Week 5 The Difference Between Post Reach and Post Engagement

Week 5 The Difference Between Post Reach and Post Engagement

Since I don’t have 30 likes on my “fake” Facebook, I won’t be able to access the tool -- “Insights”. So I am on an internet quest to search for the definitions of post reach and post engagement.

After reading a few articles, in the simplest terms, I understand the main difference is that post reach is the number of people who simply view your posts in their news feed and post engagement is the number of people who either click on it, like it, comment on it or share it. It somewhat equates to a person window shopping versus purchasing a product.

It’s important to distinguish between both terms because one indicates how many people read that post and the other shows how many people are genuinely interested in the product/service. Comparatively, a post that entices a customer or a post that induces a customer to buy the product.

The “post reach” figures are the number of people that were touched by a post and may potentially become a customer. To make them a customer, start crafting posts that will lead them to interact, which will facilitate the growth of a customer base. A post should include vital information that will compel people to take action.

The “post engagement” people had a positive reaction to the post.  It captured their interest so take the opportunity to establish a relationship in a timely manner. Pay close attention to what they say and want, which will ultimately help build the brand. Acknowledge them by offering a discount or coupon to keep them coming back. Connect with them via your posts.

How can a business use these insights to better serve their customers?  Analyzing the data of both numbers, a business can deduct which posts worked, peaked a viewer’s interest, and generated a response. It empowers a business owner to focus on the success of their business. It prompts them to ask the questions: Are they reaching their target audience, are their posts interesting enough to generate a reaction, what impact do their posts have on their followers, and how can they better connect with them. How can they retain them as a long-standing customer? In addition, they should keep track of the data changes because the demographics and psychographics may evolve into implementing a different business strategy.

Note: On Facebook they indicate that post reach figures are for the first 28 days after a post was created and the people engaged figures are for the last seven days.