Influencer Marketing: Meta Instagram Reel Views & Deprecating Impressions

Sprout Social Influencer Marketing (IM) now includes an update that enhances how Instagram Reels performance data is captured and reported. 

Beginning October 28th, 2025, actual Reels Views will be available for all Instagram Reels, regardless of creator authentication status as a result of a recent Meta API update. This improvement streamlines reporting, allowing you to more easily evaluate campaign performance and return on investment.

Additionally, as part of Meta’s updates, they’ve deprecated Impressions reporting on all Instagram content types, excluding Partnership Ads and Meta Ads. In accordance with Meta transitioning to Views as their new measurement standard, and to ensure consistent reporting across all social networks, Sprout Social Influencer Marketing will also deprecate the Impressions metric going forward (excluding Meta Ads and Partnership Ads), transitioning to Views as the standard throughout the platform.

Together, these updates will provide more consistency across networks and a clearer reflection of how audiences engage with content today.

What changes to expect?

Impressions are being deprecated

Impressions data will no longer be available for organic content outside of Meta Ads or Partnership Ads. This aligns with Meta’s API updates and ensures consistency across all networks (many of which do not provide Impressions metrics).

Views are the new standard

Views will now replace Impressions across all content types and networks, including images and videos.

Where available, historical Impressions values will be migrated to Views to maintain continuity in your reporting.

• Where you previously saw Impressions, you’ll now see Views.
• Historical Impressions values will be mapped to Views where possible.
• For any posts without actual Views data, we’ll display Estimated Views.

How This Affects Your Reporting

How will these changes affect each platform?

Instagram

• Reels Views Available for All Posts: You’ll now see actual Reels Views for all Reels posts, regardless of creator authentication.
• Impressions Deprecated: Organic Impressions are no longer available through the Meta API. However, they will be available in paid data.
• Estimated Impressions Renamed: All Estimated Impressions will become Estimated Views.

Facebook

• Estimated Impressions have been replaced by Estimated Views.
• Views Introduced as Replacement: Historical Impressions values will be migrated to Views where possible.
• Paid and Partnership Ads Unchanged: Impressions will remain available for these ad types.

TikTok, YouTube & X:

• Minimal changes: These networks previously prioritized Views over Impressions. With the introduction of Estimated Views, we will now provide estimates in scenarios where creator authentication is required but not complete.

Why This Change Matters

These updates ensure:

• Alignment with Meta’s new API standards.
• Improved accuracy and reliability for content performance metrics, especially Reels.
• Consistency across networks, simplifying multi-platform reporting.
• Modernized engagement metrics that reflect true audience behaviour.

While we recognize this change may affect some workflows or historical comparisons, it represents an important step toward a unified and industry-standard measurement model.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I lose access to historical Impressions data?
Historical Impressions values will be migrated to Views wherever possible. However, Impressions will no longer be available after October 28th, 2025.

What about Meta Ads or Partnership Ads?
These are the only content types where Impressions will remain available, as Meta still supports those metrics for paid campaigns.

How can I prepare my team for these changes?
We recommend communicating this update to internal stakeholders and adjusting any reporting templates that currently rely on Impressions. Engagement Rate and EMV formulas should be reviewed to ensure consistency.

Do I need to do anything to access Reels Views?
No action is required. Actual Reels Views will automatically appear for all Reels posts.

Why are Impressions being removed?
Meta has updated its API to no longer include Impressions for Reels. This ensures consistency with Instagram’s official reporting, maintaining accuracy and trust.

What’s the difference between Impressions and Views?

Historically, Impressions counted the number of times content was displayed, regardless of whether it was actively watched. Views reflect actual plays of a Reel, providing a clearer measure of engagement with video content, and it is tallied the second the Reel begins to play

Will this change affect historical data?
Wherever possible, Instagram is backfilling Reel View data. However, Impressions will no longer be available moving forward, so historical reporting will shift to Views.

For Earned Media Value (EMV), how will removing VPV and updating VPM to be per 1,000 views change what I see as far as EMV values?

There will be minimal impact on Instagram posts. On other networks, you’ll see a decrease in EMV values in accordance with the below. Up to a:

• ~75% decrease for YouTube
• ~50% decrease for TikTok
• ~50 decrease for X

Does this decrease in EMV mean my campaign was any less impactful? 

No, the lower EMV does not mean your campaign or posts were less impactful. Previously, your EMV calculation might have accounted for both views and impressions (or estimated impressions). Unless you removed either views or impressions from your customizable EMV formula, having both could have been considered duplicative. As impressions become removed from the equation, the EMV values will decrease as a result. Any decrease will purely be a function of removing impressions, and not an indicator of campaign success or not.

If I were to build a report and pivot out EMV for all months prior to the update, and then the subsequent months, would I see a significant drop in EMV in that report?

No, because impressions will be removed from Influencer Marketing and views (or estimated views) populated on all posts retroactively, you will see consistency from month to month in accordance with the customizable EMV formula you have set in your Workspace, Campaign or Report Settings.

Can I still use EMV as a means to benchmark my brand’s performance vs. competitors in Reports?

Definitely! The formula you set in Workspace Settings or in individual Reports will serve as the formula that your brand and your competitor brand posts have EMV calculated by. Each post is assessed the same way, so you’ll still have an excellent read on your trajectory vs. competitors. However, the dollar values will be less in many cases.

Do I need to take any action?
No action is required from you or your creators. These changes will automatically apply across Sprout Social Influencer Marketing to ensure reporting stays accurate and consistent with Meta’s standards. As Views is not a 1:1 replacement for Impressions, it may be helpful to socialize these changes with key stakeholders as these changes may impact your team’s measurement and reporting practices. 

What type of data is included in Instagram Reels Views?

Instagram Reels "Views" represent Total Views (Organic + Paid Views).
For all other Instagram post types (Photo, Carousel, Story), Views represent Organic Views.