Identifying KPIs to Boost Instagram Marketing Efforts

If you are an active social media user, then you probably already know that Instagram is one of the most used and sought-after social media platforms out there. The Facebook-owned platform has over 1 billion monthly active users and its popularity has been rapidly growing.

Because of this, Instagram is now one of those social media platforms that businesses use to promote their brands. Its metrics and KPI measurement are amazing, too, but not all business owners know how to properly make the most out of this.

This is the reason, we will be discussing some of the most important Instagram KPIs and metrics that can help you make the most out of your ads and promotions.

What Exactly Are KPIs?

First, it’s important we discuss what KPIs are so you can fully understand why it’s vital to your business. KPIs are a type of metric known as Key Performance Indicators. Metrics are statistical numbers used to measure the activities and performances of a company or organization. With them you see whether there is progress with your ads and other marketing strategies

Instagram is also used for business. Here entrepreneurs can engage with and connect to their target market.

However, not knowing which KPIs to measure can be a waste of time and resources, which is why today, we will discuss which ones you should be paying attention to.

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Reach and Impressions

Your impressions and reach are vital KPIs to know how many people are noticing your ads and posts. While these two are similar, they have a few differences that set them apart.

Impressions let you know how many times your post or story was shown on Instagram as a whole while reach only counts the unique users that viewed your post or story.

Knowing these numbers and setting them as your KPIs is vital to your business. If the numbers are high, then you know that you are publishing good content and targeting the right audience.

If these numbers are falling or stuck in the lower spectrum, then you might want to reconsider your content strategy. Take a look at your targeting settings and tweak them a bit if needed.

To view your reach and impressions, simply click on your Instagram Insights and scroll all the way down. You will then see a few bar graphs. These will show you the volume of your impressions and reach.

The Rate of Engagement

Engagement rates, by far, are one of the most important things that you should be paying attention to. Engagements apply to all user interaction with your post or account – shares, likes, and comments. They help you pinpoint which posts your customers or target market like based on the numbers that the metrics and KPIs reveal.

You’d want to pay attention to the comments, as this will help you build trust and rapport with your audience. Make sure to like and comment back to as many comments as you can so your customers know that you are listening and that you actually care. Not only will you build trust, but you will also increase your engagement rate, which is very important for your business.

It would be best if you could compute your engagement rate so you’d know whether you are posting the right content or you need to change it up a bit.

Engagement rate is the proportion of all engagements on a post to the total number of impressions, set as a percentage. It is considered a major KPI on Instagram.

If your engagement rate is less than 1%, then this is considered low and it certainly means that you need to look for more relevant content to post. If it is between 1% and 3.5%, then this means that you have an average engagement rate. You can continue posting your content, but it would be best if you could come up with new and fresh content so you can increase your engagement rate further.

If your engagement rate is between 3.5% and 6%, then this means that your rate is high and that your audience mostly relates to your content. If it is above 6%, then your engagement rate is very high. Keep posting similar content so you can keep your audience engaged.

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Your Follower Rate

While some may view this KPI as a vanity metric, it is still important to keep track of the number of your followers so that you know whether you are on the right track to going viral or not.

This one’s most probably the easiest KPIs to track, simply because all you need to do is take a look at your follower count and see if it is growing or shrinking.

However, you should delve deeper if you notice a sudden spike or that you are unexpectedly losing a lot of them.

Always try to find out what the reason is.This trend might be due to your posts going viral or because of a paid promotion, so keep a close eye on each change to see what is causing the trend to go up or down.

When to Post

Tracking how the interest in your posts vary over time might sound like an irrelevant KPI/ However it is very important if you want to increase your engagement and followers.

You definitely want to maximize the reach for each post, which means that posting during the best time of the day and the week for your business is vital to your KPIs and metrics.

If you have a global audience, then posting can get a little trickier, as you’d have to take time zones into account. However, if you have a local audience, then you can take a look at the trends in your area to see what time your target market is most active.

According to Sprout Social, the best times to post on Instagram are:

• on Wednesdays at 11 AM and
• on Fridays at 10 – 11 AM.

If you want to go the safer route, then try posting on Tuesday – Friday between 10 AM and 3 PM. Avoid posting on Sundays, late nights, and early mornings, as you are less likely to get engagements during these times.

However, it would be best if you could do some testing and studies based on your own business’ data so you could tailor your posting time further. Take a look at your engagements to see what time and day people are reacting the most to your posts and stories.

To do this, simply go to Instagram Insight, go to “Audience”, and scroll all the way down to the Followers tab. It will then give you a peak time when your followers and audience are liking your posts so you can follow that trend in the future.

Hashtag Clicks and Engagements

It is also a good idea to set and follow KPIs on hashtag’s performance. Adding hashtags to posts and stories is a very common and popular trend on Instagram, but do you know exactly why these hashtags are used?

Don’t use every popular hashtag on your posts – your hashtags should be relevant to your business and your posts so that you can attract the right audience and target market.

You also want to make sure that your hashtags increase your engagement. Again, Insights will help you find which hashtags are being clicked on and which ones are performing the best.

To check on a hashtag’s performance, simply open your post and tap on “Insights”. Swipe up and see a detailed report of where and how your post was discovered by your audience. This includes the ones that were clicked on or searched for by a specific hashtag.

Hashtags can definitely increase your engagements and even your follower rate, but again, they need to be relevant to your posts and your overall brand. If you include hashtags that are not relevant, then you might lose your audience and followers’ trust, so be extra careful when choosing which ones to include.

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Your Mentions

KPIs for mentions are related to how many mentions you are getting, which people are mentioning you, and what they are saying about you. It might be to thank you for a specific product or service, to gain your attention or even a complaint from one of your customers.

It is vital to keep track of your mentions so you can keep track of your customers’ queries and build rapport with them. It might not do a lot for your KPIs, but it’s a good chance to build trust with your audience.

Also, with mentions, you can track your audience’s thoughts the organic way – meaning you don’t have to pay for an ad just to get their attention. You definitely want to know if your customers are promoting your brand for free so you can thank them or even give them an incentive for doing it.

Simply go to your notifications and see if anyone has mentioned you. Make sure to check it regularly so you can let your consumers know that customer service is very important to you.

Clicks to Your Website From Instagram

This is another important KPI or conversion rate to follow. If you have a website, then you would most likely want to link it to your Instagram page through your bio. Most businesses and influencers use their bio to promote their business or content, as this is the only clickable area on Instagram for now.

Placing your website in your bio will allow you to increase not only your Instagram stats but also your website’s as well. You should keep track of your click-throughs so you would know how many people are actually interested in what you are offering.

If you want to see how many people have clicked on your bio, then head on to “Insights”. Click on the “Website Clicks” to see how many of your followers or audience clicked on the link on your bio. Additionally, you can also use the “Swipe Up” feature on your stories to lead people to your website.

How to Track Website Traffic with Digital Marketing KPIs

Conclusion

KPIs should be very specific and measurable. Make sure to have a specific number or goal in mind so you can ensure that your Instagram metrics are on the right path. For example, you should set “Get 3.5% engagements in 2 months” as a KPI goal rather than “Get more engagements in the next couple of weeks”. The more specific you are with KPIs, the easier it is to measure them.