How to improve your content with Instagram analytics
Instagram analytics tools can help you understand your audience and cater content for them in an organized, data-driven way. Here are the basics!
Instagram analytics tools can help you understand your audience and cater content for them in an organized, data-driven way. But how do you use them, and are they easy to understand? Here are the basics!
What are Instagram analytics tools?
Instagram analytics tools are apps or software that help you understand how your Instagram account and posts perform. They analyze key metrics like engagement and followers, giving you insights you can then use to improve your content!
Instagram analytics tools don’t just tell. They show. For example, you can easily see metrics like follower count or views. However, with Instagram analytics tools, you can see where the followers or views have come in – was there a specific video or post that caused a spike in numbers? You can identify what worked with your audience, and from there, it means you can make more informed decisions about your future content.
How can I get Instagram analytics?
It’s super easy to use Instagram analytics. The most obvious choice for beginners is to go straight through the platform and use Instagram Insights. This is only available to business accounts or Instagrammers with loads of followers, but setting up a business account is no trouble. You just need to ‘Switch to Professional Account’ in your Account Settings; there’s no threshold or minimum follower count, so you can sort that out while your coffee’s brewing. However, you can only get analytics breakdowns for content you posted after you do this.
Is Instagram analytics free?
Yes! While some programs will charge a subscription fee, Instagram Insights is 100% free to use. That means you can perform detailed, outcome-oriented Instagram analytics without having to spend a penny.
How do I use Instagram analytics tools?
Once you have Instagram Insights set up and open, you reach the Overview. This is the home page, and gives you a quick look at what’s going on under the hood.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of Instagram analytics tools, it’s worth remembering the basics of what makes successful content. Well-composed shots, clear audio, interesting topic – oh, great music, too.
A well-placed, appropriate track can make the difference between a like and a swipe, so make sure you nail it! Browse our no-nonsense catalog of more than 50,000 tracks and 200,000 unique sound effects and variations below.
How do I use Instagram Insights?
Once you’ve gotten through the Overview section, Instagram Insights offers a whole host of goodies. The ‘Content You Shared’ section gives you a detailed, bespoke look at how your content’s doing. It rattles through:
Date Range
This lets you filter through time-specific sections. It’s useful if you want to check how successful something was. For example, if you uploaded a particularly buzzy video two weeks ago, or started using a better ring light last month, it’d be nice to see if that affected your stats. Sorting by date can help you get to the bottom of it!
Accounts Reached
This helps show more information about the users who’ve seen your content, splitting them into follower status, gender, age, countries, and cities.
The ‘Reached Audience’ section dives deep into this info, while the ‘Content Reach’ section shows what kind of content is tickling your audience’s collective pickle. It shows your reach based on posts, stories, reels, videos, and Live videos, with top-performing content also highlighted.
‘Impressions’ shows how many total views your content has racked up, and ‘Profile Activity’ shows what users have done following a profile visit. So, if they clicked through to your website, that would be shown here.
Accounts Engaged
This goes deeper than the above, as it shows users who’ve actually interacted with your content – not just scrolled past it. You can view a breakdown of demographics and how they responded to your content (i.e., did they share it, like it, or save it?)
There’s also a ‘Content Interactions’ section tucked away here, which lets you know individual stats for your pieces of content. Handy!
Total Followers
It probably looks obvious, but it’s a nifty section to get your head around. You can find out your fanbase’s most active browsing times, who’s followed (and unfollowed!) you, top countries, and more.
Can I use Google Analytics for Instagram?
Absolutely! Google Analytics is a massive, reliable platform, and if you want to keep all your analytics in one place, you could always use Google as an Instagram analytics tool. This means you can compare your Instagram stats with other platforms or sites, all under the Google Analytics banner.
What are the best Instagram analytics tools?
Outside Instagram Insights and Google Analytics, there are plenty of Instagram analytics tools to sink your teeth into. Platforms like Hootsuite Analytics, Phlanx, SmartMetrics, and more provide different ways to tackle your Instagram analytics, both free and paid-for.
But first, it’s probably best you start on Instagram Insights. That way, you can figure out which stats matter to you, how you want to tackle them, and which programs you’re prepared to pay for.
In the meantime, why not sharpen up your content with some of our top-drawer tracks?
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