Have you struggled in the past with understanding how you are doing on Instagram? In today’s market, you can’t base your success on how many likes your posts get. It’s all about customer engagement. To get that customer engagement, you can’t just solely post and hope for the best.
In this post, we will cover the top 5 Instagram metrics you should keep track of to help you measure your success. We will let you know why each one is important to your overall Instagram profile. If you’re still feeling lost, you can always contact us at Elemental Plans! We will help you answer any questions you may have and can even help you set up a social media strategy plan!
1. Follower Growth
This may seem self-explanatory and easy to measure, but follower growth is a straightforward way for you to determine if you are being successful at getting your brand seen.
Especially with Instagram, follower count can fluctuate and it's key to view the whole picture. Maybe you were running a giveaway and a stipulation was to follow your account. After that giveaway, it’s always a possibility some of those followers would unfollow. However, you would still see spikes in your growth.
In this metric, you are wanting to see gradual growth over an extended period. That lets you know that your follower base like what they see and didn’t just follow you for a promotion. They are potential customers that are viewing your content and may possibly purchase something.
2. Engagement Rate
You may look at an ad for American Eagle and think, "Wow, that’s a lot of engagement compared to my measly 100 likes." In the grand scheme of things, you can’t think like that. We are wanting to look at your engagement relative to your follower count. Of course, American Eagle is going to get more likes than you because they have three times the follower count than you may have.
You may be getting only a few hundred likes, but that relative to your follower count may be exactly how you should be performing. You can use this metric on an overall view of your profile to see how you’re doing, but you can also use it on specific posts to see what your followers are reacting more to. Use that to your advantage and curate posts for them. This is known as your target audience, and you want to make sure they are seeing the content you want them to see because they are your best bet for conversions.
To read more about what a target audience is and why they are important, you can read our blog post here, https://www.elementalplans.com/post/target-audience-what-it-is-and-how-to-find-yours
3. Reach
Reach is one of the most important metrics to track for your Instagram. Reach essentially shows you how many unique profiles have seen your posts. This is a huge metric to track if you want to increase brand awareness. You are not just tracking your follower count, but the overall views that your posts are getting, not just from your followers.
Many things can have a direct impact on your reach. What time did you post? Did you use hashtags? If you did, which hashtags did you use? What sort of content were you promoting that got more or less attention than other posts?
You can combine all that information and help your efforts in future posts.
4. Sales
Instagram is unique in the fact that they have started to integrate wonderful features for online businesses utilizing Instagram. There is product tagging and links directly to your shop. Instagram has a wonderful e-commerce side to it that allows companies to track their metrics on Instagram itself.
If you are using Instagram Checkout, you can utilize other metrics like product page views to see which products your follower base is interested in. Also, a link in their bio is an effortless way to link your store to your Instagram and make it a quick and easy way for your followers to get to your website. Convenience is key in today’s world.
5. Timing
Determining the best time to post is a game changer with social media. It can be difficult to gauge when your follower base is actually online and willing to engage with content. There are times when your follower base may see a post and move on and not actually engage with it. Other times they may be more willing to give it a like or even comment on it.
Below, we have shown an infographic taken from Later.com’s recent blog post about Instagram metrics. In this infographic, they have taken information from thirty-five million posts and compiled the data to show the best times to post, globally.
Obviously, this isn’t a strict rule. Times may change in different industries, so always make sure to keep track of how your posts do during specific times. Try to post within those times and you could see a dramatic uptick in engagement!
We hope that we have shed just a little light on the different essential metrics to keep track of on Instagram. We understand that social media is confusing, and getting help is never out of the question, especially, if you are new to the game. If you have questions, we can help! Just follow this link, https://www.elementalplans.com/contact, and fill out the short form. Someone will reach out to you!
We never want you to feel alone or overwhelmed. We are here to help you succeed and to help your business’s digital presence grow!
Sources
SproutSocial, “7 Essential Instagram Metrics to Measure Performance”, Chloe West, December 10, 2020, https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-metrics/, Accessed August 15, 2022
LaterBlog, “Top 10 Instagram Metrics to Track for Success”, Amanda Demeku, December 10, 2021, https://later.com/blog/instagram-metrics-to-track/, Accessed August 16, 2022