From Likes to Leads: How Instagram Insights Can Reveal What is Working
- Caroline Marks
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Information for this blog post was obtained from www.socialmediaexaminer.com, www.sproutsocial.com, and www.hubspot.com.
In current times, where social media is dominant, Instagram continues to be one of the most powerful platforms for brands, influencers, and creators to connect with their audience. But with millions of posts shared daily, how do you make sure your content stands out? More importantly, how do you know what your audience responds to?
The answer lies in harnessing the power of Instagram insights, a built-in analytics tool that provides valuable data about your followers, content performance, and campaign effectiveness. Whether you're just starting or looking to refine your strategy, understanding how you can view insights on Instagram can be a game-changer.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to check Instagram insights, what metrics to focus on, and Instagram tricks and tips to leverage your data for maximum engagement. By the end, you’ll be ready to turn numbers into actionable strategies, increase your reach, and grow your followers more effectively.
A Closer Look at Instagram Insights
First, we’ll dive into what Instagram insights is and what it can do for you. Instagram Insights is an in-app analytics feature designed for Business and Creator accounts. It provides detailed data on your profile, posts, stories, reels, live videos, and paid promotions. Think of it as your personal dashboard that helps you understand who your audience is, what content they love, and when they’re most active.
According to Amanda Zantal-Wiener’s blog, “How to Use Instagram Insights (in 9 Easy Steps)”, Instagram Insights shows engagement analytics that enable you to improve your Instagram for Business strategy. Insights takes the guesswork out of knowing what is working with your audience.
In a blog post written by Ronnie Gomez entitled “Instagram insights demystified: How to access and analyze your metrics”, Gomez highlights that the free tool offers performance data on your profile and posts, providing enhanced visibility into your audience’s preferences and engagement patterns. I agree that the data provided through insights helps give you a roadmap to show what is giving you traction with your audience and what isn’t working. It is a free tool, so why not use it?
Knowing how to see who’s stalking you on Instagram isn’t completely realistic. But insights allow you to see who your most engaged followers are and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real value comes from understanding the types of content that resonate most, the best times to post, and how your audience demographics influence your content strategy.
Step-by-Step on Instagram Insights
Wondering how to view insights on Instagram? Next, we’ll go through a step-by-step process on setting up insights. It’s an easy and straightforward process once you’ve set up your account properly. Here’s how to get started:
1. Create a Business or Creator Account
Before you can access how to check Instagram insights, you need to convert your personal account. To do this, go to your profile and tap the menu at the top right, tap Settings, and then Account, select Switch to a professional profile, and select business or creator. You can choose to connect your Facebook page to unlock additional features.
2. Accessing Insights
Once you set your account up, select the top right menu and choose insights.
You can also see insights directly from individual posts, stories, reels, or promotions by tapping View Insights under each piece of content.
3. How to See Who’s Stalking You on Instagram
While Instagram doesn’t actually tell you “Who’s stalking you”, looking at your followers’ activity, such as who views your stories regularly, who makes comments, or interacts with your posts, can give you clues about your most engaged followers. Using insights into their activity can help you understand your audience.
Key Metrics to Track in Instagram Insights
Understanding how to see your insights on Instagram involves knowing which metrics matter most. Accounts reached, accounts engaged, follower demographics, content performance, stories, reels, insights, and campaigns are some of the important areas you can track.
According to Zantal-Wiener, the accounts reached metrics show how many unique users have seen your content. For reels, it shows how many viewers watched your reel at least once. Engagement metrics include likes, comments, shares, saves, profile visits, and clicks. High engagement suggests your content is resonating. Exploring who’s engaging helps you fine-tune your content to better serve your audience.
Insights provide information on follower demographics—age, gender, location, and active times. These insights allow you to tailor your content and advertising to the right audience (Wright, 2018).
Metrics like impressions, reach, saves, shares, and comments reveal which posts or stories are most effective. You can compare different content types—photos, videos, carousels—to see what interests your audience and what drives engagement.
Paid promotions can be tracked via insights, which show you impressions, clicks, conversions, and audience demographics. This helps make the most of your ad spending and refine targeting.
How You Can Use Insights to Improve Your Instagram Marketing
Knowing how to view insights on Instagram is just the first step. The real value lies in interpreting the data and applying it to your content strategy. Identifying what content works best to create engagement is an important piece of the puzzle. You can use insights to discover which posts, stories, or reels get the most engagement. For example, if your audience responds best to behind-the-scenes videos, you may want to create more similar videos.
Insights show when your followers are most active. Posting during these peak times increases your chances of higher reach and engagement (Wright, 2018; Gomez, 2023). I agree with Wright and Gomez. Using the metrics to determine when your audience is most active increases the chances of your intended audience seeing your post.
Using follower demographics, you can narrow your content to focus on your key demographics. You can tailor your content and ad campaigns to specific age groups, genders, or locations, ensuring your messaging hits the right audience.
Regularly reviewing your follower count, reach, and engagement metrics helps you assess whether your content strategy is working. If you notice a decrease, change your content or posting schedule accordingly.
Evaluate paid promotions by tracking impressions, clicks, and conversions. This data will help you allocate your ad spend more effectively and optimize future campaigns.
Conclusion
Learning how to view insights on Instagram unlocks a treasure trove of data that can elevate your social media marketing game. From understanding your audience’s demographics to identifying your top-performing content, insights allow you to make smarter, data-driven decisions.
By applying these tips and tricks, you can post more effectively, target the right audience, and craft content that truly resonates. Whether you're aiming to grow your followers, boost engagement, or improve your ad campaigns, Instagram Insights provides the clarity you need to succeed.
Start exploring your Instagram insights today—your next big campaign could be just a few clicks away from success!
For more information about using your social media metrics, check out my colleague Mike's post about it here:
Disclaimer: No AI was injured in the production of this content. AI (ChatGPT) was used as a tool to supplement, enhance, and make suggestions in writing this blog post.
Resources
Gomez, R. (2023, June 28). Instagram insights demystified: How to access and analyze your metrics. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-insights/
Wright, V. (2018, February 21). 4 ways to use Instagram insights to improve your marketing. Social Media Examiner. https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-ways-to-use-instagram-insights-to-improve-marketing/
Zantal-Wiener, A. (2018, January 17). How to use Instagram Insights (in 9 easy steps). HubSpot Blog. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-use-instagram-insights
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