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Do you want a better way to analyze your Instagram marketing efforts?
Looking for free tools to help?
The right Instagram tools can provide analytics to inform your social media strategy and content scheduling.
In this article, you'll discover five free Instagram analytics tools for marketers.
#1: Instagram Insights
If you've set up your Instagram business account, you have access to free analytics through the Instagram app.
Instagram Insights provides basic stats for assessing your Instagram marketing efforts. Find out more about your followers, when they're on Instagram, and what your top posts are. This information will help you choose content more likely to resonate with your audience.
On the downside, you have to navigate the app a bit to see all of these stats. It would be nice if Instagram would let you view this data on desktop or download your results.
Access Your Instagram Insights
To access these insights, tap the bar chart icon in the top-right corner of the app.
The first analytics screen shows high-level insights for the last week and comparison stats for the week before. You can view your total impressions, reach, profile views, and website clicks. It also shows your top posts and stats for your Instagram stories from the last 24 hours.
Swipe to the right to see your reach.
Swipe right again to view profile views.
Swipe right one more time to see website clicks data.
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View Top Posts Insights
To find out more about your top posts, tap the See More link next to Top Posts.
You can now see the top six posts from the past seven days sorted by impressions.
Tip: Tap the blue links at the top of the screen (All, 7 Days, or Impressions) for additional filtering options.
See Followers Insights
Back on the main Insights page for your account, scroll down to the Followers chart of times when your followers are on Instagram.
Tap the See More blue link next to Followers to get more details about your audience. On the next screen, view the number of new followers for this week and get a gender breakdown of your followers.
Scroll down to see an age breakdown of your Instagram followers, and find out the top countries and cities where they're located.
Tip: Tap a bar on the age chart to show percentages for each age range.
Examine Promotions Insights
If you're running paid Instagram ads, the Promotions section of the main Insights screen gives you relevant stats on your campaigns.
Tip: Tap the What Do These Mean? link for details about the demographics and time stats.
#2: Socialbakers
With Socialbakers, you can get a free report on your most popular Instagram photos, filters, and hashtags, and all of your interactions with followers.
The report is visually appealing, but navigating it is a bit clunky. The most useful sections are the most liked and most commented posts because this information can help inform the types of images you use in future Instagram posts.
Access Your Socialbakers Report
To get your free report, go to Socialbakers' Free Instagram Analytics Tool and click Login With Instagram.
Authorize the app to access your Instagram profile information.
Then fill in some personal information.
After you click Submit, you'll see the Socialbakers dashboard.
Explore the Report
The free report is fairly simple. You can see your most liked posts, most commented posts, most popular filters, top hashtags, and the people you've tagged most often.
You may find the dashboard interface a little difficult to get used to. For example, zooming in and out, and scrolling through the report can be a little tricky. However, the report presents the information well and the distribution of posts by month chart is handy.
#3: Simply Measured
Editorial Note: Simply Measured was acquired by SproutSocial in December 2017; the free report mentioned below is no long available.
Simply Measured offers a free Instagram report for users with up to 25,000 followers. The stats and insights are presented clearly and will help inform your Instagram posting strategy. The report lets you quickly see what has worked well in your Instagram marketing so you can apply these insights to future posts.
Access Your Simply Measured Report
You have to go through quite a few steps to access your Simply Measured report, but I promise you it's worth the time and effort. The report you receive will be rich in detail.
To get started, type your Instagram account name in the text box and click Authenticate With Any Instagram Account. Then log in and authorize Simply Measured to access information from your Instagram account.
When you're finished, click Continue in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
On the next page, fill in your personal details and click Download.
Next, you'll need to follow Simply Measured on Twitter. When I clicked Follow Us on Twitter, I had some issues. One workaround is to go directly to Twitter and follow Simply Measured's Twitter account manually. Then come back to Simply Measured and click Follow Us on Twitter a second time and it should work.
Finally, fill in some more information about yourself and Simply Measured will email the report to you.
When you receive your report, you'll find three tabs of information: Charts, Scorecard, and Appendix.
The buttons in the top-right corner of the screen let you download the report to Excel or export it to PowerPoint, which is a nice touch.
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View the Charts Tab
On the Charts tab, you can view a wealth of insights about your most engaging posts and average engagement per post.
Tip: Scroll down on the screen to see more charts.
The Engagement chart shows Instagram engagement over time. See total engagement, engagement as a percentage of followers, and information on likes and comments your photos and videos received. It's a nice visual snapshot of how your content has performed.
Scroll down to look at how your top posts compare to your brand's average engagement.
Optimizations is the last section on the Charts tab. Here you can find out what users are saying in comments, what filters are performing best, and locations of your top-performing posts.
The Comments and Posts by Day and Time chart shows the top day and hour for engagement.
Examine the Scorecard and Appendix Tabs
The Scorecard tab gives you some basic stats about your Instagram account.
On the Appendix tab, check out a table of your top posts sorted by highest engagement with the date of the post, type, likes, comments, and total engagement (likes + comments).
Tip: Click a blue link to view the post on Instagram.
#4: Union Metrics
Union Metrics offers a free Instagram account checkup to assess how you're doing on the network. While the report isn't as comprehensive as some others, it offers handy nuggets of data for marketers. It helps you determine the best time to post, which hashtags to use, and what content to post more (or less) of. It also highlights your top followers and reminds you to engage with them.
Access Your Union Metrics Report
To access your free report, click Start Your Checkup on the home page and then sign up for a Union Metrics account.
Next, authorize Union Metrics to access information from your Instagram account. You'll then see a progress screen as Union Metrics loads data into your report.
When the process is complete, your report is displayed, showing data from the last month. You can view the number of posts by day. Use the icons in the top-right corner of the page to share, print, or download your report.
Scroll down to examine more stats with recommendations from Union Metrics, such as the best time and day to post.
You can also view stats and visuals for your top-performing posts.
If you click the circles on the hashtag report, you can see more information about the hashtags, which is a handy feature.
#5: Squarelovin
With Squarelovin, you can get free basic Instagram analytics. The report is well-designed and easy to understand. The Optimization section offers insights that help inform Instagram posting. The “worst times to post” information is especially valuable.
Access Your Squarelovin Report
First, you'll need to sign up for a Squarelovin account.
After you sign up, you'll receive an email to activate your account. Click the link in the email and log in.
Next, you'll see a setup screen where you add your Instagram account. Click the button above Manage Team to access the account.
Examine Your Report
On your dashboard, you can view high-level stats and access additional analytics screens.
Tip: Click the tabs in the left sidebar to access detailed stats.
On the Postings tab, you'll get information on your post history and top posts.
It also shows your posts by year and month and day and time.
The Engagement tab shows information on likes and comments, and highlights the top liked and top commented posts.
View the comments your posts have received over time and your most commented posts.
The Optimization tab is the really interesting one. It shows the best time and day to post on Instagram.
It also will reveal the worst times to post on specific days.
If you use different filters on Instagram, you can also view the impact of those filters.
Finally, the report lets you see all of the Instagram hashtags you've used next to a list of the most popular hashtags. You can quickly see if you're using top hashtags or if you need to rethink your hashtag strategy.
Want more like this? Explore Instagram for Business!
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Final Thoughts
Until Instagram Insights are available for desktop or displayed in a less cumbersome format, these five free third-party tools collectively offer good reports and insights into your Instagram marketing. Understanding whom your Instagram fans are and what content they engage with (and when) will give you ideas for future content to share on the network.
At the end of the day, analytics are useful only if the information is relevant to your social media marketing and business. Focus on key stats to inform and refine your Instagram content and strategy. This will help you publish content your community is likely to respond to and engage with.
What do you think? Have you tried any of these free Instagram analytics tools? How have they worked for your business? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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