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The Complete Paid Social Glossary

Navigating the world of Paid Social means encountering a constant stream of acronyms and platform-specific jargon. To help make things clearer, the Summit team have put together this Complete Paid Social glossary.

Whether you’re looking to understand the technical difference between a “Dark Post” and a “Partner Post” or simply want to decode your latest performance report, you’ll find all the key definitions you need right here.

Full Name Acronym Definition
Ad Recall Lift ARL Estimated increase in the number of people who would remember seeing an ad, typically measured using exposed vs control methodology and modelled survey data.
Ad Recall Rate ARR Percentage of users predicted to recall an ad after exposure. Often modelled rather than directly observed.
Average Watch Time AWT The average duration users spend watching a video ad. Indicates depth of engagement.
Click-Through Rate CTR Percentage of impressions that resulted in a click. Calculated by (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100.
Cost Per 3-Second View CPV (3s) Average cost incurred for each video view lasting at least 3 seconds.
Cost Per Completed View CPCV Average cost incurred for each completed video view.
Engagement Rate ER Percentage of impressions or reach that resulted in engagement (likes, comments, shares, saves, clicks).
Frequency Freq The average number of times an individual user sees an ad. Calculated by Impressions ÷ Reach.
Hook Rate HR Percentage of users who continue watching beyond the first 3 seconds of a video.
Impression Share IS The percentage of total available impressions within a target audience that an ad received. Not universally available across all social platforms. Calculated by (3-Second Views ÷ Impressions) × 100.
Landing Page View Rate LPVR Percentage of clicks that resulted in a fully loaded landing page. Calculated by (Landing Page Views ÷ Clicks) × 100
Post-Engagement Rate ER Percentage of users who engaged after clicking through to expand or interact with the ad unit.
Scroll Stop Rate SSR Percentage of users who paused scrolling long enough to register the ad (often aligned with 2s–3s video views depending on platform).
Thumbstop Rate TSR Percentage of users who stopped scrolling and watched at least 3 seconds of a video ad. Calculated by (3-Second Views ÷ Reach) × 100.
Top Quartile Rate TQR Percentage of viewers who watched at least 25% of a video.
Midpoint Rate MR Percentage of viewers who watched at least 50% of a video.
Third Quartile Rate TQR Percentage of viewers who watched at least 75% of a video.
Video Completion Rate VCR Percentage of users who watched a video ad to 100% completion.
Video View Rate VVR Percentage of impressions that resulted in a platform-defined video view.
View-Through Conversions VTC Conversions attributed to users who saw (but did not click) an ad before converting.
View-Through Rate VTR Percentage of impressions that resulted in a completed video view.
Cost Per Mil CPM Cost per 1,000 impressions. Calculated by (Spend ÷ Impressions) × 1,000
Cost Per Click CPC Average cost incurred per click. Calculated by Spend ÷ Clicks
Cost Per Acquisition CPA Average cost incurred per conversion. Calculated by Spend ÷ Conversions.
Dark Post An unpublished post used only for paid ads and not visible on organic feed
Light Post An organic post that can also be promoted via paid ads while remaining visible on organic feeds
Partner Post Content created by a partner that is boosted via a brands paid promotion
DPA Intro Card Image/Video The first card in a dynamic product carousel ad set to show a static image or video asset
Spark Ad TikTok specific ad type boosting organically posted content via paid ads
Branded Hashtag Challenge BHC TikTok specific campaign encouraging user-generated content around a branded hashtag
Instant Experience IX Full screen immersive experience that opens after a user clicks an ad

To see these concepts in action and stay updated on the latest shifts in the digital landscape, explore our blog.

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