The Difference Between Reach And Impressions

When you’re creating a social media campaign, it’s important to understand the difference between impressions and reach. This post will explain the difference, while also diving into what makes them both so important for your overall marketing goals.

The Definitions

Reach shows the number of people who saw your post/content. It’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily mean they engaged with it in any way, they simply saw it appear in their feed. Impressions are defined as the number of times your content is seen (and also doesn’t include engagement).

What Makes Them Different From Each Other?

Now that we know the definitions, it’s time to break down what makes them different.

Reach is important because it allows you to gauge how many people are actually seeing your content. If you have a large reach, then you know that your content is being seen by a lot of people. However, if your reach is low, then you need to work on getting your content in front of more people.

Impressions are important because they allow you to gauge how often your content is being seen. If you have a high number of impressions, then it means that people are seeing your content multiple times. This is valuable because it means that they’re more likely to remember your content and engage with it in some way.

Should You Ever Focus On One Over The Other?

There’s no simple answer to this question. It really depends on your overall marketing goals. If you’re trying to raise awareness for your brand, then you might want to focus on increasing your reach. However, if you’re trying to get people to take a specific action (like buying a product) then you might want to focus on increasing your impressions.

The Bottom Line: Both reach and impressions are important metrics to keep an eye on when you’re running a social media campaign.

How To Increase Reach

There are a few different ways you can increase your reach.

1. Use Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are what get your post in front of even more people (especially when you choose hashtags that are relevant to your post). This makes it more likely that your content will pop up in searches and on Explore pages, regardless of which platform you posted on. A bonus: the people you reach will be more likely to be interested in what your post was about.

2. Run Ads

Another great way to reach more people is to run ads. Ads allow you to specifically target your audience with laser precision. You can even create lookalike audiences of your most engaged fans and target them with your ads.

3. Partner With Influencers

Influencers have a large reach and can help you get your content in front of more people. When you partner with an influencer, make sure to give them creative freedom so they can produce content that will resonate with their audience.

4. Use Relevant Keywords

If you want your content to be seen by people who are searching for it, then you need to use relevant keywords. Make sure to do your research and find the right keywords to use in your titles and descriptions.

5. Create Shareable Content

Creating shareable content is one of the best ways to increase your reach. When people share your content, their followers will see it and you’ll reach even more people. So make sure to create content that’s interesting and informative, and that people will want to share with their friends. Tip: the most shareable content is the most relatable content.

How To Increase Impressions

There are a few different ways you can increase your impressions (some will align with how to increase reach).

1. Use Relevant Hashtags

Just like with reach, using relevant hashtags is a great way to increase your impressions. You will get your content to the people who are interested in it, and those are the people who will be more likely to look at your content again.

2. Post Often

This doesn’t mean that you should spam people with a hundred posts a day, but you should post regularly so people see your content more often. For example: on Instagram we post 3 times a week, every Monday and Wednesday and Friday. When people expect a post on a certain day, they will anticipate it and maybe even visit your profile to see if it was posted yet.

3. Use Relevant Keywords

Similar to hashtags, relevant keywords will bring your content to the people most interested in what you have to say.

4. Create Shareable Content

Creating shareable content is one of the best ways to increase your impressions. If someone really likes your post enough to share it, they are likely to go back to look at it again.

5. Run Ads

If you create an ad that is designed to increase impressions, then people will likely see your ad multiple times. Think about how many times you’ve seen the same ad on a social media platform.

In Conclusion

Now that you know the difference between reach and impressions (while also knowing how to increase both of them), we wish you the best of luck in achieving your marketing goals! If you would like further help, click the button below to schedule a consultation with our team. We'd be happy to hear from you!