In addition to the development of specific strategies according to the objectives set and the creation of quality content, to get the most out of social networks, it is essential to analyze the metrics of the publications.
If you have ever stopped to evaluate your content or are dedicated to it, you have probably come across terms like “reach” or “number of impressions”. Two concepts that, although they are quite similar, are not exactly the same and it is worth knowing their differences. Stay because here we are going to learn to distinguish these essential data.
What is Reach on social networks?
When we talk about scope that has had a publication on a social network, whether on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, for example, we are referring to the specific number of users who have been impacted by such publication. That is, the total number of users who have seen the post.
With that in mind you may also come across the distinction between “organic reach” and “paid reach.” He organic reach refers to the number of users who are impacted by a post organically. On the other hand, the payment scope It is the reach that has been achieved thanks to advertising tools on social networks, for example, promoting a post.
What are Impressions on social networks?
The impressions, however, are the times that a publication is displayed regardless of whether the same user has seen it or not. Therefore, impressions are the number of times users have seen a post or the number of times the post has appeared on the screen, to understand us.
Typically the number of impressions is greater than the reach because the same account can view the content multiple times, meaning the reach will be the same, but the impressions will be larger. For example, if you see a post in your feed and then someone sends you the same post and you see it again, in terms of reach your profile will be a single account, but in terms of views, it will count as two impressions.
Furthermore, on the other hand, the number of impressions may be higher than the number of followers, since, if the account is open, the post can reach a larger audience because a user can come across the post without having to follow the profile. where it has been published.
Impressions or reach: which data is better?
Well, now you may be wondering which metric you need to pay attention to the most. However, the response It will depend on the objectives and the marked KPIs – we take this opportunity to remind you in this article of the differences between metrics and KPIs.
If what you are interested in is knowing if your publications have been viewed many times, you should look at the number of impressions. But if what you are looking for is to know the number of users you have managed to reach so that they know your brand, for example, then you will have to review the reach.