Instagram Story Insights, Explained
Last month, we broke down everything you need to know about Instagram post insights. Now, we are taking a deeper dive into Instagram Story insights.
*Disclaimer: you will need an Instagram Business or Creator account to access full insights.
How To Access Instagram Story Insights
You can access insights for Instagram Stories several different ways:
From The Story Post: If your story is still live, you can view up-to-date story insights by clicking on the bottom left corner of each slide. This will bring up the total story views, as well as a list of accounts who have viewed the story. You can click on the bar graph icon to access insights for each individual story slide.
From Insights: From your profile, click the 3 horizontal bars in the top right corner, then click “Insights”. From there, scroll down to the “Stories” section and click “See All”. You’ll be able to see analytics for all stories posted in the past 14 days, including Reach, Link Clicks, Replies, Follows, and more. This is helpful for when you are interested in understanding overall account analytics and story insights.
From Archive: You can access detailed insights for stories posted more than 14 days ago through the archive. To access, again click the 3 horizontal bars in the top right corner, then click “Archive”. Toggle to “Stories” and from there you will see past story posts. Click on the story you wish to receive insights for, then click on the “Eye” icon in the lower left corner to access detailed insights.
Understanding Story Insight Definitions
Pulling up the detailed analytics for each story post reveals a wealth of information about how each story has performed. Here is what each insight means:
Interactions:
These numbers break down the different ways that viewers can interact with an Instagram story.
Link Clicks:
What is it? How many times viewers have “swiped up” on a link.
Why is it important to you? Link clicks are a great way to know if viewers are responding to the story content and compelled to learn more or buy the feature product. If the goal of your influencer campaign is to drive conversions, high link click numbers are a sign of campaign success. Note: only Instagram Business or Creator accounts with over 10,000 followers can currently include links in their stories.
Shares:
What is it? The number of times a story was shared, either as a direct message or onto another account’s story.
Why is it important to you? Shares are a form of user approval, as viewers not only like the content but are sending it to friends for approval, too. Shares are an important way for stories to reach new audiences, and drive up impression numbers.
Replies:
What is it? The number of times viewers send a direct message reply or share a “Quick Reaction” in response to a story.
Why is it important to you? A high number of replies suggests that the story content is highly engaging and stimulates conversation, as it warrants responses from viewers. Note: Replies can be turned off, but we usually only see this with celebrity accounts.
Website Clicks:
What is it? The number of times viewers clicked the website link in the account’s profile. Note that this is separate from “Link Clicks” which refers to the specific link added to the story.
Why is it important to you? Viewers clicking the link in an account’s bio are interested in learning more about the account, indicating that the story content is driving them to get to know more.
Sticker Taps:
What is it? The number of total taps on location, hashtag, mention, or product stickers on a story.
Why is it important to you? This number shows that the viewer is eager to learn more about the location, tagged accounts, shoppable products, or hashtags included in the story slide. For brands, a high number of “Sticker Taps” to their handle is a positive sign that viewers are responding well to the brand and its offerings.
Profile Visits:
What is it? The number of times an account’s profile was viewed.
Why is it important to you? This is another indication that viewers, particularly new viewers who aren’t following the account already, are attracted to learn more.
Discovery:
These numbers detail how many people view a story and how they are finding it.
Reach:
What is it? The number of unique accounts that saw a story.
Why is it important to you? Story views are an important metric for marketers, as it shows how many eyeballs are viewing the story content.
Impressions:
What is it? The amount of times a piece of content has been viewed. Impression numbers will (in most cases) be higher than the reach number, since people can view a post multiple times.
Why is it important to you? If your impression numbers are much higher than your reach numbers, this is a great sign that your content warrants multiple views and has created a lasting impression.
Follows:
What is it? The number of accounts that started following an account after viewing a story.
Why is it important to you? A high number next to “Follows” suggests that the content is attracting new audiences to learn more about the account.
Navigation:
What is it? How viewers are looking through an account’s story. There are few different ways viewers can navigate through the story, including:
Back: The number of taps to view the previous story slide on an account.
Forward: The number of taps to see the next story slide on an account.
Next Story: The number of taps to the next account’s story.
Exited: The number of taps to leave an account’s story.
Why is it important to you? Other than “Back” you want these numbers to be as low as possible relative to the account holder's benchmarks, as it means that viewers are clicking through your story rapidly, or even deciding to move on to a new account’s story. If viewers are hitting the “Back” button on a story, however, that means they wanted to look at the slide again in order to take in the information presented. This is a good sign, as it means that the story slide content warrants repeat viewing (and will help increase the “Impressions” number).