Glossary

Influencer marketing glossary

What common creator and brand terms mean, in plain words.

Affiliate marketingEarning a commission when someone buys through your link.
ASCIThe Advertising Standards Council of India, which sets rules for ads, including influencer posts.
Auto DMA direct message sent automatically when someone takes an action.
Barter collaborationA deal where a brand pays a creator with a product or service instead of cash.
Brand collaborationWhen a brand and a creator work together on content, usually for money or products.
Brand pitchA short message a creator sends a brand to propose working together.
Campaign briefA short document telling a creator what a brand wants.
Comment to DMSending someone a direct message automatically when they comment on a post.
CPM (cost per thousand views)What you pay for every 1,000 views.
Creator accountAn Instagram professional account for public figures and content creators.
Creator marketplaceA platform where brands and creators find each other and do deals.
DeliverablesThe exact content a creator agrees to make.
Engagement rateHow much people interact with a post, shown as a share of followers.
ExclusivityAn agreement that a creator won't work with rival brands for a set time.
Fake followersBought or bot accounts that inflate a follower count.
Influencer giftingSending free products to creators, with or without a promise to post.
Influencer marketingPaying or gifting creators to show a product to their followers.
Influencer marketing agencyA company that plans and runs creator campaigns for brands, for a fee.
Lead magnetSomething free you offer in exchange for contact details or interest.
Media kitA one-page profile a creator sends to brands, with stats, audience and rates.
Micro influencerA creator with about 10,000 to 50,000 followers.
Nano influencerA creator with about 1,000 to 10,000 followers.
Paid partnership labelInstagram's tag that shows a post is sponsored.
Rate cardA list of what a creator charges for each type of content.
Reach and impressionsReach counts unique accounts that saw a post. Impressions count total views.
ROI in influencer marketingHow much you earned compared with what you spent.
ShadowbanA word people use when Instagram seems to limit a post's reach without warning.
UGC (user-generated content)Content made by real people rather than a brand. In marketing, it often means paid videos made for a brand's own use.
Usage rightsPermission for a brand to reuse a creator's content, and for how long.
Whitelisting (Partnership ads)When a brand runs ads from a creator's handle.

What is this glossary for?

Influencer marketing has a lot of jargon. Each page here explains one term in plain words, with an example and a link to go further.

Last updated 5 Nov 2026

Explore Hypee

Hypee for creators →Hypee for brands →Free Instagram tools →Types of influencers →

Glossary FAQ

Are these terms specific to India?

Most are used worldwide. Rules such as ASCI's and examples in rupees are specific to India.

Hypee is India's creator marketplace for Instagram brand deals. 0% commission.

Join Hypee free →