Instagram Marketing Glossary

Method that compares two versions of the same element with similar audiences to determine which one performs better.

ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) is the annual recurring revenue generated by subscriptions, used to measure the growth of a SaaS company.

The account manager is responsible for the client relationship within an agency, in charge of account follow-up and satisfaction.

An agency portfolio is the set of client work and results presented to demonstrate an agency's expertise and credibility to prospects.

Average order value is the average amount a customer spends per order, calculated by dividing revenue by the number of transactions.

The baseline is the reference value measured before launching an action, used to evaluate the results obtained afterward.

A format that compares a client's metrics before and after a service, used as social proof to demonstrate concrete results.

A comparative analysis of a company's practices, performance, or pricing against direct competitors or industry standards.

Brand awareness refers to the level of recognition and familiarity a brand has among its target audience.

The break-even point is the revenue level at which a company covers all of its costs, with neither loss nor profit.

Burn rate measures the pace at which a company spends its available cash over a given period, usually expressed as an amount consumed per month.

Customer Acquisition Cost: the total amount spent on marketing and sales to convert a new customer, divided by the number of customers acquired.

Campaign ROI measures the return on investment generated by a specific marketing campaign, comparing the gains obtained against the costs incurred.

Content detailing the starting situation, the actions taken, and the results achieved for a specific client or project.

The rate of customers or subscribers lost over a given period, relative to the total number of customers at the start of that period.

The welcome and setup process put in place so a new client can start using a service or tool effectively.

A client pitch is the structured sales presentation an agency prepares to convince a prospect to sign a service contract.

A periodic document or dashboard sent to a client to account for the results achieved by their marketing actions.

An agency's ability to keep its active clients over time rather than constantly having to acquire new ones.

Cohort analysis groups users by a shared characteristic, such as their sign-up date, in order to track their behavior over time.

A Collab post is a post or Reel co-signed by two Instagram accounts, displayed simultaneously on both profiles with a shared engagement count.

Community management refers to the day-to-day management of a brand's presence on social media, including posting, replying, and moderating conversations.

Competitive intelligence is the ongoing monitoring of competitors' actions, content, and performance in order to adjust one's own marketing strategy.

A broad, recurring theme around which a brand structures all of its content production.

Content repurposing involves adapting the same original content into several formats in order to distribute it across different channels.

The proportion of visitors or prospects who complete the desired action (purchase, sign-up, contact request) relative to the total number of visitors.

Cross-sell is a sales technique that consists of offering a customer products or services that complement their initial purchase.

A detailed account from a client or user sharing their concrete experience with a product, service, or method.

A customer review is the feedback a customer publishes about a product or service, often on a review platform or social network.

Customer success is the function dedicated to supporting customers after the sale to maximize their satisfaction and retention.

Feedback shared by an existing customer, used as social proof to reassure future prospective customers.

A service provider company that manages all or part of its clients' online marketing actions on their behalf.

Earned media refers to visibility gained for free through spontaneous shares, mentions, or recommendations, without paying for ad space.

The editorial calendar is a planning tool that organizes a brand's content topics, formats, and publication dates over time.

The editorial line is the set of tone, topic, and format rules a brand consistently applies across all its content.

The end client is the company or individual who actually benefits from a service sold under white label by a reseller or partner agency.

A group of accounts that mutually engage (likes, comments) within the first minutes of a post to try to game the algorithm.

The proportion of interactions (likes, comments, shares, saves) generated by a post relative to its number of views or followers.

Flat-rate billing sets a single fixed price for a predefined scope of work, regardless of the time the provider spends on it.

Freemium is a business model that offers a limited free version of a product, with paid features available for advanced users.

Gross margin is the difference between revenue and the direct cost of goods or services sold, before fixed costs.

A marketing approach focused on rapid experimentation and unconventional levers to accelerate growth.

Concrete numerical data, statistics, or measurable results used to objectively demonstrate the effectiveness of a strategy or product.

A keyword preceded by the # symbol that makes a post discoverable in search results and topic pages.

The total number of times a post is displayed, including repeated views by the same user.

A discovery tab that surfaces personalized content from accounts a user doesn't follow, based on their interests.

Instagram's native analytics tool, available on professional and creator accounts, providing statistics on reach, engagement, and audience for posts.

An Instagram Live is a live video broadcast, visible in real time by followers, allowing interaction through comments and instant reactions.

A photo or video content format posted on Instagram, visible for 24 hours in a dedicated carousel at the top of followers' feeds.

Threads is Meta's text-based microblogging app linked to Instagram, designed as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter).

An automated ranking system that determines the order and visibility of posts shown to each user in their feed and on Explore.

The presentation text displayed on an Instagram profile, limited to 150 characters, usually including a clickable link and keywords.

An Instagram post format made up of several images or videos that can be swiped through, grouped into a single post.

An overview of an Instagram profile's posts, arranged in three columns, which shapes the visual harmony visitors perceive.

A type of Instagram account intended for businesses and creators, giving access to Insights statistics, ads, and contact buttons.

A KPI is a numerical indicator used to measure the performance of a marketing or sales action against a defined goal.

A striking quantitative data point, such as a growth percentage or a number of followers gained, highlighted to summarize a result.

Lifetime Value: the total revenue a customer generates on average over the entire duration of their relationship with a company.

Monthly Recurring Revenue: predictable revenue generated each month by a company's active subscriptions.

A schematic representation of a prospect's journey, from discovering a brand through to purchase and then loyalty.

NPS is a customer satisfaction indicator measuring how likely a customer is to recommend a company, scored from -100 to 100.

The share of revenue that remains as profit once all of a company's expenses have been deducted.

Owned media refers to the communication channels a brand fully owns and controls, such as its website, blog, or Instagram account.

Paid media covers the ad space a brand buys to gain visibility, such as Instagram ads, Google Ads, or sponsored partnerships.

A performance report is a document summarizing the quantified results of a marketing action over a given period, intended for the client or the team.

The deliberate practice of building and promoting one's personal professional image the way one would for a brand.

Pricing refers to the strategy of setting the price of an offer, including price levels and the billing terms proposed to customers.

A commercial document that details and prices the services offered by an agency before the client validates and signs it.

Return on investment: the ratio between the profit generated by a marketing action and its cost, expressed as a percentage.

The number of unique accounts that saw a post at least once, regardless of how many times it was displayed.

A short, vertical video format launched by Instagram, designed for discovering new accounts through the dedicated tab and the recommendation algorithm.

Runway is the length of time a company can keep operating with its current cash reserves before running out of liquidity.

An SLA is a contractual agreement defining the level of service a provider guarantees to its client, including expected deadlines and quality.

The gradual, unapproved expansion of a service's scope beyond what was originally agreed in the contract.

A service agreement is a legal document that formalizes the mutual commitments between a provider and its client: scope, pricing, timelines, and obligations.

An external person or company that provides a defined service to another company, with no employment subordination relationship.

A discreet reduction of an account's visibility by the Instagram algorithm, usually linked to usage deemed non-compliant with the platform's rules.

A social algorithm is the computing system a social network uses to sort and rank the content shown in each user's feed.

A psychological phenomenon whereby individuals rely on the behavior or opinions of others to validate their own decisions.

A contractual document that precisely describes the objectives, deliverables, constraints, and timelines of a service before it's carried out.

Storytelling is a communication technique that uses narrative to convey a brand message in a memorable and engaging way.

Subcontracting involves entrusting part of a service to an external provider while remaining accountable to the end client.

A metric defined ahead of a campaign or project to objectively assess whether the target goal has been reached.

A detailed account of a client's journey and the results achieved, used as social proof to illustrate the value of a product or service.

A marketing technique that leverages a current trend or viral topic to create content and quickly gain visibility.

User Generated Content: any content (photo, video, review) produced by customers or users rather than by the brand itself.

A sales technique that involves offering an existing customer a higher-tier, more complete, or more expensive offer than the one initially chosen.

A concrete example of how a product or service is applied in a real situation, used to illustrate its practical value.

A blue icon displayed next to an Instagram account name, granted by Meta to confirm the authenticity of a public figure, brand, or media outlet.

A service resold by an agency under its own brand, while actually being produced by a third-party provider behind the scenes.