What separates amateur social media marketers from professional ones is the way they work with Instagram Insights and other analytics. That’s to say, firstly, IF they work with these tools. And what separates amateurs that will forever remain amateurs from the ones that will evolve to create successful campaigns and strategies is their openness to learn.

Don’t worry if you’re a bit behind with your insights. We’re going to show you exactly how to use them to get a better understanding of your followers and how well your strategy works (or doesn’t work). You’ll then have the power to tweak your campaigns and improve your results. That’s a pretty neat outcome, right?

So, even if the words “insights” and “analytics” might sound a bit dull and very un-sexy, we promise they can be actually lots of fun. Because what can be more fun than having a successful presence on Instagram? Work hard, play hard, as they say! Let’s get our heads around the numbers and make the most out of them. Instagram Insights and Analytics, here we come!

First steps with Instagram Insights

You can think of Instagram Insights as your door to Narnia. And by Narnia, we mean the wonder world of fantastic data about your followers, their actions and the way your content performs. By visiting “Narnia” and grasping at the data, you’ll gain some valuable knowledge that will empower you to tweak your campaigns and improve their results.

To access Instagram Insights, you need to first go to your profile page. Oh, assuming you have an Instagram business account. You do have one, right? If you’re serious about your brand you should! From here, simply tap on the icon in the top right of the screen. Yep, the one that looks like a bar graph.

From here you’ll have the possibility to jump around fascinating data about:

  • how your number of followers evolves
  • what actions, including profile visits, website clicks, and e-mail requests, you had in the last week
  • how many accounts you’ve reached
  • how many times have your post been seen (aka impressions)
  • demographics about your followers
  • the times of the day and the days in which your followers are most active
  • the engagement on your posts
  • how your stories perform
  • the success of your promotions

Another way to tap into the insights for individual posts is to actually go and open a photo. Right below it, on the right-hand side, you’ll see the “View Insights” button. Once you tap it, a tab will open containing the number of likes, comments, saves, profile visits and reach.

And if you want to directly dive into statistics for your Stories, open your current one or go to your archive to select a Story. Next, click on the icons from the bottom left corner of the screen. You’ll see exactly who viewed your story and how many followers decided to, uh-oh, skip it.

 

What to look for in Instagram Insights?

Okay, so now you know exactly how to access all the insights that Instagram gathers about your account and the way followers interact with it. But what can you exactly make of it? Are you ready, because we’re going to get a bit geeky! In the most fashionable and cool way, of course.

Every business is different and so are their objectives. That’s why the data you should focus on can vary depending on what your objectives are. So make a plan and put it on paper. Once you do, it will become much clearer what data you’re interested in more specifically. Once you do that, you can plunge right into the numbers.

Let’s say you’re running a new campaign. Most likely, you’ve got your posts all planned out and even scheduled them with Preppr. What’s more, you also got your Stories waiting patiently in line. But that doesn’t mean there must be no room for change. You’ll want to closely analyze your post statistics to see how well they are performing.

Also, you’ll want to and tap into your Stories insights to see if they’re hitting the nail. If too many people are skipping your Story, it’s a good indicator that it’s not too engaging. Also, if your Story has lots of taps backward, maybe it was confusing, or it had too much text or, best case scenario, it was really, really good and people can’t get enough of it.

Another scenario is the one in which you’re aiming to grow your follower base with a specific percentage, in a specific time frame. Then you’ll want to have a close eye on the growth rate and your profile visits. Also, then you should tap into the demographics of your followers to ensure you’re attracting the right audience.

 

Gain more insights with advanced Instagram analytics: Ink361

As you might have guessed, Instagram Insights are not enough if you want to build a bulletproof marketing strategy. In order to make sure you’ll always have a complete overview of your account, you need some more powerful analytics.

Ink361 is a great web app that can help you dig even deeper into Instagram insights with powerful analytics. It will help you monitor comments, likes, and followers, analyze what they are saying and of course, manage messages. All available from a single comprehensive dashboard.

But there’s something else that Ink361 can help you do! Your business doesn’t exist in a vacuum and because you must have a close view of what your competitors are doing as well. That’s why Ink361 allows you to create custom circles to monitor content from specific accounts and monitor and compare competitors as well.

We do suggest you try it! You can opt for the free version or go for one of the premium options or an Analytics Pro account that offers additional services.

 

How to implement the findings from your insights and analytics

Instagram insights and Analytics have a great power as long as you use them to tweak and improve your marketing strategy. Otherwise, don’t bother! So, once you’ve noted all the numbers down and did the math, now it’s time to actually act!

How? Well, there are a number of things you should consider doing:

1. Improve your content 

If you see your posts are not getting the love your business deserves, then it’s a clear sign you should tweak your strategy. Try changing your captions, tackle new subjects, change the visual direction of your posts, test different types of content and check new hashtags.

Make sure to check your demographics once more before you do this. The statistics will give you a direct hint towards the type of content you should try. For example, if your audience is mostly women, your content must revolve areas of interest for their specific age groups and location.

2. Change your posting schedule

The best times to post truly depend on your audience. Based on the insights that tell you their most active times of the day and days you can schedule your posts accordingly. For scheduling in advance, try Preppr.

3. Tell a better Instagram Story

If the Instagram Stories insights tell you that people skip your Story way too often, you know that you need to step up your game and come up with new concepts. Don’t be afraid to experiment, use fonts, change between photos, videos, and boomerangs. Sooner or later you’ll find what works.

4. Craft different CTAs

If you aren’t getting enough website visits, then you should blame it on your CTAs. What to do? Mix them up. Try different tones of voice. Use different power words. Be funny. Or try a serious stance. And whatever you do, don’t stop experimenting!

 

So, what do your Instagram Insights tell you?

Author

Ilona Iftode is a copywriter with a taste for adventure. She lives to write, travel and explore new concepts in the realms of advertising, marketing, SEO and beyond.

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