Track these essential Instagram metrics to measure the impact your social media marketing is having on your business goals
As with all marketing strategies, it’s crucial to track your performance and using Instagram for business is no exception. A big juicy follower count is often what businesses and brands desire, but let it be known that counting followers is not the best measure of your success.
It’s no secret that in the world of social media marketing, it’s easy to obsess over followers. The more the merrier! People follow people. It looks good to have a big following, doesn’t it? If X amount of people follow this account, it must be worth a follow…
But any social media expert knows that how many followers you have is not the best indication of business success on Instagram.
Vanity metrics
t’s what we call a vanity metric: a unit that might look good on the outside – to others – but doesn’t make an impact on your business.
Followers and likes are the most common vanity metrics in the context of social media. They look impressive and make you feel good, but they don’t secure sales or end in profit. Likes and followers are great (hello dopamine hit, I’m looking at you) – but always aim for quality over quantity when it comes to followers.
Instagram success
Building an audience of 10K is often a desired initial goal for businesses on Instagram. This is usually because when you reach 10,000+ followers it will display as 10K and the covetable swipe-up link in stories unlocks. However, having 10K followers does not mean they will click your link, let alone buy from you.
It is also worth noting that having 10K followers will not necessarily result in more sales and more money in the bank. In a world where you can buy likes and followers – or gain them using shady practices (eg follow unfollow) – it is easy to fake success.
Why you should never buy followers
Never, under any circumstances, should you be tempted to try this for your business. Not only can people usually tell when you have bought followers, it goes against Instagram’s terms or service and you could have your account restricted or closed down. The sheer thought sends shivers down a social media manager’s spine.
You can set out with a marketing strategy to grow your Instagram. Inevitably, this will result in more followers but this shouldn’t be the sole focus for you: track followers but don’t lose sleep over them. It is far better to focus on additional – more meaningful – metrics to measure your performance.
In order to measure your true success, there are more useful metrics to keep track of when you are using social media for business. Read on to discover what they are.
Instagram metrics to measure your success
Instagram insights – available for business and creator accounts – reveal insightful information you can track to measure growth and success. It’s a good idea to decide which metrics are important for your business as you start your social media strategy. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s five metrics to consider tracking to measure your success on Instagram:
Instagram metric to measure success 1: Engagement, specifically saves. Liking a post only takes a second, as does leaving an emoji or a generic comment. Opting to save your post to a private collection is a much more meaningful action. It indicates that your content is valuable and worth returning to.
Instagram metric to measure success 2: DMs and emails/calls. count all leads you get through these channels before you qualify them. Then count again after. Are you attracting warm leads? Adapt your content and calls to action if not.
Instagram metric to measure success 3: Website clicks. Asking someone to leave an app they’ve chosen to open to click on your website is a big ask. Identifying posts that did just that will help you plan your next launch.
Instagram metric to measure success 4: Sign ups. Whether that’s to your email list, your freebie, your paid product. Whatever you’re marketing, you need to know and understand your conversion rate. It’s a good idea to migrate your followers to stay connected if Instagram closes down tomorrow.
Sales/ conversions: Financial gain. This is the big one. If you are a business owner and you’re not selling, you have an expensive hobby. If you’re spending time on Instagram and you can directly track the sales back to your business, surely that is the biggest indicator of success there is?
Have a system set up to track the important metrics to you. It counts as social proof – in case you need to have some – but it is also historic data to track growth. Get in touch if you’d like me to help you with this or follow me on Instagram for more social media for business tips.
Lorraine Crighton-Smith is a freelance journalist and social media consultant. When not demystifying social media to clients and her online community, Lorraine can be found making the most of her local area (SE London) while juggling the demands of a lockdown toddler. Good coffee is a morning ritual and a weekend wine will not go amiss. Follow Lorraine on Instagram here
