Recently I was reviewing the analytics of web site and social media activity with a customer. As we were reviewing the numbers, he asked me about the difference in web site page views and impressions on social media. It was a very good question. Most people would think they are equal, but they are not. I explained that a page view on a web site is a measure of how many times the page is opened during a specific time frame (typically measured in weeks or months.) Impressions are simply the number of times a post on social media has appeared on a news feed. "Then a person who opens their social media home page in which our post appears is counted as an impression, even if they do not read the post?” I told him he was correct. "I feel a lot worse about our social media presence!” he exclaimed. I went on to explain that both a web site page view and a social media impression had value, but they are not equal. They do different things, but should not be confused for each other.

Let’s start with the social media impression. Let me explain that I am not talking about an engaged action – liking, sharing, commenting. I am talking about the appearance of your posts on your followers/connections home page. As people are perusing these pages, they may or may not see your post, but it is counted as an impression. I liken it to putting a billboard on a highway where thousands of people travel each day. We can count the cars and make some assumptions about the impact of marketing conveyed through that roadside sign. Impressions and billboards are there to make you aware of a brand, first and foremost. They are also there to give you just enough information to pique your interest so you take an action to learn more. In the case of a social media post, we are looking for clicks, likes, shares and comments.

In the case of your web site, a page view is not a casual drive by experience. Typically, visitors to your web site are searching for specific information when they view your site. This would be akin to someone who drives into a retail store looking for a specific item. They may have been drawn to the store by a piece of advertising or the store brand.

Just what do the analytics tell you about your success as a marketer for your company? For one, a web site visitor delivering page views is much more engaged in your products and services – and more likely closer to a purchase – than you will find on social media. However, the social media impression may have a greater impact on reaching your target market than the web site can do on its own. How so? Whenever you can get someone to actually read your social media posts, you have the opportunity to start an awareness marketing chain reaction in motion. If they take an engaged action on your post, that information is then spread to all of their connections. This, in turn, gives you more impressions. More impressions gives you more opportunities for more engaged actions. This all happens outside of the people who are already looking at your web site. It happens outside of people who are using a search engine to find someone to do what you do. In essence, it broadens your appeal to people who might not even know they need you yet.