Navigating the Analytics Dashboard
Overview
The Analytics Dashboard gives you a comprehensive view of your social media performance across all connected platforms. Navigate month by month, filter by platform or content type, and see AI-powered insights — all in one place.
Analytics is available on all paid plans. Some features (like Benchmarks) require a Pro plan or above.
Before You Start
- Make sure at least one social account is connected in Team Settings > Social Accounts. Analytics uses data from published posts.
- Posts need at least 24–48 hours after publishing for platform stats (reach, engagement, views) to populate.
- The dashboard shows data for the team you currently have selected. Use the team switcher in the header to view another team.
How to Open Analytics
- Click Analytics in the left sidebar.
- The dashboard opens showing the current month by default.
- Use the left/right arrows next to the month name to navigate between months, or select a preset period (e.g., Last 30 Days, This Quarter, All Time).
Dashboard Sections
The dashboard is divided into scrollable sections. Use the section navigation bar at the top to jump to a specific area:
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Overview | KPI stat cards (posts published, reach, engagement rate, SAR), period-over-period comparison, and a monthly calendar heatmap showing daily post activity. |
| Reach & Engagement | Reach by platform bar chart, daily metrics line chart (with inline legend: dashed line = average, shaded area = range), engagement rate trends, and the Strategic Scatter Plot showing reach vs. engagement rate with dots color-coded by post purpose. |
| Benchmarking | Industry benchmarks comparing your metrics to similar accounts. Pro plan required. |
| Trophy Case | Your standout posts — top performers by engagement, reach, or SAR for the selected period. |
| Insights | Topics analysis (sunburst/treemap), posting time heatmap, content type breakdown, followers over time chart, and the AI-powered monthly narrative. |
| Content | A scrollable list of all posts in the period with sortable columns for reach, engagement, and SAR. Posts created outside Social Cascade are marked with a Self-published badge. Click any post to see its detail page. |
Audience Distribution
The Audience Distribution chart shows where your video views come from. It appears in the Overview section when view breakdown data is available (Facebook and TikTok posts only).
The donut chart splits your total views into three segments:
- Followers — Views from people who already follow your account.
- Non-Followers — Views from people who discovered your content organically but do not follow you (sometimes called "network" reach).
- Paid — Views from boosted or promoted posts.
The center of the chart shows your total view count for the selected period. Below the chart, a legend lists each segment with its count and percentage.
If only some of your posts have view breakdown data, the chart header shows how many posts are included (e.g., "3 of 8 posts"). Audience distribution is not available for Instagram or YouTube posts at this time.
Filtering Your Data
Three filter controls appear below the period selector:
- Platform Filter — Show data for a specific platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) or all platforms combined.
- Content Type Filter — Filter by content format: Video, Image, Carousel, or Story.
- Purpose Filter — Filter by post purpose (e.g., educational, promotional, engagement).
Filters apply to all sections simultaneously. The KPI cards and charts update immediately when you change a filter.
Key Metrics Explained
Hover over any metric card to see an info tooltip. Here is a quick reference:
- Reach — The number of unique accounts that saw your content. Learn more about Reach and Impressions →
- Engagement Rate — (Likes + Comments + Shares + Saves) / Reach. Learn more →
- SAR (Sustained Attention Rate) — A proprietary metric measuring how much sustained attention your content earns relative to its reach. Learn more →
- WERR (Weighted Engagement Rate) — Engagement rate weighted by interaction quality. Learn more →
- Time Saved — Estimated hours saved by using Social Cascade for content creation and scheduling this month.
- Followers Gained — Net new followers across connected accounts for the selected period.
Monthly AI Narrative
At the bottom of the Insights section, Social Cascade generates an AI-powered summary of your month. This narrative highlights your top-performing content, notable trends, and suggestions for next month. The narrative regenerates each time new data is available.
Quarterly Lookback
Select This Quarter from the period dropdown to see a three-month comparison view. Quarterly lookback shows trend lines and aggregated KPIs so you can spot growth patterns over a longer horizon.
Exporting Data
Click the Download button (arrow icon) at the top of the dashboard to export your analytics data as a CSV file. The export respects your current period and filter selections.
Topic Performance and SAR Heatmap
In the Insights section, the Topic Performance table ranks your top topics by engagement over a rolling 90-day window. Columns include Posts, Reach, Engagements, Engagement Rate, and SAR. Use the sort toggle to reorder by any of these metrics.
Click the expand chevron on any topic row to open an inline SAR Heatmap. The heatmap shows weekly SAR trends for that topic across three benchmarks:
- Your Practice — Your team's SAR for this topic over time.
- National Average — How similar practices perform on this topic nationally.
- State Average — Performance for practices in your state (when enough data is available).
Peak-performing weeks are highlighted in orange. Hover over any cell to see the exact SAR percentage and post count. Stars indicate weeks where your SAR was above average.
Topic Performance requires a Pro plan or above.
Strategic Scatter Plot
The Strategic Scatter Plot in the Reach & Engagement section maps each post by reach (x-axis, log scale) vs. engagement rate or sustained attention rate (y-axis). Each dot is color-coded by post purpose:
- ● Educational — Blue
- ● Resource Awareness — Green
- ● Reputation & Trust — Purple
- ● Access — Orange
- ● Untagged — Gray
The chart is divided into four quadrants by your average reach and engagement rate, giving you a quick read on each post's strategic position:
| Quadrant | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Star Content (top-right) | High reach AND high engagement — your best all-around performers. |
| Wide reach, low engagement (bottom-right) | Seen by many but not driving interaction — consider a stronger CTA. |
| High engagement, low reach (top-left) | Deeply resonates with a small audience — boosting may expand its reach. |
| Underperformer (bottom-left) | Below average in both dimensions — review the topic or timing. |
Use the metric toggle above the chart to switch between Engagement Rate and Sustained Attention Rate on the y-axis. Click any dot to open that post's detail page.
You can also filter the scatter plot by purpose using the purpose dropdown. When no attention data is available for SAR, the chart shows an empty-state message below the toggle — you can always switch back to Engagement Rate.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard shows no data | No posts have been published in the selected period, or your social accounts were recently connected. | Wait 24–48 hours after your first published post for stats to appear. Confirm your social account is connected in Team Settings. |
| Benchmarks section shows a lock icon | Benchmarks require a Pro plan. | Upgrade your plan in Team Settings > Subscription. |
| Followers Gained shows 0 | Follower snapshots are captured daily. If you just connected an account, the first delta appears after 24 hours. | Check back tomorrow. If it persists, reconnect the social account. |
| AI Narrative is empty | Not enough data to generate insights (fewer than 5 posts in the period). | Publish more content or select a longer period. |
| Audience Distribution chart is not showing | No Facebook or TikTok posts with view breakdown data exist in the selected period. | Audience distribution is only available for Facebook and TikTok. Publish video content on these platforms and check back after 48 hours. |
| Content Mix donut chart disappeared | The donut chart is hidden when you are viewing a rate metric (Engagement Rate or SAR) because rates are not part-of-whole data. | Switch the Insights metric selector back to a count-based metric like Reach or Posts Published to see the donut chart. |
FAQ
Q: How often does the data refresh?
A: Platform stats are updated every 24 hours. Newly published posts may take 24–48 hours to show complete metrics.
Q: Can I see analytics for a single post?
A: Yes. Click any post in the Content section to open its detail page with platform-specific metrics, engagement timeline, and comparison to your averages.
Q: Is the Analytics Dashboard available on mobile?
A: The full Analytics Dashboard is designed for desktop. The Social Cascade Teleprompter mobile app shows per-video performance but not the full dashboard experience.