20 Influencer Marketing Terms You MUST Know

No marketer is above learning the fundamentals.

Term #14 is the one that surprises most brands I work with.

1. CPV (Cost Per View)

How much you pay per person who sees the content. Compare to benchmarks before approving a creator.

2. Engagement Rate (ER)

The % of people who interact with a post. Formula: (Likes + Comments + Saves) ÷ Followers × 100.

3. Influencer Tiers

Nano (1K-10K), Micro (10K-100K), Mid (100K-500K), Macro (500K-1M), Mega (1M+). Each serves different funnel stages. Mega = Awareness. Nano/Micro = Conversions

4. UGC (User-Generated Content)

Customers create content for your brand. Best for paid ads; not a replacement for influencer strategy.

5. CPR (Cost Per Reach)

Total spend divided by unique people reached. Your real cost per eyeball.

6. Ambassador Programs

Long-term partnerships with top performers. Builds consistency, trust, and better rates.

7. CPM (Cost Per Mille)

Cost per 1,000 impressions. Useful for awareness, but doesn't show engagement.

8. Social Listening

Monitoring brand conversations to spot advocates and sort sentiment into positive, neutral, or negative.

9. CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

What you pay to get a customer. If this exceeds your customer's lifetime value, you're losing money.

10. Traditional Influencer Marketing

5-20 established creators driving awareness and credibility. Premium investment for reach and association.

11. Attribution

Tracking which creator drove which action. Use unique promo codes, UTM links, or affiliate tracking.

12. Media Kit

A creator's portfolio: audience demographics, engagement stats, past partnerships, and rates. Always vet beyond what's in it.

13. Gifting/Seeding

Sending free products to creators with no posting obligation. Low cost, but unpredictable ROI.

14. CrowdPosting®

500-5,000 micro/nanos talking about your brand simultaneously. Built for mass trust and conversions at scale.

15. FTC Compliance

Creators must disclose paid partnerships with # ad or # sponsored. Non-compliance risks legal penalties.

16. Audience Authenticity

Percentage of real, engaged followers vs. bots. 70%+ match with your ICP is the baseline; below that, walk away.

17. Affiliate Marketing

Creators earn commission per sale. Aligns incentives but can encourage pushy content if not managed well.

18. Brand Safety

Guidelines creators must follow: no competitor mentions, offensive content, or off-brand messaging. Non-negotiables.

19. Forecasted ROI

Predicting revenue before spending. If your model shows below 1.5x return, don't launch, adjust or negotiate lower.

20. Top Performer Conversion

The 20% of creators who outperform become your long-term roster. Campaigns get faster, cheaper, and better over time.