Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri shared new tips on how to utilize Instagram’s content performance insights, as well as which data points are relevant to different types of engagement and usage.
Mosseri regularly shares notes and tips on his personal Instagram page as a means to maintain connection with IG creators and provide insight into the platform’s thinking around how to optimize for user engagement.
Though generally, Mosseri’s notes are fairly vague, and lack significant insight into how to make the most of the platform, outside of general notes like “post content that your audience is interested in.”
Mosseri’s latest advice is not much different, though it may provide some guidance for social media marketers who are looking to improve their IG performance.
As per Mosseri: “The thing I think that matters most, and that you really should focus on, is not how much reach your post got. That is an important thing, obviously, but if you want to understand why a post got more or less reach, you should focus on your engagement rates.”
Mosseri advised that engagement rates dictate reach, because more people interacting with content signals to the algorithm that this is interesting, and that more people may want to see it. View counts also factor into this, as does engagement time, but specific actions taken by viewers send different signals to the system.
“So of all the people who saw the post, how many of them actually engaged with that post?” Mosseri asked. “They liked it, or they sent it to a friend, or they commented on it, or they saved it, et cetera. You should also take a look at the connected reach versus the unconnected reach.”
Connected reach, Mosseri said, reflects the number of an account's followers who viewed a post, while unconnected reach is the number of people who don't follow an account that saw it.
“The engagement rates that matter most vary slightly,” Mosseri said. “For instance, like rates matter more for your followers, and send rates matter more for those who don't follow you.”
More likes on a post will ensure that more of that account’s followers see it, because that content is likely to be of interest to people who share the same interest.
Instagram post reach is dictated by engagement, so while a user may follow an account, their feed ranking is dictated by engagement with each specific profile. So if an account that they follow, but don’t really interact with, posts a new update, that user won’t necessarily see it, because it won’t be displayed high in their feed.
More engagement with an account means a follower is more likely to see their posts, but in general, only a fraction of an account’s followers will see each new post from that account. This, by the way, has long been a point of contention among users.
In terms of shares, Instagram takes this as a signal that this content is likely to be of interest to a wider audience, which is why Mosseri advised that this metric matters more for expanded reach.
If users are passing posts onto their friends, that’s a strong signal that those outside of the accounts’ immediate network might like it, which can help to boost exposure in Explore and other recommendation surfaces.
So, in general terms, likes are good for community building and engagement within an account’s following, while those looking to grow their presence should focus on shares.
