Today, I want to break down Instagram analytics for you! We’re going to talk about how to understand all of the analytics you have access to and I’m even going to share my own content and how it performed in the last 30 days. By reviewing these analytics, you can really understand what works on your account (and what doesn’t!) so you can plan better content in the future. Grab your phone and let’s walk through how to use your Instagram analytics! 

To find your own Instagram insights, go to Instagram and to your profile. Hit the three bars in the upper right hand corner then select “insights”. It will take you to the last 7 days, but just hit that box in the upper left and select “last 30 days” so we can look at the month together. Now, we can walk through each of the categories together! 

ACCOUNTS REACHED

The first thing I want to point out here is that it’s showing you how many people saw your post (literally “accounts reached”!), but it also breaks down who of those people were already followers and who were not. This is really cool to see, especially as you scroll down to content type and see which content you share is actually reaching a new audience. Remember how we talk about Instagram Reels reaching new audiences? This is the proof of that! If you scroll all the way down on this screen, you can also see your profile visits, taps to your website link, and those numbers. 

CONTENT INTERACTIONS

This section is more of a bird’s eye view of your posts, stories and Reels and how they’re performing. I like that I can compare my account’s interactions from the current month to the last month. It’s a great way to see if what you’re doing is working – or not. Personally, I care most about the interactions than anything else. 

TOTAL FOLLOWERS

Under audience, you can hit “total followers” so you can see the exact numbers around your audience. Here, you can see exactly how many people follow you but you can also see the total change in your audience. This means Instagram is taking how many people followed you that month and subtracted how many “unfollowed” you! It’s interesting to see what’s going on here. Always remember that the more followers you have, the more unfollows you might get. It doesn’t bother me – I’d rather have someone following me who’s genuinely interested instead of someone just following along to follow. It’s a mental shift, but it’s so important! As you look through these analytics, you can actually pinpoint when your audience might have shifted – and look carefully at when you gained more followers. Then go back and check out your content and see what you can learn from that! 

At the bottom, you can also break out your demographics and find out where people are following you from, gender, and age. It’s just nice to know who you’re talking to, I think! Below that is one of the most helpful things you can review: your audience’s most active times! Look at this carefully. We’ve talked about this before, but if you post when your audience is most active, you’ll get a little boost for your posts because they’re going to see it and comment on it right away! 

CONTENT YOU SHARED

Under where it says “Content you shared”, we’re going to break down all the types of content you’re sharing on your account. This is the best spot to really dig into what works well or what didn’t. I’m most interested in who interacted with my posts. Tap on “posts” first and let’s review the interaction. Hit “reach” and then select “post interactions” so that you can see who actually engaged with your grid posts. Now, you can review your posts and see what the common topics are in the posts. Make sure to take a look at what didn’t do well, too. This is equally as helpful! Take a look through likes, comments, shares, and those metrics too. 

Stories & Reels

Next, you can review your stories for the last 30 days. Reach will show you the story views that you got – I’ve come to realize the bigger the reach, the better the story. This can help me think about what I’m sharing (or not) in my stories! Again, like with your posts – review what the content actually was that was shared and use that to think about what’s performing well. Something to remember is that some of the lower performing posts may have been later in a series, so they may have taken longer to get to and people may have left your profile before watching them all. Don’t just give up on that topic – try it again and see how it performs. Another metric to look at in stories is “Forward”. This means what did people click on and want to keep hearing about? Those are important to note! 

When it comes to Instagram Reels, I look at “reach” again. Now I can start reviewing the last 30 days. Like with posts and stories, look at what’s working well and what isn’t! Seeing these numbers will give you insight on which topics to keep using. Instagram and Reels are all about the long game. Just give yourself some time to grow – and don’t expect overnight results. 

Using your Instagram analytics to understand how to best serve your audience is key as a business owner! Take the time each month to review what works and what doesn’t, while creating a variety of content that’s valuable to your audience. Remember that everyone’s account is going to look different, so give yourself some grace and work to serve your audience (not someone else’s!).