The Key Instagram Metrics To Watch In 2025

Instagram metrics show how well your account is performing. They include data on followers, post interactions, and marketing effectiveness. As pointed out by Hootsuite, some metrics track individual posts (like comments and likes), while others measure overall performance (like follower count). These insights help you see what’s working and adjust your strategy to attract more followers and achieve your business goals.

Follower Growth Rate

This shows how quickly you're gaining or losing followers, indicating the effectiveness of your content strategy. Formula Net Follower Growth = New Followers − Lost Followers You can check your overall and net follower growth in Instagram Insights. A good growth rate is between 2.5% and 5%.

Reach and Reach Rate

Reach indicates how many unique users saw your post, while Reach Rate shows the percentage of followers who engaged. Formula Reach Rate = (Total Reach/Total Followers) × 100 Average reach rates are 12% for posts and 2% for Stories.

Engagements by Follower

Measures how actively your followers engage with your content. Engagement includes likes, comments, shares, and reposts. Formula Engagement Rate = (Total Engagements/Total Followers) × 100 A typical engagement rate is 1-3%, with over 5% considered excellent.

Engagement by Reach

Shows the percentage of viewers who engaged with your content. Formula Engagement Rate by Reach = (Total Engagements/Total Reach) × 100 A good benchmark is anything above 5%.

Website Traffic

How many visitors come from Instagram to your website using tools like Google Analytics or Instagram Insights. More traffic is better, so optimize links if traffic is low. For Google Analytics, go to Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition; or for Instagram Insights, go to Profile → Insights → Accounts reached → External link taps.

External Link Taps

Measures how many users tapped the link in your bio from specific posts. Analyze which content drives traffic. To access this metric, go to Insights → Content → select the post → scroll to Profile activity for External link taps.

Link Clicks (Stories)

Track taps on links in your Instagram Stories. This requires using the Link sticker. To access this metric, go to Insights → Content → select the Story → scroll to Story interactions for Link clicks.

Instagram Reel Shares

Shares can significantly increase your content's reach. Monitor which Reels are shared the most. To access this metric, click the three dots on your Reel → View Insights for shares and engagement data.

North Star Metric (NSM)

Identify a key metric that that goes beyond vanity metrics. It should align with your business goals, such as customer retention or impact metrics, rather than just follower counts

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