40 SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER MARKETING TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW

If you’re in the influencer realm, it can sometimes feel like you’re in the wild west – everything is up for interpretation and sometimes making sense of it all can be a real challenge. The social media influencer marketing space has grown and expanded so much in the past few years that there are now some defined terms that everyone should know to be able to speak the language of influence.

Now that major (and even small) brands are incorporating influencer initiatives into their yearly marketing budgets, things are starting to get a little more serious and the expectations for pitches and working with influencers are higher than ever before. No matter what industry you are in, you have to be well-versed in that industry’s terms to be able to understand what everyone is talking about…or you may not be taken as serious as you would like.

Professionalism in this industry is more than just branding, media kits, case studies, and amazing pitching emails…it’s being able to speak the same language as everyone else and show them that this isn’t just a hobby…it’s your job.

To help you out, we’ve put together this glossary of important influencer marketing terms that you need to know before negotiating your next partnership deal!

Influencer Marketing Glossary of Terms:

AFFILIATE MARKETING: We’ve mentioned affiliate marketing before because it’s one of the most popular types of influencer marketing that brands use, and can be a great way for you to earn money on social media…even while you sleep! If you’ve ever read a blog post and seen links to products or services that were being recommended by the author, those were probably affiliate links. As an affiliate, you promote a brand, product, or service, and then receive a commission based on how many sales you send their way. The transaction is usually tracked using a link that is specific to you, and you’ll get a commission when someone clicks the link and purchases the product or service.

AMBASSADOR: An ambassador is traditionally a representative or promoter of a specific activity, service, brand or product, and this definition holds true in the influencer market too. A brand will usually compensate an influencer for being an ambassador, promoting the brand, representing them in a positive light, and increasing brand awareness and sales. When you’re considering an ambassador position, make sure to define all expectations and compensation. Your role as an ambassador can be more ambiguous than just doing a one-time brand partnership so it’s important to keep the logistics (and everything they will require from you) top of mind when negotiating so you can manage expectations.

BOILERPLATE: In the PR world, a boilerplate is a blurb at the end of a press release that explains the background of the company and how they’re related to the press release. A boilerplate is essentially an ‘About Us’ for the company, and it’s an important opportunity for PR professionals to define the key messages of the company they’re writing about. If you’re an influencer, brands may ask you for a boilerplate – this just means send them a quick about, written in the 3rd person.

CALL-TO-ACTION (CTA): Anyone vying for your attention, trying to tell you what to do next, is using a Call To Action or “CTA.” CTA’s are used in marketing to invoke an immediate and actionable response from the audience. CTA’s are used everywhere, from Instagram captions (“click the link in my bio for more!”) to emails (“sign up today”). Depending on the type of partnership deals, you may be asked to use a CTA to drive your audience traffic to a certain website or product on behalf of the brand. 

CAMPAIGN: Campaigns are organized marketing efforts working toward a single goal. For example, a brand may bring you on as a partner for a campaign highlighting their product launch, with the goal being product awareness and sales. There may be multiple influencers working together on one campaign or your role may be to just push out the messaging on your social media influencer platform as part of a larger campaign.

CASE STUDY: A case study is the research and analysis of an event, project or campaign, in order to draw conclusions from the outcome. A case study can