Optimizing Ecommerce: Navigating Instagram’s Metrics
By: Emilia Vieni
So you’ve found yourself in Instagram insights checking out all the (hopefully positive?) stats and thinking, “okay, but what do these really mean for my business?” Posting on your account and replying to DMs is one part of social, but knowing how to use the gold nuggets of information that having insights at your fingertips gives you is how you really grow your page. Instagram metrics can teach you about your followers and the performance of your posts (surprisingly, not everyone thinks cats are hilarious - not us! but some people… *insert frowning cat emoji*) Insights can show you the way your audience engages with specific posts, stories, reels, and live videos! Here’s our rundown of some of our favourite metrics, what they mean, and how they help us manage your page:
1. Saves
One of Instagram’s newer features, “saving” a post allows the user to bookmark and categorize their favourite posts for later into specific collections of their choosing. When it comes to the Instagram algorithm, the more people save your post, the more times it will be shown to different people, and it may even make it to the Instagram explore page where it can really get seen. It’s also perfect for users who want to save your products for later purchases. Every user has their unique taste for what they choose to save, so pay attention to what your audience saves and engages with the most so you know what type of content to create more of!
2. Shares
How often your post is shared also helps boost your algorithm standing (similar to saves). Shareable content is great because it’s so engaging that your followers become nano influencers for you by spreading it to their friends and followers. In doing so, your post can go viral (!!!) or, at the very least, receive an exponential amount of impressions outside of your following and maybe even gain new customers and followers along the way. Also, unlike saves that get stored away privately, shares help your page gain social proof when people recommend your brand.
3. When is your audience most active?
Knowing when your audience is most active on the ‘gram is the best way to ensure your stories and posts don’t go unseen. There’s no point posting amazing content if everyone is asleep or working away at their desk. Instagram’s insights allow you to get insight (see what we did there?! ;)) into how active your audience is at different times of the day and week. From there, you can schedule your content at optimal times to make sure you get all the benefits of all the hard work you’ve been putting into your socials.
4. Reach
The “reach” statistic shows how many unique accounts have seen your post and therefore how much value and awareness your post is gaining. For those whose main objective is to track brand awareness, reach would be one of the main areas to focus on growing. See a lower than usual reach? You can look at what you posted and use this information for next time. What hashtags did you use? Was the post published at the most optimal time? Did you have a strong CTA? Reach gives you the opportunity calibrate your content to be more engaging to your audience.
5. Impressions
Commonly confused with reach, impressions are the number of times your content was seen, whether it was a new account or one that has viewed you before. If you see that your impressions are higher than your reach, it signals that your content may have been viewed multiple times by repeat users. The main reason impressions are so important is that the more frequently someone comes across your brand, the more familiar it becomes in their mind. A brand someone keeps seeing around as social is internalized as reliable and trustworthy.
6. Likes
Probably one of the most well-known metrics, how many “likes” your post receives will tell you how popular it was from all who have seen it. Think of likes as a nod of approval from your audience, and the more you get, the more the algorithm will favour your content. Your likes to followers ratio is important, too. For example, imagine you have 10,000 followers but get only 50 likes on average per post. In that case, your overall account engagement is actually relatively low and you should consider who your content is reaching and the types of followers you have, are they the right audience for your brand?
Your Instagram account is like a puzzle, and knowing how to read your metrics will help you get the most out of your brand’s social media experience. At the end of the day, you want to keep your content relevant, useful, engaging, and in tune with your brand’s voice. Don’t have time to figure this all out? Hiring a team of special media pros can definitely help (we might even know someone!)