- Viral impressions come from the organic shares of a sponsored post: they aren't billed.
- They still count in total impressions, which artificially lowers the CPM shown CPM.
- A high viral rate is a signal of successful content, and a reason not to compare CPMs across campaigns.
Definition
A viral impression is a display resulting from a member's organic share of a sponsored post, at no cost to the advertiser.
Worked example
A campaign records 180,000 impressions of which 34,000 viral, so 19%. The apparent CPM is 42 euros; computed on paid impressions only, it's 52 euros. Comparing this CPM to that of a campaign with no virality would skew the decision.
Orders of magnitude
Virality is marginal on most classic ad formats, and markedly higher on sponsored executive posts, where the audience shares willingly.
The most common mistakes
- Comparing CPMs across campaigns of different virality. The apparent CPM falls mechanically as virality rises.
- Reading it as advertising performance. It's editorial performance, earned by the content and not by the bid.
- Ignoring it in the real-reach calculation. It broadens reach beyond the paid targeting, sometimes off-target.
Where to find the metric
In LinkedIn Ads, the Viral impressions, Viral clicks and Viral engagements columns, to distinguish from the equivalent paid columns.
Frequently asked questions
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