Video ad terms, in plain English.

Ad library

An ad library is a public database of ads currently running on a platform, such as the Meta Ad Library, used to research competitors' creative.

Ad set

An ad set is the middle layer of a Meta campaign, where budget, audience, placements and schedule are set for the ads inside it.

Advantage+

Advantage+ is Meta's family of automated ad features that let its system choose audiences, placements and creative tweaks for you.

AI actor

An AI actor is a generated person who appears and speaks in a video ad, used in place of a filmed creator.

AI disclosure label

An AI disclosure label is a notice that an ad or post contains AI-generated people, voices or scenes.

AI UGC

AI UGC is a UGC-style video ad where the person on camera, the voice or both are generated by AI instead of filmed with a real creator.

AOV (average order value)

AOV is the average amount a customer spends per order.

Aspect ratio (9:16)

Aspect ratio is a video's width compared to its height; 9:16 is full-screen vertical video, 1080 pixels wide by 1920 tall.

B-roll

B-roll is supporting footage that plays over or between the main shot, such as product close-ups, hands using the product or scenery.

Broad targeting

Broad targeting means running ads with few or no interest or lookalike filters and letting the platform's algorithm find buyers.

Burned-in captions

Burned-in captions are subtitles rendered into the video pixels, so they show on every platform without the viewer turning them on.

Completion rate

Completion rate is the share of video plays that reached the end of the video.

CPA (cost per acquisition)

CPA is what you spend on ads, on average, to get one conversion such as a purchase, signup or install.

CPC (cost per click)

CPC is the average amount you pay for each click on your ad.

CPM (cost per mille)

CPM is what you pay for 1,000 ad impressions.

CPV (cost per view)

CPV is the average price you pay for one counted video view.

Creative fatigue

Creative fatigue is when an ad's results decline because the audience has seen it too many times.

Creative testing

Creative testing is running several versions of an ad with the same budget and audience to find which one performs best.

CTA (call to action)

A CTA is the instruction that tells the viewer what to do next, such as "Shop now" or "Try it free".

CTR (click-through rate)

CTR is the percentage of ad impressions that led to a click.

Dynamic creative

Dynamic creative is a Meta ads option where you upload several videos, headlines and texts and the platform mixes them to find the best combinations.

Frequency

Frequency is the average number of times each person saw your ad in a period.

Hold rate

Hold rate is the share of people who kept watching after the hook, usually measured as ThruPlays or 15-second views divided by 3-second views.

Hook

A hook is the first one to three seconds of a video ad: the line, image or movement meant to stop someone from scrolling past.

Hook rate

Hook rate is the share of ad impressions that turn into a 3-second view, and it measures how well the opening stops the scroll.

Lookalike audience

A lookalike audience is a group of new people a platform finds because they resemble a source list such as your customers.

MER (marketing efficiency ratio)

MER is total revenue divided by total marketing spend across every channel, also called blended ROAS.

On-screen text

On-screen text is any written text placed on the video, such as a headline hook, labels or a price, separate from the captions.

Partnership ads

Partnership ads are Meta ads that run under both the brand's and a creator's name, using the creator's handle and often their post.

Reach

Reach is the number of unique people who saw your ad at least once.

Retargeting

Retargeting is showing ads to people who already interacted with your brand, such as site visitors or people who watched a previous video.

ROAS (return on ad spend)

ROAS is the revenue your ads brought in divided by what you spent on them.

Safe zone

The safe zone is the area of a vertical video that is not covered by the app's buttons, captions and profile info, where text and faces should stay.

Spark Ads

Spark Ads are TikTok ads that boost an existing organic post, from your account or a creator's with their permission, keeping its likes and comments.

Talking head

A talking head ad is a video where one person speaks straight to the camera, usually filmed selfie-style on a phone.

Thumb-stop ratio

Thumb-stop ratio is another name for hook rate: the percentage of people who stop scrolling to watch the first few seconds of a video ad.

UGC (user-generated content)

UGC is content made by customers or creators rather than the brand, and a UGC ad is a paid ad shot in that casual, phone-filmed style.

Usage rights

Usage rights are the permissions that say where, how and for how long a brand may use a creator's video, especially in paid ads.

View-through rate (VTR)

View-through rate is the percentage of impressions where the viewer watched the video to a set point, often the end or a fixed number of seconds.

Voiceover

A voiceover is narration recorded separately and laid over the video, rather than spoken on camera.

Whitelisting

Whitelisting is when a creator gives a brand permission to run paid ads from the creator's own social account.

Winner variation

A winner variation is a new ad built from a proven winner, keeping what worked and changing one element such as the hook, actor or format.