With so many Instagram metrics available, it can be hard to know which metrics really matter for your business. Below, we list which Instagram metrics you should track to achieve your social media goals.

Account metrics

Engagement rate

Here’s the formula to calculate engagement rate:

Average engagement across all posts: [Post interactions ÷ total follower count (or impressions) x 100]

This metric helps you evaluate how well your content resonates with your audience and encourages them to take action. Note that your engagement rate percentage will reduce as you gain more followers.

Almost all social media analytics tools will calculate the engagement rate for your account and for each post. But because some experts think the number of impressions is a better metric than follower count, you might get different percentages from different calculators.

Pro-tip: If you want to go in-depth, here are all the different ways to calculate engagement rate.

Website referral traffic

If you want to increase your Instagram ROI, it’s important to track the number of people who visit your website via a link on Instagram.

Here are three ways to measure your website referral traffic:

• Track the number of people that click the link in your Instagram bio.
• Track the number of people that click on links in your Instagram Stories
• Use UTM parameters in your Instagram links. UTM parameters will capture data from anybody who copies/pastes the link in their browser, shares your link with a friend, or is referred by an influencer.

Pro-tip: If you’re tracking your audience’s movement down the buyer journey, try Hootsuite Impact to make the process easier.

Follower growth rate

Here’s the formula to calculate follower growth rate:

Number of followers gained ÷ previous number of followers x 100

If you don’t track your follower growth over time, you’re wasting a great opportunity because follower count has the biggest impact on organic reach.

Pro-tip: If one of your marketing goals is to increase brand awareness, check out our guide on getting more Instagram followers.

Individual post metrics

Post engagement rate

Here’s how to calculate post engagement rate:

Post interactions ÷ total follower count (or impressions) x 100

Tracking your post engagement rate helps you determine the kind of content your audience resonates with and expects more of. Engagement comes in different forms: likes, comments, saves, shares, etc.

Some social media experts believe that comments are more important than likes because they show more interest and take more effort.

Post comment rate

Here’s how to calculate post comment rate:

Post comments ÷ total follower count (or impressions) x 100

It’s quite easy to ‘like’ an Instagram post. Commenting is quite a different matter. That’s why you should pay attention to people who take the time to leave comments on your post.

If you’re trying to forge relationships or build customer loyalty, regard comments separately from overall engagement, and work to increase the number of comments you get.

Pro-tip: To check how your content is resonating with your audience, cross-reference comment counts against message sentiment in your social media listening tool.

Impressions

Impressions refer to the total number of times your post was seen by Instagram users. The number of impressions on a post can show how well you’re promoting your content and account, especially if you’re running ads.

Reach

Reach refers to the total number of unique Instagram users that saw your post.

Your organic reach is closely connected to the number of followers you have and how engaging your content is. If your content is interesting, Instagram will push it out to more people. That’s why it’s important to know how the Instagram algorithm works.

Instagram Stories metrics

Stories engagement

Here’s how to calculate Stories engagement:

Total actions ÷ total reach x 100

To measure the engagement rate on your Stories, sum up the profile visits, replies, and sticker taps you got via Stories. These interactions will tell you if you’re using Stories the right way.

To get the complete rundown of Instagram Stories analytics, check out this Hootsuite guide.

Completion rate

Here’s how to calculate Stories completion rate:

Number of people that viewed the final Story segment ÷ number of people that viewed the first Story segment x 100

When people watch your Stories to the end, it indicates that your audience is connecting with your content. However, while you track people who watch your Stories all the way through, you should also track metrics that potentially show negative feedback. For example:

• Back: This means that users are watching the Story again. This might indicate that it’s too fast.
• Forward: This means users are skipping the Story. This might indicate that it’s boring.
• Next Story: This means that users are completely skipping your Stories. This might indicate that they don’t like your content.
• Exit: This means the user completely left the Instagram app.

While these metrics might seem brutal, they can help you refine your Instagram Stories and create content your target audience loves.

Reels metrics

Reel engagement rate

Here’s how to calculate Reel engagement rate:

Reel interactions ÷ total follower count (or views) x 100

Sum up your total Reel likes, comments, saves, and shares, and compare it to your follower count or the number of viewers for that particular Reel.

When you compare that value against your follower count, you’ll be able to determine how much your audience resonates with your Reels. On the other hand, using the number of viewers will show you how your Reels perform against one another.

Instagram Ads metrics

Click-through rate

Here’s the formula to calculate ad click-through rate:

Clicks ÷ impressions x 100

While click-through rate is an important metric to track, don’t be caught up in trying to increase the figure. The most important thing is to ensure that your ad copy mainly attracts people who are actually interested in your offer, especially if you’re paying for each click.

Conversions

For many B2B and e-commerce brands, conversions are the most important thing. These conversions can come in the form of signing up a new lead, getting an email address, and selling your product/service.

You can track your conversions in Hootsuite Impact.

Cost per result

Here’s how to calculate cost per result:

Total amount spent ÷ number of results (for a specific period of time)

Determine how much each conversion costs you and ensure that you don’t pay more money for a conversion than the return you get from it.

You can find this information in Facebook Ads Manager.

Instagram Live metrics

Live engagement rate

Here’s how to calculate Live engagement rate:

Live interactions ÷ total follower count (or accounts reached) x 100

Add together the comments and shares your Live stream got, and compare it to your follower count or the number of accounts the Live Stream reached.

Now that you know which Instagram metrics matter, head over to our post on Instagram analytics tools to find out how to go about tracking them and generating custom reports.

Save time by using Hootsuite to manage your Instagram presence. Schedule in-feed posts and Stories in advance, and easily measure your performance on Instagram and all other networks from one palce. Try Hootsuite for free today.