Your Ultimate guide to Instagram analytics

Why is it important to track the right analytics on instagram?

Have you ever asked why Instagram analytics matter? Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social networks, evolving from a spot just for photographers to a platform for all kinds of users. Even B2B companies find Instagram useful today.

For businesses selling products, Instagram offers a great chance to showcase items and link directly to e-commerce or websites. But that’s not all—Instagram is also crucial for employer branding. Showing company culture and values helps attract top talent.

Tracking the right numbers tells you what’s working and what’s not. It steers your content strategy and helps you grow in a focused way. Without analytics, you’re guessing what your audience likes, which wastes time and effort.

For example, a B2B company posting behind-the-scenes content might use analytics to see if their followers engage more with culture posts or product demos. This insight guides future posts to better connect with the audience.

What are the top metrics to track on Instagram?

Engagement

Why is engagement one of the most important Instagram metrics? Engagement shows how well your audience interacts with your content. It includes likes, comments, shares, clicks, and saves. High engagement means your followers find your content valuable or interesting.

Did you know about 70% of Instagram posts get little to no attention? This is why tracking engagement is critical. It helps you spot the content types that click with your followers and those that don’t.

How do you calculate engagement rate?

Engagement rate = total engagements ÷ number of followers

Let's say you have 1,000 followers and receive 100 likes, comments, and saves combined on a post; your engagement rate is 10%. That tells you 10% of your followers interacted with the post.

Companies use engagement to adjust their strategy. For example, a fashion brand might see that posts featuring customer stories get more comments than product shots. They can then focus on storytelling to boost engagement.

Reach

What does reach tell you? Reach shows how many unique users have seen your content. If 500 different people see your story, your reach is 500 for that story. It is a key indicator of your content’s popularity.

High reach means more people know about your brand. For example, if a cooking blog posts a recipe story with high reach, it likely attracted new viewers beyond current followers. The better your reach, the greater your potential audience.

Tracking reach helps you evaluate if hashtags and posting times are working. If you use trending hashtags on a post and see a spike in reach, you know you’re reaching beyond your core audience.

Impressions

How are impressions different from reach? Impressions count every time your post is shown, even if the same user sees it multiple times. For example, if your post is viewed 1,000 times by 500 people, your impressions are 1,000 and your reach is 500.

Higher impressions than reach mean people view your content repeatedly. This can show strong interest or that your posts appear in multiple places, such as hashtags, explore pages, or shares.

Let’s say a fitness coach posts workout videos, and users watch the same video multiple times to perfect form. High impressions reflect this repeated engagement.

Followers

Why should you care about follower count? Simply put, more followers often mean more people see your posts. But follower quality matters more than quantity. It’s better to have engaged, relevant followers than thousands who ignore your content.

When starting out, don’t expect a quick rise in followers just by posting. Try inviting friends, employees, or colleagues first to build a foundation. You can also run campaigns or contests to gain followers who are genuinely interested.

For example, a local café might encourage customers to follow their Instagram by offering discounts. This strategy builds a follower base likely to engage and visit the café.

Remember, followers you gain naturally over time tend to engage more than those bought or added randomly.

how can willow help with instagram analytics?

Are you juggling multiple social platforms and wish for an easier way to track them all? Willow combines your Instagram data with other channels in a clear, simple dashboard. It shows key figures like reach and engagement and followers.

For example, marketing teams using Willow can spot trends faster, switch up strategies in real-time, and maintain consistent posting without guesswork.

Willow helps marketers and businesses save time and make smarter decisions by providing a comprehensive view of their social media health.

Start monitoring your Instagram performance easily with Willow today.