Discover which Instagram story metrics help your brand and how to use them!
Instagram story analytics: track the right metrics for your brand
Understanding Instagram Story Analytics
Metrics tell a story. It's important to know what to track for your business social media account. So today we’re spilling the tea on all things Instagram story analytics. That’s just a fancy way to say understanding the numbers when you post Instagram stories. It’s about to get juicy because we’re about to give you a crash course in Instagram metrics for brands. Here’s what we’ll chat about:
Do you need a business account to view Instagram story insights?
How to view Instagram analytics
Top metrics to track for Instagram story analytics
Instagram highlight bubbles and how to use them
How Instagram insights work
How to export Instagram analytics data
Using Instagram insights to help your brand
Should you have an Instagram business account
Who are Instagram business accounts for and what are the benefits?
Business accounts give you the best insights for understanding how your content is performing. Instagram business accounts are for anyone using Instagram to make money and increase brand awareness or promote products and services.
Having a personal account on Instagram when you’re running a business is like having a taco at an Italian restaurant. It doesn’t really make sense, and you’re probably missing out. Yep, we pulled the FOMO (fear of missing out) card, but you’ll thank us for it later, honey!
What does a Business Instagram account offer?
Access to Instagram insights for recording and analyzing. Instagram analytics will give you all the deets if you let it!
Option to run Meta ads and promote posts. Get your business out there on a bigger scale.
Additional story features like “contact” buttons and tagging a product. Those coveted features alone are worth a business account.
More control over your Instagram marketing and branding. Who doesn’t like control, right?
Street cred aka credibility. When people see that you’ve taken your account seriously, they’ll take you seriously. Would you buy from a personal account of someone you don’t know? Maybe,,,but you might also think they’re a spam account and consider it a risky move.
On a personal account, you view the most basic Instagram story insight which is views. You can see how many times your story was watched and by who, but that’s about it. Let’s go back to the taco analogy. It’s like getting one tiny taco while everyone around you is feasting on gourmet pasta dishes and amazing wine.
With a business or creator account, you have access to Instagram Insights. Welcome to the VIP lounge. Instagram insights give detailed analytics for stories and metrics such as audience demographics, interactions, and overall account analytics. Business accounts give you all the important info like views, interactions, bounces, and more. What are you waiting for?
Step by step guide: How to find Instagram analytics
To see your Instagram analytics, you have to have a business or creator account (like we just talked about). If you don’t have one, go to your settings and switch your account to either a business or creator account, depending on your needs. Once you’ve done that, you can view Instagram Insights, which shows you Instagram story analytics and your Instagram account metrics.
Follow these steps to view your Instagram analytics:
Go to your Instagram profile and click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner.
Click “Insights” to open a dashboard that shows your account’s analytics
Check out the main sections: content, activity, and audience. These sections allow you to see your posts, stories, reels, and overall engagement.
There you have it, folks! It’s as easy as 1,2,3. To learn how to use Instagram insights for your brand and what Instagram story metrics to track, keep reading!
Top metrics to track for Instagram story analytics
There are four big players when it comes to tracking Instagram story metrics. What are the best metrics to tr
Discovering insights for Instagram stories
What’s the deal with Instagram insights? You can dive deep into your Instagram story metrics, which means you can see what content people like the most and what’s a total flop. Don’t stress, it’s alright to experiment and figure out what your audience responds to. Then you can really dial it in, creating content that hits your target audience exactly as intended. Having access to all the data is what allows you to make observations about your content performance and pivot as needed. Check out these important metrics you should be paying attention to on Instagram stories for your brand:
Story views, which shows how many times each story has been watched and who watched them.
Story interactions track how your story is being engaged with. For example, you can see if your audience is clicking your stickers, answering questions and polls, or sending your stories to a friend.
Story exits show when a user bounces and stops watching your story before it’s completed. If it’s too long or boring, you’ll see your audience dropping off. Use this metric to figure out where exactly you’re losing people and adjust your content from there.
Completion rate refers to the percentage of people watching your entire story sequence from start to finish. The goal is for users to watch the whole story, showing that your content is engaging and relevant to that touchpoint. A high percentage is a good sign that your content is interesting and the viewer is eating it up!
How Instagram insights work
Instagram story insights is basically an undercover spy giving you top secret information. Use it wisely, and watch your brand grow and bring in business with a killer Instagram story strategy!
By now you know that Instagram insights offer metrics related to your IG story content, but it also gives a more general overview of activity on your account and information about your audience like location, age, gender, etc.
If you know who your audience is, you can cater to them with more specific content. It also helps you gauge who your brand is actually reaching compared to your intended audience. This will help you understand if you’re reaching the right people.
What Are Instagram Highlight Bubbles?
Instagram Stories typically disappear after 24 hours, but Instagram Highlights allow you to save and organize specific Stories into curated collections on your profile. These collections are displayed as circular icons or "bubbles" below your bio on your Instagram profile page.
Why Are They Useful?
Extended Visibility: Highlights allow your stories to be accessible longer than the usual 24 hours.
Organized Content: You can group stories into different themes, like product launches, events, Q&As, or customer testimonials.
Branding Opportunities: You can customize the highlight covers with icons, colors, or text to align with your brand's aesthetic.
How to Create Instagram Highlight Bubbles
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create and use Instagram Highlights:
Create Instagram Stories:
Start by creating the Instagram Stories you want to add to a highlight. You can add text, images, videos, stickers, and more.
Add Stories to Highlights:
After posting a Story, tap on "Highlight" at the bottom right corner.
You can choose an existing highlight to add the Story to or create a new one.
Give your highlight a name. Keep it short and descriptive.
Customize Highlight Covers:
To customize the cover image, go to your profile and hold down on the highlight bubble you want to edit.
Select "Edit Highlight," then tap "Edit Cover."
Choose an image from your camera roll, a screenshot from the Stories in the highlight, or create custom graphics using design tools like Canva.
You can zoom in or out to adjust the focus.
Organize Your Highlights:
To rearrange your highlight bubbles, go to your profile and tap and hold on a highlight.
Drag it to rearrange the order as needed.
You can also rename or delete highlights by tapping "Edit Highlight."
Tips for Using Instagram Highlight Bubbles
Thematic Organization: Group similar stories into themed highlights for easier navigation.
Branded Covers: Design custom highlight covers that align with your brand's colors and style for a cohesive look.
Regular Updates: Keep your highlights fresh by adding new content regularly and removing outdated stories.
Instagram Highlight Bubbles are a versatile tool for showcasing important content, providing easy access to information, and enhancing your profile's visual appeal.
How to export Instagram analytics data
You’ll need to use a third-party tool to export Instagram analytics data or manually record Instagram metrics since Instagram doesn’t have a way to export the data directly from the app. We recommend Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and Hubspot as some of our favorite tools for social media.
They both let you export Instagram insights data to CSV or other formats so you can share the insights with your team or use them for your own records and understanding.
How to export Instagram Insights on Hootsuite
Log in to your account or create an account if you don’t have one already.some text
Sign in to your Hootsuite account. Make sure you have all the necessary permissions to access analytics data
Click on the ‘Analytics’ tab on the left sidebar to access the analytics dashboard.
Select your report.some text
Click an existing report or create a new one.
If creating a new one, choose the metrics you want to include (such as audience demographics, post engagements, or story performance)
Make sure the right Instagram profile is selected.
Export the report:some text
Inside the chosen report, find the “Export” button at the top right corner.
Pick the format you want (usually Excel or CSV).
Customize the export settings if needed, such as data range and specifics.
How to export Instagram Insights on Sprout Social
Log in to your account or create an account if you don’t have one already.some text
Turn on all the necessary permissions to access analytics data.
Click on the ‘Reports’ tab at the top navigation bar.
Choose your report. some text
Pick the relevant report for Instagram insights such as “Instagram Profiles” or other specific reports for audience engagement, story analytics, etc.
Set the data range at the top to analyze the data for a specific range of time.
Export the report.some text
Choose the report you want to export.
Locate the “Export” button at the top right corner
Select which format you want (PDF, CSV, etc)
Customize what information you want to analyze
Download the file
Click “Export” to download the report.
You can then open the file and use it as you wish.
Using Instagram insights to help your brand
Knowledge is power, my friend. Blindly posting on Instagram stories without any strategy or feedback rarely works. Play it smart, and post consistently with a clear strategy in mind. Once you have the data, use it to refine your Instagram story content.
If you feel like Instagram is overwhelming or too time-consuming, consider outsourcing it. We have a team of social media experts ready to take social media off your plate. We offer everything from social media management to strategy, scheduling, engagement, and content creation. Reach today to see how we can help! We’ve got your back.
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