Clipping glossary: the terms, defined plainly
The vocabulary of clipping campaigns, defined the way we use it. If a vendor uses one of these words differently, that is worth asking about.
Core terms
Cutting long-form source material into short native clips and publishing them across many creator accounts at once, paid per view rather than per post.
A single short video cut from your source material and posted to one account on one platform. The unit everything else is counted in.
The written instruction a campaign runs on: budget, platforms, rules, banned angles and offer wording. Published to clippers exactly as the brand wrote it.
Clips posted to independent creator accounts. Wide reach, lowest cost per view, accounts owned by the creators.
A handle built and run in the brand’s name. Smaller volume, and the audience compounds for the brand.
Money
Cost per thousand views. In clipping it is calculated on verified views, which is what makes it comparable to an ad platform number rather than a vanity one.
What the campaign actually cost per thousand verified views once the whole budget is counted, fee included. Our ShadyLady reference run landed at $0.17.
The platform fee agreed before the campaign runs, so the cost of a view is known in advance instead of being decided after delivery.
The floor a campaign commits to. The reference run guaranteed 73.37M and delivered 98.4M verified.
How clippers are paid: on-chain, per campaign, on cleared views, withdrawable to an external address at any time.
Quality and proof
A view reading pulled from the platform itself and cleared by every fraud check before it is billed. An unverified view is a number someone typed.
Five independent fraud checks each reading passes: speed of accrual, curve shape, engagement ratio, creator history and the platform reading itself.
A clip flagged in review. It stays visible with the reason attached and is never billed, rather than being quietly deleted.
How often view readings are pulled from the platform, so the dashboard reflects the platform rather than an estimate.
Every reading stored with its timestamp, source and the checks it passed, so a campaign can be reconstructed months later.
People
A creator who cuts and posts clips against a brief, paid per thousand verified views their clips earn. No follower minimum.
Checking a creator before they run: audience geography, posting history, engagement shape and adjacent content.
The list of framings a brand will not accept, written as examples so a clipper cutting at speed can follow it.
Where clips are checked against the brief before payment. Brands can reject any clip from their dashboard, and a rejected clip is not billed.
Terms worth questioning
Some words are used loosely enough in this industry to be worth a follow-up question whenever a vendor says them.
- Impressions: not views. An impression can be a thumbnail scrolled past. Ask which one the price is quoted against.
- Reach: usually a modelled estimate rather than a reading pulled from the platform.
- Engagement: meaningless without the denominator. Ask for the ratio and the period.
- Guaranteed views: ask what happens if the floor is missed, and whether the guarantee is on verified views or raw counts.
- Managed campaign: ask who reviews clips, against what list, and whether you can reject one yourself.
None of these are dishonest words on their own. They are simply the ones where two parties most often mean different things, which is why every one of them should resolve to something visible in a dashboard.
How to check any number
Three questions settle almost any claim about a clipping campaign. Where did the reading come from, when was it taken, and what cleared it? A vendor who can answer those on a live campaign is running a process. One who answers on outcomes only is asking for trust in place of proof.
How a campaign runs
Brief published, clippers post, readings pulled every 48 hours, five checks per reading, flagged views held with reasons, clean views billed and paid per campaign in USDC. The vocabulary above exists so each of those steps can be checked rather than taken on trust.
If a term here does not match how a vendor uses it, ask them to show you the number in a live dashboard. That question settles most of them.
