What’s the difference between impressions and engagements?

Social media expert explains what social media analytics mean

An impression isn't the same as engagement.

One of Axia Public Relations’ favorite social media publishing tools is HubSpot. Yet HubSpot isn’t a fit for every company, so we often recommend Buffer as an alternate because it’s so easy to use and offers analytics that update daily. It’s important to understand the meaning of your social analytics. How is post reach different from post impressions? And what’s the difference between engaged Facebook users and Twitter engagements?

Learn what each measurement means below.

Facebook

Post reach: the number of unique people who saw any of your posts
Post impressions: the number of times people saw any of your posts
Post clicks: the number of post clicks
Reactions: the total number of reactions you earned during selected date range
Engaged users: the total number of unique, engaged users. These users have liked your page or clicked on your content (includes comments, shares, reactions, etc.).
Page and post engagements: the total number of earned engagements, including reactions, shares, comments, event RSVPs, page likes, page mentions and check-ins
New fans: the net gain of fans you earned during the selected date range
Video views: the number of times your video was viewed for three seconds or more

Twitter

Tweets: the number of tweets sent in the selected date range, not including replies or retweets
Retweets: the number of retweets you received on tweets sent in the selected date range
Clicks: the number of clicks you earned, as recorded by Twitter, on tweets sent in the selected date range
Impressions: the number of impressions on a tweet sent in the selected date range. An impression is the number of times a tweet appears to users in either their timeline or search results.
New followers: the number of followers you gained during selected date range
Engagements: the total number of times a user interacted with the tweets you sent during the selected date range. Interactions include retweets, replies, follows, likes and clicks on links, cards, hashtags, embedded media, username, profile photo or tweet expansion.
Likes: the number of likes received on tweets sent in the selected date range
Replies: the number of replies received on the tweets sent in the selected date range
Video views: the number of times your video was viewed for three seconds or more

Google+

Comments: the number of times users commented on your posts
Clicks: the number of post clicks

Axia Public Relations can help your company develop a social media strategy that grows your business and establishes your company as a thought-leader in your industry. We’ll send you monthly activities and outputs reports that include the analytics that are important to your company. Learn more about our social media services and how we create content that resonates with your target audiences.

Clients love Becca’s cooperative spirit and work ethic. She excels at telling stories. Becca oversees blogging and social media campaigns and has earned her certification in inbound marketing. Becca joined Axia in February 2016. Learn more about Becca.