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The Reach Metric Explained

Learn about the metric that will indicate the potential views a post may receive

Camille Kasmi avatar
Written by Camille Kasmi
Updated over 2 weeks ago

The Reach metric indicates the potential number of views that a mention from your alert may receive. You will have access to the reach metric across multiple areas of your Mention platform.

Types of Reach

Depending on the Source, Mention calculates Reach differently to estimate potential viewership.

Direct Reach

Function: Shows the potential views of a specific social media post.
​Scope: Social media sources only.
​Notes: Indicates the impact of the specific account that published the post.

Example:
If you receive a mention from Twitter, the reach number shows how many potential viewers may see the specific tweet.

Domain Reach

Function: Indicates the potential audience size of an entire website.
​Scope: Web mentions (News, Blogs, Forums, Web).
​Notes: Shows popularity at the domain level.

Example:
If a Report includes a mention from The New York Times website, the reach number indicates the site’s potential audience size.

Cumulative Reach

Function: Total sum of all Direct + Domain Reach values across selected mentions.
​Scope: Appears in certain graphs and exports.
​Notes: Useful for aggregated metrics across multiple sources.

Example:
A QuickChart graph combining Twitter, News, and Blog mentions will display cumulative reach for all selected sources.

Sources with Reach Data

Reach is available for these sources:

  • Web: Domain Reach

  • News: Domain Reach

  • Blogs: Domain Reach

  • Forums: Domain Reach

  • Twitter: Direct Reach

  • Facebook Monitored Pages: Number of likes of the Facebook page

⚙️ Instagram reach is not fetched for monitored pages.

Mention does not fetch Reach for:

  • Videos

  • Reddit

Where to View Reach in the Mention Platform

Below are all areas of the platform where Reach appears, including source limitations and feature-specific behavior.

Mention Feed

  • Shows Reach for social media mentions.

  • Open a mention to view Reach at the bottom.

Influencers Dashboard

  • Displays Reach for Twitter and Web mentions when data is available.

  • Includes a dedicated Reach column.

QuickChart

  • Displays Reach for any source that provides Reach data.

  • You can create a Reach-specific graph.

⚙️ Some graphs display cumulative reach. Use Filters to view Reach by specific source types.

How Reach is Displayed in Reports

Mention Reports will display the reach metric in a variety of different ways depending on the Report you create. Here is a breakdown of the reports that can display reach:

Listening Reports / Comparative Reports

  • Automatically include a Reach graph and Reach list.

Mentions List*

  • Displays the Reach number beside each mention.

Custom Report*

  • Allows manual creation of Reach graphs.

⚙️ Mentions List and Custom Reports are only available on the Company Plan.

Does Reach Appear in Data Exports?

Yes, Reach will appear in data exports:

  • Exports include Reach data when available.

  • Columns separate Reach into direct, domain, and cumulative.

How does Mention Calculate Reach?

Learn how Mention calculates Reach for web and social media sources.

Web, Blogs, Forums, and News Mentions – Domain Reach

For Web mentions, Reach represents the potential audience size of the entire website, known as domain reach.

How Mention Calculates Domain Reach

🧠 Mention combines:

  • External data from the top 10 million websites

  • Internal models + internal data

This produces an estimated number of potential visitors.

💡 Web mentions include: News, Blogs, Forums, Reddit, Web. All display Reach when available.

⚙️ Some web mentions may not display Reach due to low traffic.

Social Media Mentions – Direct Reach

For social media, Reach shows the potential number of views for a specific post. Each platform uses a distinct method.

Twitter

🧠 Reach = followers of the posting account + followers of retweeters

Example:

  • Original profile: 1000 followers

  • Retweeter 1: 200 followers

  • Retweeter 2: 300 followers
    ​Reach = 1500

Facebook Reach

  • Available for public Facebook business pages.

  • Reach = number of likes of the Facebook page

Exception:

  • Reach is not collected for profiles marked as Digital Creator.

Instagram Reach


⚙️ Not calculated for posts fetched through Monitored pages.

Thank you! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected].

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