Instagram Impressions may be confusing to those who are unfamiliar with how this tool works. However, developing a fundamental understanding of what Impressions are can help create a more effective marketing strategy for your business. Instagram Impressions can work in combination with Reach to both build your audience and expand brand awareness. 

 What are Instagram Impressions?

Instagram Impressions refer to the number of times your ad is shown, regardless of the audience. The same person may be seeing your ad or your ad could also be seen by many different people. It’s important to note that Impressions aren’t concerned with the number of people who see your ads. They are designed to increase brand awareness and are measured by the number of times your ad appears to an audience, regardless of whether the audience is the same person or different individuals.

Business owners can use Impressions to build on brand awareness. The psychology behind Impressions rests on the building effect that repeatedly seeing an ad can produce over time. The person who sees the ad isn’t going to pay much attention to an ad they only see once or twice. However, a person that consistently sees different ads or the same ads may develop an interest over time. This may lead to a later purchase of the product or service. The more you’re exposed to information about a particular product or service, the more your knowledge about the brand grows. Even if you have no use or interest in the product or service when you see it, you may later.

If you learn enough about the product or service by seeing ads frequently, the odds of you making a purchase increases.

How Do Impressions work in Conjunction with Reach? 

Customers come into play when you consider Reach. Reach is focused on the number of unique customers that see your ad. For example, you may have fifty Impressions, but your Reach may only be five if the ad has only been shown to five different individuals. It doesn’t matter how many times that same ad is shown to the same person. If only five different people see your ad, your Reach is five while your Impressions are fifty. These two measurement tools can be used together to build brand awareness and reach as many different individuals as possible. Both Reach and Impressions are two Instagram tools that can be effectively used together.