Instagram analytics help you understand how your strategy is performing, both on an account and individual post level. And knowing what works (and what doesn’t) is the first step to growing your account and building an engaged following on the platform.
Keep reading to find out how to get started with tracking Instagram analytics, learn which metrics matter the most, and get comfortable with reporting your Instagram results to your boss.
Bonus: Get a free social media report template to easily and effectively present your social media performance to key stakeholders.
What are Instagram analytics?
Instagram analytics are the metrics used to understand how content performs on Instagram. They help you understand your audience and their preferences, and allow you to create strategies based on data rather than creative hunches.
Instagram analytics data can range from very basic (like how many people saw or liked an individual post) to very specific (like what time your account’s followers are most likely to be online).
Examples of Instagram analytics metrics include impressions, likes, shares, and audience growth over time. These, however, are just the tip of the iceberg — we go into a lot more detail later on in this post.
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Why are Instagram analytics so important?
Social media managers often dread the part of their job that has to do with tracking data and building reports. We get it, it’s not as fun as creating content and interacting with followers. But try to think about Instagram analytics as a fascinating puzzle. Solving it can help you improve your overall results over time and prove the value of your work to your boss and larger team.
With Instagram analytics, you can also:
- Understand your audience. By tracking how your audience interacts with your content (e.g. which posts they like and share), you get a better understanding of their preference. This, in turn, allows you to fine-tune future content.
- Grow your account faster. Identifying successful content and replicating winning strategies is a great way to skip the trial and error and drive more consistent results.
- Report with confidence. With a strong understanding of Instagram analytics, you can build reports that really tell a story. This will help you showcase the value of your work and position you as a true social expert within your organization. It will also support requests for more budget or new hires.
15 key Instagram metrics you should track
Instagram analytics can provide a ton of data. So, where do you start? Here are our picks for the 15 most important metrics to track in 2024.
Instagram account metrics
- Engagement rate: Number of engagements as a percentage of followers or reach. This is a baseline for evaluating how well your content is resonating with your audience and inspiring action.
- Follower growth rate: How quickly you’re gaining or losing followers. No other Instagram metric has a bigger impact on organic reach. For reference, the average monthly follower growth rate is 0.98%.
- Website referral traffic: How many visitors Instagram drives to your website. This is key if you want to increase your Instagram ROI and tie your Instagram efforts to off-platform goals.
- Most effective times to post: Which posting times gain the most response?
- Audience demographics: This isn’t a metric exactly but a group of important data points that can help you understand what types of content are likely to be most effective.
Instagram post metrics
- Post engagement rate: Number of engagements as a percentage of followers or reach. You can calculate this manually, but good Instagram analytics tools will do the ath for you.
- Post comment rate: Number of comments as a percentage of followers or reach. If your goals involve building loyalty, or nurturing relationships, count comments separately from overall engagements and work to lift that number specifically.
- Impressions: Total number of times your post was served to users.This can indicate how well you’re promoting your account and content.
- Reach: How many people saw your post. The more engaging your content is, the more people will see it – thanks to the Instagram algorithm.
Instagram Stories metrics
- Story engagement rate: Number of engagements as a percentage of followers or reach.
- Completion rate: How many people watch your Story all the way through. People watching your complete Story indicates your content is connecting with your fans.
Instagram Reels metrics
- Reel shares: How many users shared your Reel.
- Reel interactions: Total likes, comments, shares, and saves.
- Drop-off rate: How many people stop watching before the end.
- Views vs. TikTok: How many people watch a reel compared to an equivalent TikTok?
For more details on all the Instagram metrics, you should track depending on your goals for the platform – as well as how to track and calculate them – check out our full blog post specifically on Instagram metrics.`
How to see Instagram analytics
Now that you know what to track, here’s how to see Instagram analytics data on your phone or on your computer.
On mobile (using Instagram Insights)
If you’re looking for quick info on the go, Instagram Insights offers basic Instagram analytics free within the Instagram app. There’s no way to export the data into a report, but it gives you a good basic overview of your Instagram results.
- Open the Instagram app, go to your profile, and tap Professional dashboard.
- Next to Account insights, tap See all.
- View your content overview, including accounts reached, engagements, total followers and content shared. In the top menu, you can choose a timeframe to view.
- To dive deeper into any of these metrics, tap the right arrow next to the relevant category.
On desktop
Navigating through analytics on your phone is great for quick, on-the-go tracking of your Instagram metrics, but it’s not the greatest when you’re trying to analyze your data and growth over time, compare results to your work on other social platforms, or create a social media report. Here’s how to access your Instagram analytics on desktop.
Using Instagram
The main Instagram Insights tool isn’t available on desktop, but you can get some basic individual post analytics on the web directly from your Instagram feed.
Click View insights under a post in your feed to bring up a pop-up screen showing the total likes, comments, saves, direct message shares, profile visits, and reach.
For more Instagram analytics on the web, you’ll need to switch to other tools.
Using Hootsuite
1. Go to your Hootsuite dashboard and click the Analytics icon in the sidebar.
2. Select your Instagram Overview (if you haven’t already, follow these steps to connect your account). On this screen, you’ll see a full picture of all your Instagram analytics, from engagement rate (with no calculation required) to audience demographics to the sentiment of your inbound messages.
3. Use the buttons in the top navigation bar to share data with your colleagues or export the metrics and charts into a custom report in PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, or .csv.
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Free Instagram analytics report template
Instagram analytics data is most useful when it’s compiled into a report that allows you to compare results and spot trends. We’ve created a free Instagram analytics report template you can use to fill in your data and share your findings.
If you’d rather get your Instagram analytics reports automatically, check out the Instagram analytics built into Hootsuite. There are three Instagram analytics report templates built into Hootsuite’s analytics that allow you to automatically report on engagement, your audience, or post performance.
Bonus: Get a free social media report template to easily and effectively present your social media performance to key stakeholders.
Save time managing your Instagram presence with Hootsuite: Schedule posts, Reels, and Stories ahead of time, and monitor your efforts using our comprehensive suite of social media analytics tools. Try it free today.
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