Clipping glossary

Confirming that a clipper controls the social account a clip is posted from, usually by placing a one-time code on the account. It ties each submission to a verified account rather than to a bare link.

The review step in which the brand or platform checks a submitted clip against the brief. On insy, approval gates the payout, while views are tracked from submission either way.

The written rules of a clipping campaign that every clipper accepts before posting: rate, minimum, cap, platforms, required tags, disclosure and reasons for rejection.

The total amount a brand funds for clipper payouts in one campaign. Payouts stop when it runs out, so it also caps the campaign's total cost.

The maximum payout one clip can earn in a campaign. Views after a clip reaches the cap are not paid, which spreads the budget across more clips.

Reading the view counts of submitted clips from each platform at regular intervals and storing every reading, so payouts can be calculated and checked later without screenshots.

An independent editor who cuts short clips from long-form content and posts them on their own TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts accounts, usually for pay per 1,000 views.

Cutting short vertical clips out of longer videos, streams or podcasts and posting them on short-form platforms. As a marketing method, the clips are paid for by the owner of the source content.

A paid program in which a brand or creator pays many clippers a fixed rate per 1,000 views for clips of its content, out of a budget set up front.

The folder of source footage, logos and assets a brand provides for a campaign. Clippers cut from it so they use approved material at full quality.

Cost per mille, the price per 1,000 units. In clipping it is the rate paid per 1,000 views; in paid social ads it is the price per 1,000 impressions, which is a different unit.

TikTok's program that pays creators for qualified views on videos of at least one minute. In the US it requires age 18 or older, 10,000 authentic followers and 100,000 authentic views in the last 30 days.

A clear statement on a post that it is paid, such as #ad or a platform's paid partnership label. The FTC expects it in the video itself for video endorsements, not only in the description.

Likes, comments, shares and saves divided by views. A clip whose views jump while its engagement rate falls far below similar clips can be a sign of bought views.

A label for how fast a clip's views are changing between readings, such as new, growing, spike, declining or stalled. A sudden spike is worth checking before it is paid.

The first seconds of a clip, written or cut to stop the viewer from scrolling past. It decides whether the rest of the clip is watched.

Paying a clip in stages from the difference between two view readings instead of once at the end. Each stage records the readings it covers, so every payout can be traced.

A brand logo or watermark the brief requires on screen for part or all of a clip, so viewers can tell whose content it is.

Under the FTC Endorsement Guides, any relationship between an endorser and a brand that the audience would not expect, such as payment or free product. Being paid per view for a clip is one.

The smallest amount a clip must earn before it is paid at all. A clip below it earns nothing, which keeps very low-view clips out of settlement.

The share a clipping platform takes from payouts. On insy it is 10% of each clipper payout, deducted from what the clipper receives; other platforms charge the brand instead.

YouTube's term for material repurposed from other sources without significant commentary, modification or added value. It can cost a channel its monetization; TikTok has a similar originality policy.

Revenue per mille, what a creator actually earns per 1,000 views after the platform's share. TikTok publishes no official RPM for Creator Rewards.

The calculation that turns a clip's counted views into a payout: views times the rate, then the minimum and the cap, then any fee.

Sending the link of a posted clip to the campaign so its views can be counted. On insy, view tracking starts at submission.

A mention, hashtag or link the brief requires in a clip's caption or on screen, used to credit the brand and to identify campaign posts.

The number of days after submission during which a clip's views count toward its payout. Views after the window closes are not paid.

A score recorded with each view reading that estimates how likely the views are to be inauthentic, read together with likes and comments. A clip with many views and few reactions scores as suspicious.

User-generated content: videos creators film themselves about a product, as opposed to clips cut from the brand's existing footage. Some marketplaces run UGC campaigns next to clipping campaigns.

Inflating a post's views with bots, bought views or hijacked accounts. Since October 21, 2024, buying fake views for a commercial purpose is covered by the FTC rule at 16 CFR 465.8.