Instagram for Business Part 8

Instagram for Business includes access to Insights, a free analytical tool that can help you understand who your followers are and what they’re interested in.

How to Track Instagram Analytics

From your profile page, tap the bar chart icon in the top right. From the Insights page you can see:

  • How many times your posts were viewed
  • How many people your posts reached (swipe left on number of impressions)
  • Your most popular posts (tap “See More”)
  • Video views
  • Engagement (number of likes and comments)
  • Followers’ age, gender and location

When you pay to run advertising campaigns on Instagram, you’ll get detailed analytics on the performance of your ads in the Facebook Ads Manager or in the Power Editor tool. The metrics will vary depending on the type of ad campaign, but you can look for:

  • Engagement
  • Total reach
  • Total amount spent
  • Cost per result (e.g. cost per video view or cost per website visit, depending on your campaign goals)

What’s the Best Time to Post to Instagram?

The short answer to this question is: Post when your customers are using their smartphones. As you might imagine, that’s pretty much all the time. You can get specific info about your followers using the Instagram Insights tool from your profile page; it will tell you at what times your followers are most likely to be active on Instagram.

How Many Instagram Posts Per Day are Best for Business?

The trick on all social media platforms is this: You want to post often enough so that your business stays visible in your followers’ feeds, but you don’t want to post so often that people get annoyed and stop following your account.

“I suggest posting a least once a day to stay top of mind,” said Sue B. Zimmerman, the Instagram Expert and author of “The Official 2016 Instagram Strategy Guide.”

“Only post if the photo is a ‘North Star’ photo, shining bright to pull you in. Otherwise don’t post just for the sake of checking it off your to do list,” Zimmerman advised. “If you want to have success on Instagram you have to have an Instagram mindset, which means thinking about your feed like a magazine and posting content that aligns with the vibe and theme of your business.”