Digital marketing glossary
50 social media, video and ads terms, each in one or two plain sentences.
Video production
- Aspect ratio (9:16)
- The shape of the frame, width to height. 9:16 is full-screen vertical, used for Reels, Stories and TikTok. See: Video production →
- B-roll
- Supporting footage, such as close-ups, details and atmosphere, cut between the main shots. See: Video production →
- Storyboard
- A sequence of simple drawings or frames that shows a video shot by shot before filming. See: Video production →
- Shot list
- A list of every shot to film on the day, so nothing important is missed. See: Video production →
- Script
- The written plan of what is said and shown in a video, line by line. See: Video production →
- Color grading
- Adjusting the colours and contrast of footage in editing to create a consistent look and mood. See: Video production →
- Motion graphics
- Animated text, shapes and graphics added to video. See: Video production →
- Voice-over
- Narration recorded separately and laid over the video. See: Video production →
- Subtitles
- On-screen text of what is said. Many people watch with the sound off, and bilingual subtitles reach both Arabic and English speakers. See: Video production →
- AI video
- Video made fully or partly with generative AI tools, for example for scenes that are hard or costly to film. See: AI video production →
Ads & measurement
- Meta Ads Manager
- Meta’s tool for creating, running and measuring ads on Facebook and Instagram. See: Meta ads →
- Boosted post
- An existing post promoted with a budget, straight from the app. Simpler than Ads Manager, with fewer options. See: Meta ads →
- Meta Pixel
- A piece of code on your website that tells Meta what visitors do there, so ads can be measured and targeted. See: Meta ads →
- Conversions API
- A server-to-server connection that sends website or sales events to Meta, often alongside the Pixel. See: Meta ads →
- CPM
- Cost per mille: what you pay for 1,000 impressions. See: Meta ads →
- CPC
- Cost per click: ad spend divided by the number of clicks. See: Meta ads →
- CTR
- Click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions, as a percentage. See: Meta ads →
- CPA (cost per result)
- Ad spend divided by the number of results you want, such as leads, messages or purchases. See: Meta ads →
- ROAS
- Return on ad spend: revenue from ads divided by what the ads cost. A ROAS of 3 means 3 riyals back for every riyal spent. See: Meta ads →
- Conversion
- A valuable action you want people to take, such as a purchase, booking, sign-up or WhatsApp message. See: Meta ads →
- Frequency
- The average number of times each person saw your ad: impressions divided by reach. See: Meta ads →
- Retargeting
- Showing ads to people who already visited your site, watched your videos or messaged you. See: Meta ads →
- Lookalike audience
- An audience of new people whom Meta finds similar to a source audience, such as your customers. See: Meta ads →
- A/B test
- Running two versions of an ad or page that differ in one thing, to see which works better. See: Advertising articles →
- Ad creative
- The visual and text of an ad: the image or video, headline and copy. See: Meta ads →
- Funnel
- The stages people move through from first seeing a brand to buying: awareness, consideration, action. See: Advertising articles →
- Lead
- A potential customer who has shared their contact details or messaged you. See: Meta ads →
- Landing page
- A web page built for one goal, usually the page an ad or link sends people to. See: Meta ads →
- KPI
- Key performance indicator: the main number you agree to track to judge if marketing is working. See: Advertising articles →
- Brand positioning
- The specific place you want your brand to hold in customers’ minds compared with competitors. See: Branding articles →
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Social media & content