← DictionaryReach
The number of distinct people who saw content.
How many different people saw it.
What It Is
Reach sits on the Measurement side of the work, in the Engagement area. In practice it means this: the number of distinct people who saw content.
It is something measured and compared over time, so one reading in isolation tells you almost nothing. That is the version worth keeping, because it survives contact with a real project.
How It's Used
You will usually meet Reach in reporting, analytics reviews and the arguments about what the numbers mean. It normally appears alongside Impressions, Frequency and Distribution. The practical test is whether it is measured the same way each period, against something.
Why It Matters
Reach is cheap to get right early and awkward to fix late. When it is unclear, reporting becomes a matter of opinion. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a speedometer. It tells you how fast, not whether you are going the right way. How many different people saw it.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Reach carries the narrow meaning: the number of distinct people who saw content.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Reach is how many different people saw it.
The Bottom Line
Treat Reach as a decision, not a description. How many different people saw it.