Instagram Analytics: A Guide for GenX & Boomer Business Owners

Written By Ryen Anderson

Hey there, fabulous Gen Xers, Boomers and those that are generally un-savvy to the world of Instagram for Business! 🌟✨ We’re back! And this time we’re taking a deeper dive into Instagram Analytics - what they are and how to use them to your business’ advantage.

Instagram Analytics are powerful tools that provide in-depth insights into the performance of your account and content. Accessible through the Instagram app, these analytics offer valuable data to help you understand your audience, optimize your content strategy, and measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Read on for a breakdown of key elements within Instagram Analytics:

1. Accessing Instagram Insights:

  • Business Profile Requirement: To access Insights, you need to have a business or creator account on Instagram.

  • Profile Tab: Once you have a business account, go to your profile and tap the section that says “Professional Dashboard”.

2. Insights:

  • Account Reached: This is the number of unique accounts that have seen your content (including ads). Content includes posts, stories, reels, videos and live videos.

  • Accounts Engaged: The number of accounts that have interacted with your content, including promoted content. These are metrics such as likes, saves, comments, shares or replies to posted content.

  • Total Followers: This is the number of accounts that followed you minus the number of accounts that have unfollowed you. Here is where you can find your most popular days and times to post for your audience.

  • Content you shared: An overview of all posted content: posts, stories, reels, videos and live videos. For each post or reel, view the number of likes, comments, saves, and shares. Identify your top-performing content based on the goal of the specific post.

  • Ad Insights: If/When you run an ad, you can see the insights for it here.

3. Audience Insights:

  • Follower Demographics: Understand the age range, gender, location, and active hours of your audience. Use this information to create new content based on their demographics.

  • Followers Growth: Track how your follower count changes over time. See what content brought in the most new followers, how holidays affect your engagement, and when the best times are to focus on growth.

4. Actionable Steps Using Instagram Insights for Growth:

  • Optimal Posting Times: Identify when your audience is most active and schedule posts during those times.

  • Content Strategy Refinement: Analyze the type of content that resonates the most and adjust your content strategy accordingly. Is it reels with trending audio? Is it informative carousel posts? Is it User Generated Content? Is it behind the scenes story posts?

  • Audience Targeting: Tailor your content to match the demographics and interests of your audience. This is basic marketing… the content you put out to gain followers in the 25 year-old age group in Miami, FL is NOT going to be the same as the content you use to capture a 40 year-old stay at home mom from Beaufort, SC. Know your audience.

  • Ad Performance Improvement: If you run ads, use insights to refine your targeting and content for better results - Instagram allows you to choose age and gender demographics, location and topics of interest when building your Ad Audience.

  • Experiment and Adapt: Use Insights to experiment with different content types, posting frequencies, and strategies. Adapt based on what works best.

  • Benchmark Performance: Set goals and benchmarks based on your Insights to track the growth of your account. Have fun with it. Want to challenge yourself an post a reel everyday for 30-days - DO IT! I promise you, you will gain some new Insta’ skills annnnd followers. It’s a win/win!

  • Consistent Monitoring: Regularly check your Insights to stay informed about changes in your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.

By leveraging Instagram Analytics, you can make informed decisions, refine your content strategy, and foster a stronger connection with your audience.

Remember, it's not just about the numbers; it's about understanding your audience and delivering content that resonates with them. 📊🚀

Looking for more help? Check out our Social Media Management packages.

Ryen Anderson
Next

Instagram for Business: Best Practices