What is Impressions?
Impressions are the total number of times a piece of content was displayed, counting every view including multiple views by the same user.
Unlike reach, impressions are not deduplicated. If one person sees the same post three times in their feed, that counts as 3 impressions. High impressions relative to reach indicates the algorithm is serving your content repeatedly to the same users.
CPM (cost per mille) is calculated against impressions, making impression counts central to paid media and influencer deal pricing. Brands paying on a CPM basis care about total impressions delivered, not just unique viewers.
Creators reporting campaign performance should always clarify whether they are citing reach or impressions, as the two are often confused and the difference can be significant in post-campaign reporting.
Related terms
- Reach
- Reach is the total number of unique accounts that saw a piece of content during a given period, distinct from impressions which count every view including repeats.
- CPM (cost per mille)
- CPM, or cost per mille, is the cost a brand pays per 1,000 impressions or views of a piece of content, used to compare the efficiency of creator and ad placements.
- Engagement rate
- Engagement rate is the percentage of a creator’s audience that interacts with their content, calculated as total engagements (likes, comments, shares, saves) divided by followers or reach, times 100.
- Sponsored post
- A sponsored post is a piece of content a creator publishes in exchange for payment from a brand, which must be disclosed as advertising under FTC and platform guidelines.
- Influencer rate
- An influencer rate is the fee a creator charges a brand for a specific piece of sponsored content, typically based on follower count, engagement rate, platform, content format, and usage rights.
More in Metrics
Impressions sits in the metrics part of the glossary. These terms come up in the same conversations and are worth reading alongside it.