No, LinkedIn impressions and views are not the same thing. On LinkedIn, an impression refers to the number of times your content has been displayed to other users. A view refers to the number of times your content has actually been clicked on and engaged with by another user. Some key differences between impressions and views on LinkedIn include:
What is an impression on LinkedIn?
A LinkedIn impression simply means your content was loaded on someone’s feed. It does not mean they actually looked at or engaged with your post in any way. LinkedIn counts an impression whenever your content is displayed to another user while scrolling through their feed.
Some examples of what counts as an impression include:
- Your post appearing in another user’s main feed
- Your post appearing in another user’s email digest summary
- Sponsored content you’ve paid to promote appearing in another user’s feed
Even if the user scrolls past your post quickly without reading it, it still counts as an impression. Impressions measure the reach of your content and how many times it was surfaced to users on LinkedIn.
What is a view on LinkedIn?
A view on LinkedIn means another user actually clicked on and opened up your content. For a view to be counted, the user has to click on your post and actively engage with it for some period of time. This demonstrates a higher level of interest and engagement vs just an impression.
Some examples of what counts as a view include:
- Clicking on your article post so it expands in their feed
- Watching at least some portion of a video you’ve shared
- Expanding an image to view it in more detail
- Scrolling through multiple pages of a long post
Views are a signal that users took the time to actually consume and interact with your content in some way, rather than just passively seeing it.
Why do views matter more than impressions?
While impressions indicate reach, views better demonstrate real engagement. Even though impressions can help make your content more discoverable, views indicate your content resonated enough that another user actually clicked on it.
Some reasons why LinkedIn views are typically more valuable than impressions include:
- Views show your content is engaging enough that people want to actually read/watch it.
- Higher views make your post more likely to appear for other users in the future.
- Users have to take action (clicking) for a view, whereas impressions can occur passively.
- Views indicate users are interested enough in your content to actively consume it.
- High view counts can improve your LinkedIn profile and company page authority.
For most purposes on LinkedIn, views carry more weight than impressions and are a stronger signal that your content is resonating with its intended audience. However, both metrics provide value.
Should you focus on impressions or views?
The best strategy is to aim for a balance of impressions and views. Here are some tips on optimizing both:
- Impressions help get your content discovered, so use relevant keywords and hashtags.
- Catchy headlines and preview images can garner more clicks and views.
- Well-written, valuable content keeps people engaged to drive up view time.
- Promote and share your posts to reach more potential readers.
- Post at optimal times when your audience is most active on LinkedIn.
- Analyze performance data to create more engaging content down the line.
Monitor both your impressions and views over time, and aim to increase both metrics through testing and optimization. More impressions give your content more opportunities to be seen, while higher view rates mean your content resonates once people see it.
Tips for increasing LinkedIn impressions
Here are some proven tips for getting your LinkedIn posts and content seen by more users to drive up impressions:
- Post frequently and consistently to stay top of mind.
- Use relevant hashtags so your content appears in keyword searches.
- Ask connections to like and share your posts to boost reach.
- Comment and engage with others’ content to expand your audience.
- Follow trending LinkedIn topics and news to create timely posts.
- Advertise or sponsor posts to promote them to targeted users.
- Optimize your profile to be discoverable by more users.
The more active you are on LinkedIn, the more opportunities your content will have to be impressed. Think about who your ideal audience is and take actions to get your posts surfaced to those users.
Tips for increasing LinkedIn views
To turn those impressions into higher view counts, focus on creating compelling, engaging content. Some ways to drive more LinkedIn users to view your posts include:
- Write eye-catching headlines to boost click-through rates.
- Use strong calls-to-action in your posts to prompt clicks.
- Craft content tailored to your audience’s interests.
- Insert relevant images, stats, links, and multimedia.
- Write longer posts with scannable formatting and sections.
- Time posts when your audience is most active online.
- Promote your best-performing post types and topics.
Analyze your posts over time and double down on what proves to resonate in terms of subject matter, format, headlines, and calls-to-action. This will organically increase views.
Should you buy LinkedIn impressions or views?
LinkedIn does offer paid advertising options to promote your posts and content to more users in their feeds. However, you cannot outright buy impressions or views directly from LinkedIn.
There are third-party sites that claim to sell LinkedIn impressions and views. However, this violates LinkedIn’s terms of service and could potentially damage your account. It’s best to avoid these quick fixes and instead focus on organic strategies to increase reach and engagement.
Some legitimate ways to get your content in front of more LinkedIn users include:
- Using LinkedIn’s built-in “Boost Post” advertising option.
- Promoting content through a LinkedIn Sponsored Content campaign.
- Paying to display Sponsored Messages to targeted users.
- Running LinkedIn Text Ads that link to your posts or page.
These paid tactics should be used judiciously along with your organic efforts to increase impressions and views over time.
How to check your LinkedIn impressions and views
LinkedIn makes it easy to monitor your impressions and views within your account analytics. Here’s how to find these metrics:
- Go to your LinkedIn Profile page
- Click on the “Me” icon in the top navbar
- Select “View profile” from the dropdown menu
- Click on the “Analytics” tab at the top of your profile
- Scroll down to the Posts section
- Here you can view impressions and views for your last 10 posts
You can also see analytics for specific posts by clicking the timestamp below the post. Companies can view impressions and views for their LinkedIn Page posts in their Page analytics.
Third-party social media management platforms like Hootsuite also provide analytics on LinkedIn content engagement.
Analyzing these metrics over time can help you identify trends and optimize your LinkedIn content strategy for maximum reach and engagement.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn impressions indicate how often your content was displayed to users, while views reveal how many times users actually clicked and engaged with your posts. While impressions help improve discoverability, views are a stronger signal of content resonance and quality. Focus on consistently creating engaging, audience-centered content to boost both impressions and views on LinkedIn over time.
The key points are:
- LinkedIn impressions are when your post appears in someone’s feed but may not have been clicked or read.
- LinkedIn views occur when a user clicks on your post to read the full content.
- Views demonstrate higher engagement vs. impressions alone.
- Use relevant keywords and hashtags to increase impressions.
- Write catchy headlines and calls-to-action to drive more views.
- Monitor your analytics to identify content that resonates.
- Balance paid promotion and organic strategies to increase reach.
Focus on value-driven content that engages your target audience. This will organically grow both your LinkedIn impressions and view counts over time.