What You Need to Know About Instagram Analytics for 2020 Volume 2 – Types of Data to Track

Once you have a general understanding of everything you can track and analyze on Instagram, you should start putting together a game plan. There are a lot of numbers to follow, so it’s essential you narrow it down to a measuring what makes sense for the business.

What Data Should I Track on Instagram?

Before you begin analyzing and collecting data, you should question what you will be using it for. Data-driven business can branch off into many channels, like sales, marketing, and customer engagement.

When it comes to choosing what data to collect, here are some tips on where to focus:

Lead Generation

This is the most common goal for marketers. Who doesn’t want to generate more sales? There are many strategies you can utilize to drive sales through Instagram. This includes things like running targeted ads and posting special promos to followers.

Here are the top metrics to evaluate your success:

• Call clicks and email clicks: Emails and phone calls are a great indicator that sales are on the horizon. An increase in these touchpoints means you’re in the right lead-converting direction.
• Website clicks: In posts, you are likely to encourage people to click and visit your site. Tracking how many users do this will demonstrate if you’re sending the right message.
• Follower hours/days: It’s important to pay attention to when your audience is the most engaged. Then post and run your ads during this time to increase conversions, leads, and sales.

Brand Awareness

If your business is looking to make a name for itself, launch a new product, or try a new market, Instagram is the place to build brand awareness. In order to do so, here are the metrics you need:

• Impressions: The more people who see your posts the more they are aware of your brand. Your impressions should always be growing and never stagnant.
• Reach: This is the number of views you profile, posts, and stories get on Instagram. The difference between reach and impressions is that reach refers to unique accounts (impressions can be the same person multiple times).
• Followers: More followers equates to more people knowing about your business (i.e. brand awareness). If you see an increase in new accounts following, that means your posts are effective. If you need a little help, partner with relevant brands to share audiences and opportunities.

Community Building

Instagram is an incredible platform for building community. You don’t have to say a lot to draw people in. In order to nurture your audience, you must continuously monitor, evaluate, and respond to metrics like:

• Story replies: This is a great way to determine how active your community is. Stories is a tool for building an audience and driving relevant messaging. It’s a good sign when people take the time to reply.
• Engagement: This metric is critical when it comes to community building. Tracking the engagement of posts, ads, stories, and your profile will help stick to goals.
• Comments: Listen to your community and what they have to say. Have conversations with people on posts and never ignore comments.

The ultimate goal is to think about what you want to do with your metrics. Is your strategy to gain insight or drive more visitors to the site? Perhaps you are creating an Instagram presence to drive sales and increase brand engagement.

The next step in your business will help define the type of analytics necessary. It’s possible to have multiple goals. As long as the end game is more refined data-driven decision making that ensures success!