Instagram Impressions vs Engagement: What to Focus On For Your ROI

Return on investment (ROI) is a critical measurement when it comes to social media marketing.

The Importance of Measuring ROI on Social Media

It allows you to evaluate your performance versus the costs, time, and effort you are putting in. In other words, "Social media ROI is a metric showing the amount of value generated by your investments in social media," according to Emplifi.

For social media managers and business owners, this can be a huge insight into how our strategy is going so we can either re-strategize to pivot in a new direction, or we can continue to lean in on current methods.

Now that we know the importance, let's get into how we can measure ROI! To start, revisit your social media goals within your strategy. Since we all have different goals for each account, our ROI will be measured in different ways as well. Two common metrics that often come into the conversation are impressions and engagement rate!

Defining Instagram Impressions and Engagement

Instagram impressions refer to the number of times your content has been viewed. This is commonly confused with Instagram Reach, which is the number of unique visitors who've seen your content. On the other hand, engagement encompasses interactions with your content, including likes, comments, and shares. When it comes to measuring the return on investment (ROI) of your social media account, both impressions and engagement are crucial factors to consider.

Impressions are significant as they indicate the frequency at which your post has been seen, while engagement reveals the level of interaction, such as likes, comments, or shares. It's important to remember, that neither of these directly measures sales or leads, but rather how your audience is consuming your content. You'll be surprised how often it happens, but sometimes your most loyal customers don't interact with your content, and sometimes your most loyal commenters, don't always purchase from you. This is why it is important to look at the bigger picture and set SMART goals for both metrics.

Are Instagram Impressions or Engagement rates more important to measure for ROI?

Which do we track for ROI? Both. Inside your social media content strategy, you need to set SMART goals for both impressions and engagement. These both work together to give you a bigger picture of your content's success. For example, if your impressions are high, but your engagement is low, you have to re-evaluate your call-to-action.

In conclusion, we recommend crafting specific goals for each metrics and consider both when reviewing ROI, it is important to focus on both impressions and engagement when evaluating your social media account's ROI.

In order to realize the full potential of your investment, you have to have metrics to measure it's all around success. This not only establishes what decisions you can make on future investments, but it can also assist you with adjust where you al