Which Instagram metrics should you focus on?

As I’ve been on my journey of researching social media trends for 2022 on ‘Later,’ I came across an article about Instagram Metrics and what numbers you should be focusing on to strategize a strong plan for growth this year.

On ‘Later’ Media Blog, they listed the Top 10 IG Metrics for you to focus on, but I narrowed it down to the 6 that I’m going to put as a priority in 2022:

  1. Reach
    • Reach is the number of unique users who have seen your post.
    • Reaching new accounts = growing your brand awareness.
    • Track your reach on posts to see: 
      • What content is performing best
      • What hashtags performed best
      • The best time to post

*Reach vs. Impressions: Reach is the number of unique accounts that see your post, vs. Impressions is the number of times your post was seen total. If someone sees your post 10 times, that will result in “1 Reach” & “10 Impressions.”

  1. Engagement Rate
    • Engagement Rate is great to track the number of people who actually interact with your content.
    • You find your engagement rate per post by adding your likes + comments and, dividing that number by your total follower count, and multiplying by 100.
    • You should want your engagement rate as high as possible with authentic users. You’ll be able to see which content your fans like best by what they respond to most.
  2. Instagram Story Views
    • Instagram Stories is a great way to show your audience a little behind the scenes of your brand and have a more intimate relationship with your fans!
    • There are 2 ways to track how successful your story posts are:
      • Watch Through Rate
        • Watch Through Rate = final story number of views / first story number of views x 100
      • Completion Rate Per Story
        • Completion Rate = number of Impressions – number of exits / Impressions
    • Start tracking your story metrics now and make a goal to get that number higher in the coming months.
  3. Instagram Reels Engagement
    • I’m just trying to get better at posting Reels, if I’m being honest, but Reels are a great way to reach a new audience.
    • You can calculate your Reel engagement rate with this formula and work to get that higher over the year.
      • Reels Engagement Rate = # of Reels interactions / Reels Plays x 100
  4. Best Time To Post
    • Find the best time to post according to your audience and post accordingly.
    • Test out that posting time for a couple weeks and then go back and re-evaluate to see if your audience has changed or how the posts have been performing!
  5. Growth
    • This one is tricky for me as a creator because I feel like I have been in a stagnant position as far as follower growth.
    • Tracking the follow and unfollow within Instagram’s Analytics is good to pay attention to and see when people decide to follow or unfollow you.
    • Your audience will constantly change and evolve just like your brand will evolve, so although it is good to focus on growth, ultimately, your engagement and relationship with your fans is what will set you apart and have people believe and support what you do.

Find out all 10 Instagram Metric Tips Later suggests on their full article you can read here.

Let me know what you think and what your goals for social media are this year!

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