Get More Eyes on Your Content: How to Increase Your Social Media Reach

With 4.59 billion global social media users, any business, no matter its size, has huge potential to get its brand message heard.

The key to getting your message heard, read, or seen by your target audience on social media is to understand what reach is and how to increase it on each platform.

What is social media reach?

As a social media manager, one of your key goals is to get your content seen by the right people. That’s where social media reach comes in.

Why is social media reach important?

Understanding your reach helps you gauge the visibility of your brand and whether your content strategy is effective. A high reach means your content is being seen by a large and diverse audience, which increases opportunities for engagement, brand awareness, and even conversions. 

Here’s why social media reach matters:

• Expands brand awareness – The more people see your content, the more familiar they become with your brand.
• Increases engagement potential – While reach itself isn’t engagement, it sets the foundation. If your reach is low, your engagement opportunities shrink.
• Impacts algorithm performance – Platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook prioritise content that reaches and engages more users, increasing your chances of getting featured in feeds and discovery pages.
• Helps optimise content strategy – If your reach is consistently low, it’s a sign you might need to adjust your content, posting times, or distribution strategy. Ensure you have clearly defined social media content pillars so you can understand which part of your social media plan needs adjustments. We suggest you try Sendible's Campaign tracking to save time and get precise data.

By tracking and improving your reach, you ensure that your content isn't just created but actually seen by the right people—giving your social media efforts the impact they deserve.

How to measure social media reach?

As a social media manager, tracking your reach helps you understand how well your content is performing and whether you're actually getting in front of your target audience. Most social media platforms provide reach metrics within their analytics dashboards, making it easy to monitor your performance.

Key ways to measure social media reach

1. Native analytics tools
   Every major social media platform offers insights into reach:

   • Facebook & Instagram (via Meta Business Suite) – Shows reach for posts, Stories, Reels, and ads.
   • LinkedIn Analytics – Tracks post and page reach.
   • Twitter/X Analytics – Provides data on impressions, but reach must be estimated.
   • TikTok Analytics – Displays video reach under the "Followers" and "Content" tabs.
     
     

2. Organic reach vs. paid reach

   • Organic reach is the number of unique users who see your content without paid promotion.
   • Paid reach comes from ads or boosted posts, helping expand your audience beyond your existing followers.
     
     

3. Post vs. account reach

   • Post reach measures how many unique users saw a specific post.
   • Account/page reach looks at the total unique users who viewed any content from your profile over a specific period.
     
     

4. Reach rate calculation
   To understand your reach in relation to your audience sise, use this formula:
   Reach Rate = (Post Reach / Total Followers) × 100
   This helps you compare the effectiveness of different posts and optimise your strategy.

How to track reach effectively

• Monitor trends over time – A sudden drop in reach might signal algorithm changes or declining audience interest.
• Compare reach across content types – See whether videos, images, or carousels generate higher reach.
• Compare reach across content pillars—See which of your content pillars are performing better and double down on them. Consider rethinking the ones that aren't contributing to your goals.
• Segment by audience demographics – If your reach isn’t aligning with your target audience, adjust your content strategy.
• Calculate the engagement rate—You must ensure your engagement rate is high enough to understand whether you're reaching the right target audience.

By consistently measuring and analysing reach, you can refine your social media approach to maximise visibility and engagement with the right audience.

Social media reach vs. impressions: What’s the difference?

As a social media manager, you’ve likely come across both reach and impressions in your analytics dashboard. While they might seem similar, they measure different things—and understanding the distinction is crucial for optimising your content strategy.

Which metric should you focus on?

Both metrics are important, but their significance depends on your goal:

✅ Focus on Reach if:

• You’re trying to expand brand awareness and attract new audiences.
• Your content needs more visibility in feeds.
• You want to test new formats (Reels, Carousels, or Lives) to increase exposure.

✅ Focus on Impressions if:

• You want to increase engagement and recall (e.g., ad campaigns often optimize for high impressions).
• You’re retargeting existing audiences to reinforce messaging.
• Your goal is to keep your brand top of mind by repeatedly appearing in users’ feeds.

How to reach your target audience on social media

Increasing your reach isn’t just about posting more—it’s about posting smarter.

The algorithms on every platform prioritise content differently, so if you want to expand your audience consistently, you need to optimise your approach strategically.

Below are data-backed, actionable tactics you can implement today to maximise your social media reach and reach your target audience.

General strategies to increase social media reach

1. Leverage formats designed for reach

Not all content types get distributed the same way. Based on recent platform updates:

• Instagram Reels are shown to non-followers first, making them ideal for discovery.
• Carousels are shown to followers first, maximising engagement with your existing audience.
• Stories grow reach when people interact with them (stickers, polls, Q&A).
• Short-form video (Reels, TikToks, YouTube Shorts) typically has higher reach potential than static posts.

2. Experiment strategically (and track results)

Jumping on trends can work if done correctly, but experimenting with content needs to be methodical.

• Test one variable at a time (e.g., post timing, format, CTA style) and track the results.
• Use platform insights to see what gets the best reach, then double down on what works.
• Follow trends that fit your brand—don’t just copy viral content, make it relevant to your audience.

3. Maximise social SEO (Yes, SEO applies to social!)

Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn now prioritise search-based content, meaning your posts should be optimised like a blog post:

• Use keyword-rich captions that match what people search for.
• Optimise your bio with searchable keywords.
• Hashtags should be niche & relevant—avoid broad, overused ones.

4. Hashtags and location tags matter (but use them wisely)

• Instagram & TikTok: Use a mix of broad and niche hashtags (e.g., #SocialMediaTips vs. #InstagramMarketingForSmallBiz).
• LinkedIn: 3-5 targeted hashtags per post work best.
• Stories & Reels: Adding location tags boosts reach, especially for local businesses.

5. Collaborate with influencers & industry experts

Partnering with influencers or experts instantly expands your reach to a wider, yet relevant audience.

• Micro-influencers (10K-100K followers) tend to have higher engagement rates than larger influencers.
• Collabs and shoutouts introduce your brand to new audiences.
• Co-host live sessions on Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube to attract both your audience and theirs.

6. Go Live (especially with guests!)

Live videos increase reach and engagement because platforms prioritise real-time content.

• Instagram & LinkedIn Lives notify followers when you go live.
• YouTube & Facebook Lives get recommended to non-followers in search.
• Q&A sessions, interviews, and behind-the-scenes content work best.

7. Use trending topics, sounds, and memes

• Trending sounds boost discoverability on Instagram Reels and TikTok.
• Jumping on viral challenges & memes (if relevant) increases shareability.
• Commenting on trending topics on Twitter & LinkedIn helps you get noticed.

Platform-specific tactics for increasing reach

📍 Instagram

• Use Carousels to increase engagement with followers & trigger more visibility.
• Reels should use trending sounds and searchable captions to boost reach.
• Post interactive Stories with polls and Q&As daily—higher interaction = bigger reach.
• Add location tags and stickers for local or event-based visibility.

📍 LinkedIn

• Text-based posts with a strong opening line often outperform images.
• Use strategic hashtags (3-5 per post) and write keyword-rich captions.
• Tag relevant professionals and comment on industry discussions to expand reach.

📍 TikTok

• Trending sounds and captions matter—use viral audio whenever possible.
• Reply to comments with a TikTok video to drive more engagement & visibility.
• Shorter videos (7-15 sec) tend to get better reach unless you hook viewers early.

📍 X (Twitter)

• Use Threads (multi-tweet posts) to extend reach over time.
• Jump on trending conversations but add a unique perspective.
• Retweet your own top-performing tweets to resurface them.

📍 Threads (Coming soon to Sendible)

• Engage with trending discussions to get seen by more users.
• Ask open-ended questions—Threads prioritises interactive posts.
• Tag relevant brands or influencers in conversations to expand reach.

📍 YouTube

• YouTube Shorts have massive reach potential—post short clips from your long-form videos.
• Keyword-rich video titles & descriptions help in search discovery.
• Ask viewers to engage (likes, comments) early in the video to boost algorithm signals.