A guide to understanding and increasing Instagram impressions

What are Instagram impressions and why do they matter?

Instagram impressions show how many times your content appears on someone’s screen, whether that’s a feed post, Story, Reel, or even Instagram ads. If the same person sees the same post three times, that’s three post impressions. It doesn’t matter if they engage or not, every view counts.

This number might seem simple, but it’s one of the important metrics when you’re looking at Instagram performance. 

Here’s why Instagram impressions are important:

• The more impressions you get, the more people have seen your post. This tells you if your content is reaching a wider audience, not just your followers.
• If a post has high impressions, it means people are seeing it. If you’re getting a lot of impressions but not much engagement (like likes or comments), it might mean your post is visible but not really grabbing people’s attention.
• If you’re running ads, impressions show how often your ad has appeared in front of people. It helps you figure out if your ad is actually reaching enough eyes.
  If your impressions keep growing, it’s a good sign that your account is gaining more exposure and potentially attracting new followers.
• For influencers or brands, high impressions are a sign of your content’s influence. More impressions can make you more attractive for collaborations or sponsorships.

Use this detailed data to improve your Instagram marketing strategy. Whether you’re running a creator account or a business account, regularly view insights and dig into impressions data, it’s one of the best ways to see the complete picture of your account performance and get closer to real Instagram success.

What’s the difference between Instagram impressions and reach?

If you’ve ever opened your Instagram analytics and immediately wanted to close the app, you’re not alone. There are a lot of numbers flying around, and two that often trip people up are impressions and reach. They sound similar, but they actually measure very different things, and knowing the difference can help you understand what’s really going on with your content.

Let’s start with impressions. This is the total number of times your content was displayed on someone’s screen. That means if one person saw your post five times, it would count as five impressions. 

It includes everything:  people scrolling past your post in the feed, tapping through your Story, or coming across your Reel again and again. It’s a good indicator of how often your content is being served up by the algorithm, even if it’s to the same few people on repeat.

On the flip side, reach tells you how many individual people saw your post. So in the example above, if one person saw your post five times, your reach would still just be one. 

Reach is useful when you want to know how many unique accounts your content actually got in front of. If you’re running a campaign and want to expand your audience or get more eyes on your brand, this is the number you want to focus on.

So, in short:

• Impressions = total views (including repeat views)
  
• Reach = unique viewers

What’s the difference between Instagram impressions and engagement?

Now let’s talk about another pair that gets confused all the time: impressions and engagement.

Like we said earlier, impressions are all about how many times your content is shown. But just because your post was seen doesn’t mean anyone interacted with it. And that’s where engagement comes in.

Engagement measures the actual actions people take on your content. We’re talking likes, comments, shares, saves, and link clicks. It’s everything your audience does to show they’re interested in what you’re putting out there. 

High impressions with low engagement? That usually means your content is being seen, but it’s not really landing. On the other hand, if your engagement is high, that’s a sign your audience is paying attention, connecting with what you post, and maybe even coming back for more.

This is especially important if you’re trying to build a loyal following or drive people to take a specific action: like clicking a link in bio, signing up for something, or buying a product. You can’t just show up on their screen; you need them to care enough to do something.

How to view and track your Instagram impressions

To access your impressions, you’ll need a professional Instagram Creator or Business account. 

Follow these steps to view and monitor your Instagram impressions:

• Go to your browser and log in to your Instagram account.
• Click the Dashboard on the left side panel, then select Insights.

• Under Accounts Reached, you’ll see your Instagram impressions.

• You can also choose a specific post, Story, or Reel you want to analyze.
• Tap View Insights below the image/video and scroll to Accounts Reached. From there, you can view your Impressions.
• Monitor your impressions regularly to see how well your content is performing.