If you don't keep a close eye on your Instagram analytics, you're missing out on the only way to know if your strategy is working or not. But analytics can be extremely overwhelming to dive into. Here are the top 5 you should focus on when you're starting out so you can get a clear view of your content's success.
1. Engagement Rate
Your engagement rate tells you how your content is landing with your audience. If you're getting a lot of engagement on your content (likes, comments, saves, and shares), that means your content is being well received by your audience and your engagement rate will be high.
How do you discover what your engagement rate is? The most agreed upon formula for discovering your engagement rate is dividing your total number of average likes and comments by your follower count, and then multiply that by 100.
(average # of likes + average # of comments) ÷ total number of followers x 100 = engagement rate
Want an easier way? Head to a website like Phlanx.com/engagement-calculator, type in your handle, and let the website work its magic.
If your engagement rate is high, your content is on track. If your engagement rate is low, it's time to implement some new strategies. Our advice? Always include a CTA, ask questions of your followers, and up your video content game to make your engagement rate go up.
BONUS TIP 🔥: People often "engage" with video content simply by viewing it. They're not as likely to double tap or comment, because they feel they already actively engaged with the content by taking the time to watch it. So a better way to track how well your video content video is doing is to track views or reach - not necessarily engagement.
2. Reach
Your reach is essential for growing brand awareness. Reach tells you how many unique, individual accounts have seen your content. If you want to grow on Instagram, you must focus on growing your reach. After 3 - 4 days, be sure to check the reach number on each post. If you get higher than usual, start creating more content similar to that post. If its reach is lower, you know that kind of post isn't helping you grow. For Reels, you may want to wait more like a week to gauge your reach, as Reels tend to keep growing in reach/views weeks past the post date.
You'll want to factor in what hashtags you used, as hashtags have a direct affect on your post's reach. Also consider if your content had a strong CTA and if you posted it at a time when your followers are active. Paying attention to your Reach number can unlock
Reach and impressions can often get confused for one another. They're not the same. Like we said earlier, reach is the number of individual accounts that see your content. Impressions on the other hand are the amount of times your content has been viewed, even if the same account viewed your content 10 times. Reach is a better analytic to consider when it comes to growth on Instagram. Impressions are useful because they let you know if your content is save-able — a.k.a. people are coming back to it time and time again.
3. Best Time to Post
You should be consistently monitoring your audience's most active times on Instagram and then adjusting your posting times to line up. This is something you can just look at once and live by. As your followers number grows, your audiences most active times will shift. As the seasons change, your followers most active times will shift. We suggest evaluating this number monthly.
You can find your audiences most active times by following Profile > Insights > Total Followers > Scroll to the bottom where you'll find "Most Active Times." You can say which days your followers are most active, and then break it down into 3 hour increments every day.
4. Saves
If someone saves your content, it means they want to look back on it later. That's great! That means your content is worth referencing time and again. Users can save your posts by clicking the save icon in the bottom right corner of your Instagram post. If you have a post that has an unusually high number of saves, that's a great indicator that your audience likes that kind of content and you should be adding more of it to your strategy.
In our experience, Instagram users are most likely to save education content like carousel, inspiring quotes, and funny memes. If you're looking to up your saves, try adding in this kind of content to your feed.
5. Shares
Shares mean more eyes on your content! The dream! Your shares number shows how many times your post has been sent through Instagram to another Instagram user. Unfortunately, dark social shares can't be tracked this way. Keeping track of your shares lets you know which kind of content moves your audience to take that extra step past the simple double tap.
When people share your content, not only does it boost your reach, but it's also the potential to gain a new follower. If you're not getting the shares you want, ask for them! In the final slide of your carousel, prompt your followers to share your post to their stories or with their friends. We can attest — this works.
If you don't pay attention to your analytics, you're walking around in the dark on Instagram. A strategy is meaningless if you don't have a way to see if it's effective. Luckily, your Instagram insights are the solution. Start tracking these 5 analytics and you'll be able to craft your content alongside your audience's actions, and your growth will skyrocket.
