Guide
Organic reach is the people who see your post without ads
Updated
Organic reach is the number of people who see your post without you paying to promote it. Each person counts once, however many times they saw the post.
In short
- Organic reach is the number of people who saw your unpaid post on their screen.
- Paid reach is the number of people who saw your post because you paid to show it as an ad.
- Reach counts people and impressions count views, so one person who saw a post twice is 1 reach and 2 impressions.
- Meta Business Suite and Instagram Insights show the reach of each post.
- Organic reach costs no ad money, but every post has to earn its own views.
What is organic reach?
Organic reach is how many different people saw a post you did not pay to promote.
- Meta defines it as the number of people who had an unpaid post from your Page on their screen.
- Each person counts once, even if they saw the post several times.
- It includes your followers and anyone else the app showed the post to.
- Instagram shows how many accounts saw a post as Accounts reached, in Insights.
Organic reach vs paid reach
Organic reach is free and slow. Paid reach is bought with an ad budget and stops when the budget stops.
- A boosted post is an ad, so the people it reaches through the boost count as paid reach.
- On Facebook, someone who saw a post both ways counts once in organic reach and once in paid reach.
Organic and paid reach side by side
| Compared on | Organic reach | Paid reach |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for views | Nothing | Your ad budget |
| Speed | Slow, post by post | Right away |
| Predictable | No, it differs per post | Mostly, more budget means more views |
| When it stops | Older posts can still be found | When the budget runs out |
| Best for | Building an audience that knows you | Reaching new people when you choose |
Compared on: What you pay for views
- Organic reach
- Nothing
- Paid reach
- Your ad budget
Compared on: Speed
- Organic reach
- Slow, post by post
- Paid reach
- Right away
Compared on: Predictable
- Organic reach
- No, it differs per post
- Paid reach
- Mostly, more budget means more views
Compared on: When it stops
- Organic reach
- Older posts can still be found
- Paid reach
- When the budget runs out
Compared on: Best for
- Organic reach
- Building an audience that knows you
- Paid reach
- Reaching new people when you choose
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Reach vs impressions
Reach counts people. Impressions count how many times the post was seen.
- If one person sees your post three times, that is 1 reach and 3 impressions.
- Impressions are always the same as reach or higher.
- Impressions divided by reach is the frequency: how many times the average person saw the post.
How a post gets organic reach
No app publishes its full formula, but they all show a post to more people when the first viewers respond well.
- The app first shows a new post to a small group of people.
- If they watch to the end, like, comment, share or follow, the app shows it to more people.
- If they scroll past, the post stops spreading.
- A big following gives a post a bigger first audience, but it does not guarantee reach.
How a post spreads without ads
The same steps repeat for as long as each new group keeps watching.
You post
The app shows it to a small group
People react
They watch, share, comment or scroll past
The app decides
Good reactions mean more people see it
It repeats
Until people stop watching
How to get more organic reach
These habits help on most platforms.
- Make the first seconds clear, because people decide quickly whether to keep watching.
- Post regularly, so you get more chances to be shown to new people.
- Use vertical 9:16 video on TikTok, Reels and Shorts, so the video fills the screen.
- Add captions, so people can follow the video with the sound off.
- Answer questions your customers ask, because people search for those.
Where Cutroom fits
Organic reach costs no ad money, but it takes a steady supply of videos. Cutroom does the editing part.
- You upload one video of yourself talking, up to 3 minutes long.
- Cutroom adds captions timed to your voice, puts b-roll on the words you pick and, on the Punch and Native styles, shortens the pauses.
- You get a finished 9:16 MP4 for TikTok, Reels or Shorts.
What a video costs in Cutroom
A 30-second video is 100 credits for the edit plus 10 for the export.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Edit one video | 100 credits |
| Export | 20 credits per minute of video |
| One finished 30-second video | 110 credits |
| Lite plan | $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 such videos, with nothing on the picture |
| Your first video | Free, with no card, if you make it within 7 days. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite removes it |
Item: Edit one video
- Cost
- 100 credits
Item: Export
- Cost
- 20 credits per minute of video
Item: One finished 30-second video
- Cost
- 110 credits
Item: Lite plan
- Cost
- $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, about 11 such videos, with nothing on the picture
Item: Your first video
- Cost
- Free, with no card, if you make it within 7 days. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite removes it
Questions people ask
- What is the difference between organic and paid reach?
- Organic reach is people who saw your post for free. Paid reach is people who saw it because you paid for an ad. Organic is slow and hard to predict; paid is fast and stops when the budget stops.
- What is the difference between reach and impressions?
- Reach counts the number of different people who saw your post. Impressions count every view, including repeat views by the same person.
- Where can I see my organic reach?
- In the insights of each app. Meta Business Suite shows the reach of Facebook and Instagram posts, and Instagram shows it as Accounts reached.
- Is organic reach dead?
- No, but it is hard to predict. On TikTok, Reels and Shorts, posts are also shown to people who do not follow you, so a small account can still reach many people with one video.
- Does posting more increase organic reach?
- It gives you more chances, but each post is still judged on its own. Posting more also shows you faster which videos your audience watches.
- Is boosting a post organic reach?
- No. Once you pay to show a post, the people reached through that payment count as paid reach.
Upload one video of yourself talking and get a finished 9:16 video back. Your first video is free.