Metrics and measurement
Impressions
Impressions are the total number of times a piece of content was displayed, counting repeat views by the same person.
Impressions divided by reach gives average frequency, the number of times a typical viewer saw the content. Frequency of two or three is usually healthy for a campaign. Much higher and the same small group is being shown the same message repeatedly, which wastes spend and irritates the audience.
Because impressions count repeats, it is the larger and more flattering of the two numbers, and it is the one quoted when someone wants a big figure. Ask which of the two a report means before comparing anything.
Related terms
- Reach
- Reach is the number of unique accounts that saw a piece of content at least once. Each person is counted once no matter how many times they saw it.
- CPM
- CPM is the cost of a thousand impressions, calculated as the fee divided by impressions, multiplied by one thousand. It is the standard way to compare the efficiency of creator deals against each other and against paid media.
- Campaign recap
- A campaign recap is the report produced after a campaign ends, showing what was published, what it cost, what it delivered in reach, engagement, and revenue, and what should change next time.
Distinct is the workspace where brands and creators run the work behind these terms. For brands, for creators, or back to the full glossary.