If you’re like many people I’ve worked with, when you first started using Instagram for business, you probably measured success by likes and comments. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, per se—but getting valuable data from those surface-level metrics requires a deeper dive using Instagram Insights.
That’s because while likes and comments are fun to see (trust me, I know!), they don’t tell you if your content is reaching the right audience or generating sales. In other words, you don’t know what’s working.
So instead of flying blind, I encourage you to use Instagram Insights (also known as ) so you can get granular on what content expands your reach, which posts lead to actual engagement, and how your campaigns perform overall.
It matters more than ever. According to our research, it’s the #2 most-used platform for brands with over 62% of users comprised of Gen Z and Millennials, guessing based on your gut won’t cut it. The real data is what will drive success. And I’m going to show you how to use it.
Table of Contents
- What is Instagram Insights?
- How to Get Access to Instagram Insights
- Instagram Insights Explained
- How to See Post Insights on Instagram
- How to Use Instagram Insights
The 2024 Instagram Engagement Data Report
New data to help you shape your Instagram strategy
- Optimized content types
- Influencer marketing
- Posting volume
- And more!
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
What is Instagram Insights?
Instagram Insights is the platform’s built-in analytics for Professional accounts (Creator or Business). At its core, it’s a simple dashboard that shows how your content performs and who’s engaging with it so you can make informed decisions instead of guessing.
Why use Instagram Insights?
Whenever I talk to business owners and marketing teams, one theme always comes up: they’re posting consistently but not sure if it’s working. And when I ask them about their Instagram Insights, if I’m met with blank stares, I know that’s an opportunity to dig in.
I firmly believe data is what takes the guesswork out of . Insights give you benchmark information on:
- Who your audience is
- How they interact with your content
- Whether your efforts are meeting business goals
Keep in mind, your goals can be simple — like driving website traffic, increasing brand awareness, and growing followers. In fact, our research shows those are the top challenges marketers face on Instagram.
And good news, those are the areas Insights helps you measure and improve.
And, if you haven’t tied your marketing efforts to your business goals — let me take the opportunity now to encourage you to start now. It will help you measure success with your as well as everything else you’re doing to support growth.
How to Get Access to Instagram Insights
- Open up your profile on the Instagram app.
- Access the Settings page.
- Tap 'Insights.'
- Switch to a Professional account (if needed).
- Switching account types (if needed).
1. Open up your profile on the Instagram app.
Step 1 assumes you have a Business or Creator account already. If you do not yet, jump to Step 4, switch it over, and then come back to Step 1.
First up, open up the app and click on your profile picture on the bottom right-hand corner of your feed.
2. Access the Settings page.
From here, you have two options. You can either Tap “Professional Dashboard under your profile info or go to the hamburger icon.
3. Tap “Insights.”
If you go the hamburger route because you want to see what else is new for you, check out the list menu and tap “Insights.” Bada bing, bada boom — you’re in!
If you’re accessing on a desktop, you can simply tap Dashboard on the left navigation bar. From there, you’ll click on the insights dropdown and select “Account.”
4. Switching to a professional account (if needed).
If you don’t have a professional account, you’ll want one as doing so unlocks these insights. It’s worth doing, even if you’re not a business.
From your profile screen (Step 1 above), you’ll click the hamburger icon (Step 2 above). But here’s where things differ.
You’ll keep scrolling (and scrolling) until you reach “Your Insights and Tools” and then you’ll tap “Account type and tools.”
Then, you’ll just switch to a professional account or if you want to keep things separate — add a new professional account.
From there, simply follow the prompts to choose your category and then choose creator or business. Lastly, Instagram will prompt you to set everything up with a few prompts that help you start off on the right foot.
You may also want to set up and connect your Facebook page to make sure your Meta apps are working together.
The 2024 Instagram Engagement Data Report
New data to help you shape your Instagram strategy
- Optimized content types
- Influencer marketing
- Posting volume
- And more!
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
5. Switching account types (if needed).
What if you set up the wrong account? Whoops! Good news, you can switch back at any time. For the purposes of this article, I converted a personal account to a professional one to show you the steps.
To walk it back, tap the hamburger menu from your profile page again. Then scroll down to the “Your tools and insights section” and choose Creator Tools and Controls (Professional Tools and Controls if you have a business account).
Then top “switch account type” and choose personal. You can also switch to a business account if you started with a creator account.
Before we get into specific instructions for using it, however, here are the analytics on this channel that marketers need to know and understand — and how to use them.
Instagram Insights Explained
Let’s look at Instagram Insights from a bird’s-eye view and zoom in piece by piece.
Insights Overview
Insights Overview is the “home page” of Instagram Insights. Here, you’ll see how you’ve fared overall.
You get several pieces of information on this page:
- Date Range: This represents the days and weeks of data on the screen. It’s a month on the main screen, but when you drill down, you can change this period.
- Views: Should be self-explanatory, but this is the number of views during this period.
- Interactions: This is the number of people who engaged with your content — think likes and comments.
- New Followers: Again self-explanatory.
- Content You Shared: Should be self-explanatory, but this section gives you the overall number of posts, Stories, reels, videos, Live videos, and promotions that you’ve shared.
From there, you can tap into each section or go down into the additional tools available to you. Let’s start with an overview of what the main sections mean.
Views
This is where things get really interesting — you can drill down into who is seeing your content and engaging with it:
- # of views
- Followers vs non-followers
- # of accounts reached
From there, you can break it down further by:
- Content Type to see which formats get the most engagement (hint, it’s usually videos)
- Top-ranking Content so you can see which individual pieces of content ranked higher.
- Audience, so you can see who is engaging.
- Profile Activity so you can see how many people are visiting your profile and tapping your link
Interactions
In the past, this was called “Engagement” and the screenshot is much the same. But instead of views, this tab breaks down interactions between followers and non followers, by content type, and top posts.
New Followers
The word “new” is a little misleading because this section gives you data on all of your followers.
You can see your total number of followers and how much this has changed over the period in question.
I love that you can get more granular with locations, age range, gender — and the crème de la crème — most active times. This allows you to determine the so you can engage the greatest number of followers.
Content You Shared
Lastly, you can see the content you shared over the given period and get detailed information on that post. By choosing a specific post, you’ll first see an overview of engagement metrics, including views, interactions, and profile activity.
Then, as you keep scrolling, you’ll get more detailed information.
Views
In addition to showing you total views and a breakdown between followers and non-folloers, you’ll also see how this plays out over time, as well as top sources.
Interactions
This section of the post-level insights shows you the breakdown of likes, comments, reposts, saves, and shares.
Profile Activity
How many follows or profile visits happened after people viewed this post
Ad
If you want to boost this post, you can do so here.
How to See Post Insights on Instagram
As I’ve mentioned, seeing your post insights on Instagram simply requires navigating to your Instagram profile and tapping the button that says “Insights” right above your posts.
Next, let’s go over how you can see insights for individual posts on Instagram.
How to See Insights for an Individual Post
There are a few ways to do this:
Option 1: Go directly to the post.
- Navigate to your profile.
- Navigate to the individual post you’d like to see insights for.
- At the bottom of the post, there will be a banner. Tap View Insights.
- You can now see how many likes, comments, shares, and saves your post received.
Option 2: Use insights.
- Go to your profile.
- Tap “Professional Insights”
- Tap “Content You Shared”
- Tap the post.
Both options pull up the same information — sometimes it’s handy to search by time period vs going and doomscrolling through your own content.
How to See Insights for a Reel
Option 1: Go directly to the post.
- Navigate to your profile.
- Navigate to the individual reel you’d like to see insights for.
- At the bottom of the reel, there will be a banner. Tap View Insights.
- You can now see how many plays, likes, comments, shares, and saves your reel received.
Option 2: Use insights.
- Go to your profile.
- Tap “Professional Insights”.
- Tap “Content You Shared”.
- Tap the post.
How to See Insights for a Story
If your Story is currently live on your profile:
- Navigate to your profile.
- Click on your profile picture.
- Scroll up on the story.
- You’ll immediately access insights for that Story, including replies, exits, link clicks, forwards, and more.
If your Story has already expired or more than 24 hours have passed, this is where that option 2 from above really comes into play:
- Navigate to your profile.
- Tap the Insights action button at the top of your post grid.
- Under Content You Shared, tap the row of Stories you’ve shared in the past.
- Swipe up on the individual story you’d like to see insights for.
How to See Insights for a Live Video
If you’ve just finished your Live video:
- Tap View Insights immediately after finishing your video.
- You’ll now be able to see the number of viewers, likes, drop-offs, comments, and other interactions.
If you broadcasted your Live video in the past:
- Navigate to your profile.
- Tap the Insights action button at the top of your post grid.
- Under Content You Shared, tap the row of Live videos you’ve shared in the past.
- Click on the old Live video you’d like to see insights for.
How to See Insights for a Video
- Navigate to your profile.
- Click the Play triangle button (?) right above your post grid.
- Tap the video you’d like to see insights for.
- Tap the horizontal (?) or vertical (?) three dots on the corner of the video.
- Tap View Insights in the pop-up menu.
Next, we'll get into how to use Instagram Insights in your day-to-day.
The 2024 Instagram Engagement Data Report
New data to help you shape your Instagram strategy
- Optimized content types
- Influencer marketing
- Posting volume
- And more!
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
How to Use Instagram Insights
Instagram Insights is a fantastic tool, but many people stop at looking at the numbers. As I mentioned above, the real value comes when you connect those numbers to business goals like awareness, traffic, leads, and sales. Here are nine practical ways you can use insights to see how what you’re doing is working — and decide which levers to pull harder and which to let go of.
1. Measure views.
What it is: This is the total number of times your content was viewed during the selected date range. Views include repeat plays, so know that one person can account for multiple views.
How to track and use this metric:
- Spot which formats (Reels, Stories, carousels) drive the most visibility. In 2024, Reels accounted for about a third of brand content and delivered the strongest ROI.
- Compare Views vs. Interactions to avoid vanity wins — a video that racks up 10k views but only 50 interactions may not be resonating.
- Look at "Top content by Views" to see what’s standing out.
Instagram Insights will keep track of this over time, but I recommend pulling the data into a third-party software too (I happen to love Metricool) so you can compare with your other business goals — including other platforms.
2. Track interactions.
What it is: Engagement actions like likes, comments, shares, saves, and replies.
How to track and use this metric:
- Focus on saves and shares — stronger intent and advocacy signals than likes.
- Use the Top content by interactions filter to find posts worth repurposing.
- Track this number over time to find out whether your “conversion rate” is increasing or decreasing.
Need inspiration? The 2024 data showed funny (40%), authentic (38%), and demo or teaser posts (49%) as leading drivers of engagement
3. Monitor new followers.
What it is: Net-new followers in the period, plus which content drove follows.
How to track and use this metric:
- Track conversion rate from Profile Visits → Follows. If visits are high but follows are flat, your profile needs stronger positioning.
- Watch the Follower growth graph for spikes tied to specific posts or collabs.
- Cross-check demographics. With 85% of Instagram users under 45. I always recommend making sure your growth lines up with the right segments.
Don’t forget to also track lost followers. While it’s not a major indicator of success or lack thereof, if you suddenly see your numbers falling off, it’s a good idea to examine why.
4. Review content you shared.
What it is: Every post, Reel, Story, Live, or promotion you published in the time frame.
How to track and use this metric:
- Audit your content mix — are you balancing Reels, Stories, and carousels? Stories alone made up 43% of branded content in 2024.
- Tap into any piece to see individual Insights (Views, Interactions, discovery sources).
- Look for content clusters — if three posts on one topic outperform, I recommend expanding it into a series.
There will always be outliers, where a particular post gets skyrocketing engagement or crickets for no apparent reason.
Definitely dig into that, but also, remember to give yourself grace and space — focusing on trends over knee-jerk reactions.
Which leads me to the next point
5. Dig into post-level insights (but don’t get lost).
What it is: Analytics tied to an individual post (Reel, carousel, static post, video, or Live replay). You’ll see metrics like profile activity (visits, follows, website taps), discovery sources (feed, hashtags, search, location tags), and actions taken (link clicks, follows).
How to track and use this metric:
- From your profile, tap the post → View Insights.
- Compare profile visits vs. follows to calculate a conversion rate for how well your profile is converting curious visitors.
- Check discovery sources to see where new eyeballs are coming from (hashtags vs. feed vs. search).
- Prioritize posts that don’t just generate Views but actually drive website taps, follows, or DMs. This is how you separate “viral” content from “valuable” content.
6. Remember your story insights.
What it is: Metrics specific to Instagram Stories — including Impressions (total views), Reach (unique viewers), Taps Forward/Back, Replies, Swipe Aways, and Exits.
How to track and use this metric:
- Go to Insights → Content You Shared → Stories, then open the Story you want to analyze.
- Use Reach to confirm if Stories are expanding beyond your base followers.
- Watch Taps Forward/Back to understand pacing: high Taps Forward means your content may drag, while Taps Back can mean curiosity or missed info.
- Track Replies as a measure of relationship-building — they’re your most valuable Story interactions.
- Monitor Swipe Aways/Exits closely: spikes here mean the content didn’t hold attention, and it’s your cue to shorten or tighten your Story strategy.
7. Use the monthly recap tool.
What it is: A story-style roundup Instagram now gives Professional accounts at the end of each month. It highlights top-performing content, engagement spikes, and key metrics.
I am low-key obsessed with this because it tells you the STORY behind the numbers.
How to track and use this metric:
- Access by going to your Insights > Your Tools > Monthly Recap and then choose the month.
- Think of it as a quick gut check to validate what worked without pulling a full export. Just make sure to capture those screens quickly!
- Use it to spot content themes that consistently land (e.g., tutorials outperform promos).
- Compare Recap highlights with your business goals. If your recap is all about views but your focus is sales, it’s time to realign content.
- Take inspiration for your next round of content!
8. Check regularly and evaluate monthly.
Up until this point, I’ve focused largely on tactics — how to use Instagram Insights features with some practical tips along the way. My last two tips are more strategic in nature, and the format looks a little different.
That’s because it’s one thing to look at the data, and another to know how to use it without getting lost. (Tip 5 had a real Easter egg there.)
I encourage clients to build a regular, sustainable cadence for reviewing all of their marketing efforts — Instagram, LinkedIn, or otherwise.
So yes, check Instagram regularly: engage with people, scan for quick wins or red flags, and jump on opportunities. If you go viral, follow it up with related content — stat.
But once a month, zoom out. Look at the trends. What’s working? What’s not? Compare those results with your 90-day goals. If you need to tweak your tactics, go for it. Just don’t overhaul your strategy every week based on outlier data.
9. Test, iterate, and track (against the big picture).
This has felt like a very serious post — and for good reason. It’s been all about that data. (Please, sing to the tune of Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass.)
But while I firmly believe that marketing should be data-driven, it can — and should — also be fun. That’s how you connect with people.
So use those Instagram Insights to play around with what’s possible. You can easily try out new types of content, ideas, posting times, and trends, without losing sight of your bigger goals.
Heck, Insights even offers a “Trial reels” feature so you can test content ideas with non-followers.
With that in mind, here’s how I frame things:
- Test. Experiment away to your heart’s content. But maintain a primary focus on what you know works so you’re not abandoning ship on a whim.
- Iterate. If something works, double down. If it doesn’t, back off and evaluate why before you tweak and try again.
- Track. If you’re sensing a theme, keep that data at the forefront. Are website taps turning into sign-ups? Are followers becoming customers? Do engagement spikes translate into other important-to-you metrics?
I advocate for 90-day strategies that align with your big picture SMART goals. Your monthly reviews keep you on track, and quarterly resets help you make decisions about which levers to move next.
And that’s how you turn Instagram Insights from a dashboard of numbers into a usable feedback loop.
Measuring Your Effectiveness With Instagram Insights
At the beginning of this post, I talked about how so many people still measure Instagram success by likes and comments. And sure, those numbers are fun to see—and track. But they don’t tell you the story behind your marketing efforts.
By that I mean, those metrics alone aren’t enough to tell you if your content is actually growing your brand, reaching the right people, or driving sales.
That’s where Instagram Insights comes in. Yes, it’s a dashboard, but it also offers important analytics to show you what’s resonating, what’s falling flat, and what’s moving the needle on business goals.
As I’ve said a few times, Instagram Insights is just the start because it helps you collect data. To get the most out of it, you must actually use it to drive your next decisions. And that’s the real power — turning insights into action.
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in January 2018 but has been updated for comprehensiveness.
The 2024 Instagram Engagement Data Report
New data to help you shape your Instagram strategy
- Optimized content types
- Influencer marketing
- Posting volume
- And more!
Download Free
All fields are required.
You're all set!
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
Social Media Analytics
![How to Create a Social Media Report in 7 Simple Steps [+ Free Templates]](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/social-media-report-1-20240724-2630720-1.webp)
![How to measure social media marketing ROI [with expert advice]](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/social-media-roi.png)
![Blog Conversations Don't Lead to More Views or Links [New Data]](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/analytics-1.jpg)
