the hope they post about it.
Spark Ads. TikTok ads that run from an organic post on a creator's or brand's account, with engagement staying on the original post.
Thought Leader Ads. LinkedIn ads that promote posts from individual members, including employees and creators, with their approval. Compared in Spark Ads vs Partnership Ads vs Thought Leader Ads.
U to W
UGC (user-generated content). Content made by people rather than brands. In marketing, usually made by paid creators in a native style. Read UGC Content: What It Is and How B2B Brands Use It.
UGC ads. Paid ads made in the style of creator content. See What Are UGC Ads?
UGC agency. An agency that finds, briefs, and manages creators and turns their content into results. See What Does a UGC Agency Do?
Warm-up. Using a new account normally for a few days, browsing and engaging, before posting, so the platform treats it as a genuine account.
Whitelisting. An older term for running ads through a creator's account. Now mostly replaced by Spark Ads and partnership ads.
Put the terms to work
Regen runs Canvas UGC and creator programmes for SaaS, AI, and tech companies. If you'd rather have someone else worry about hook rates and usage rights, find out about our creator partnerships service, or book a strategy call.
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