If you are new to Instagram ads, then you might be feeling a bit confused as to the differences between the social media platforms. This article was written to help you find your bearings by laying out the top five Instagram KPIs you should be tracking. We’ve also included included images of how we set-up our spreadsheets to measure these KPIs to help you as you build your own reports. 

Setting you Your Marketing Analytics Spreadsheet with Instagram KPIs

Across all social media websites, the metrics and key performance indicators you want to measure are relatively standard. The differences depend on how each social media website defines its user engagements. For Instagram, engagements include double-tapping which constitutes a like (applause) or commenting (conversation). There is no current method for sharing (amplification) on Instagram like there is Twitter and Facebook so in the following spreadsheet images, the amplification column is either zeroed or omitted.  Below is a preview of a template we used to automatically track KPIs using rates and ratios to track our content performance. 

Now that you have a visual understanding of what we are using, let’s dive into what exactly it is that we look at with Instagram ads. 

1. Applause Rate 

This refers to the average number of likes each post earns. Essentially, applause rate tells the base number of people who expressed some sort of emotional to your ad. We look at this to understand help us understand how many of our followers are actively looking at our content.

2. Conversation Rate

This is the number of people who felt compelled to join or start a discussion about the post. Conversation rate is typically lower than applause rates due to the extended effort it takes to comment, thus showing who has increased interest in your content.

Usually, what would come next for us as a KPI we measure on all of our social media marketing would be amplification rate. This metric refers to the number of times a post is shared for a 2^nd level audience to see, meaning followers of followers (those not directly following your account). However, due to the fact that sharing can only be executed through a third party application or by direct messaging, there is currently no trackable way to share/re-post on ads Instagram. 

3. Total Social Actions per Post

To gather the measurement for total social actions per post, divide the total number of likes and comments by the number of posts during a given amount of time. This gives an overview of how the content was generally received by your audience. This will give you an idea of what time of content to share on your Instagram for ideal traffic. Obviously, a post with a higher number of total social actions is something you want to look further into for an opportunity to expand on the topic of the content further. 

You will see in the image below that we use a composite of the first three metrics on this list to determine if an ad is ready to be created into a campaign. We use A/B testing to determine the best option for all of our ads. In the far right column, rows 17 and 18 were determined “ad ready” because of they earned a total of 50 social interactions (this is our benchmark–yours will be higher or lower depending on the stage of your company).

4. Network Growth 

Instagram’s sponsored ad show up in the feeds of people who do not follow you. Tracking your network growth from your ads is a great way to see whether or not your content is enticing enough to bring in new followers. In order to determine your network growth, you must divide the number of follower you end with and divide by the number you started with during a given amount of time.

5. Click-Through Rate

Although Instagram does not allow links or urls in post descriptions, they have added “learn more” button with sponsored content so you can redirect your audience to your website or blog. This will allow you to see exactly who is interested enough in your content to further investigate what your company is all about. 

While you want to track likes, comments and network growth often, click-through rate is a metric that determines your ROI. Think about it. If you pay to push an ad that attracts nobody to your website, it ultimately will have little effect on your conversion rates. You want to keep a close eye on this number to make sure your ad is not just something people scroll past an ignore.

Looking for an automate template like this to track your data? Check out our spreadsheet template marketplace here! You could get started with as little as three clicks!

We hope this helps, and as always, if you have any other favorite rates or ratios, share with us in the comments below!