CPM (Cost Per Mille)

Influencer CPM is worked out after a campaign, from what the creator was paid and how many impressions the post actually received, so it cannot be looked up in advance. Smaller creators often cost more per thousand impressions, because a fee or a comp meal is spread over a smaller audience, but that audience is more local and more engaged. Larger creators usually cost less per thousand impressions and reach an audience that is broader and less likely to live near the restaurant. CPM is most useful for comparing creators within the same campaign, measured the same way.

CPM measures the cost-efficiency of reach — how much it costs to get content in front of people. CPC, or Cost Per Click, measures the cost of driving a specific action, namely a click. CPA, or Cost Per Acquisition, measures the cost of driving an actual conversion, such as a reservation or purchase. Each metric serves a different purpose in evaluating campaign performance, and CPM is most useful at the awareness stage of the marketing funnel.

While CPM is useful for comparing cost-efficiency across campaigns, it has significant limitations for restaurant marketing. CPM tells you how efficiently you are reaching people, but not whether those people live near your restaurant, are likely to dine out, or actually noticed the content. Take an influencer with a low CPM but a nationally spread audience. For a single-city restaurant, that creator may do worse than a higher-CPM creator whose audience lives in the restaurant's city. For this reason, CPM is best used alongside location-based and engagement metrics rather than as a standalone measure of success.