As Instagram continues to grow and change every single week, it’s more important than ever for businesses to leverage every change at their disposal to connect with their ideal audience.

 

One of the most effective ways to do this is by taking advantage of Instagram Stories, which provide a unique platform to engage followers on a more personal level.

 

I personally love stories and have been consistent with them from years building a story engagement with followers. 

 

However, the key to utilizing Instagram Stories to their fullest potential lies in understanding the Instagram story analytics behind them.

 

Instagram Story Analytics provides valuable insights into your content's performance, allowing you to fine-tune your strategy and maximize your reach.

 

In this insightful short-guide, I will share & dissect the intricacies of Instagram Story Analytics, explaining each metric's significance, and how they can inform your Instagram Stories strategy.

 

We'll also explore practical strategies for using these insights to boost your engagement. 

 

Plus, stay tuned for a bonus section at the end: "Instagram Story Ideas for July 2023".

 

Understanding Instagram Story Analytics

 

Instagram Story Analytics can seem overwhelming at first, but understanding these metrics can give you an edge over your competition.

 

A recent survey shows most social media strategists do better job than their competitors by learning social media analytics like Instagram Story analytics

 

Here's a breakdown of the key metrics and what they mean for your Instagram Stories strategy:

 

1. Navigation Metrics

 

These metrics reflect how users navigate your Instagram Stories. And by analysing these metrics you will learn what instagram story analytics do or don't matter in 2023. 

 

Back: Indicates when a viewer swipes back to revisit your last Story or someone else's Story they saw before. 

 

Forward: Represents when a viewer taps to move on to your next Story.

 

Next Story: Denotes when a viewer moves on to view someone else's Story.

 

Exited: Signifies when a viewer leaves the Stories interface altogether.

 

If your Stories encourage more Forward and Next Story actions, Instagram is likely to push your content to more followers. This is because Instagram wants to keep users engaged within the Stories interface where they can serve more ads.

 

2. Interaction Metrics

 

Instagram story Interaction metrics provide insights into how viewers are engaging with your Stories.

 

Polls/Question Stickers/Quiz: When viewers interact with these features, Instagram sees your content as engaging and starts pushing it to a broader audience. I love polls and one of my most read Instagram marketing post is actually about instagram story poll Ideas, available to read on my blog.

 

Profile Visits: If a viewer visits your profile through your Story, that particular Story will likely receive more views than average. This implies that your content is compelling enough for viewers to want to explore more. I suggest anyone focused on Instagram growth optimising their profile, because most people 10x profile visits compared to no. of people leaving a follow on your page. 

 

3. Reach and Impressions

 

Reach is the number of unique accounts that have viewed your Story, while impressions indicate the total number of views, including multiple views from the same account. 

 

Leveraging Instagram Story Analytics

 

Armed with the understanding of these metrics, you can now leverage this knowledge to fine-tune your Instagram Stories strategy. Here's how:

 

1. Make Your Stories Engaging

 

Ensure your Stories are compelling enough to keep viewers from tapping forward or exiting. Interactive stickers like polls, quizzes, or question stickers can help increase engagement.

 

Earlier this year, I shared a list of 30+ Instagram story Ideas to spike your engagement. You can read them here. But remember you have to be creative with these ideas to make sure your audience finds them engaging. 

 

2. Encourage Profile Visits

 

Profile visits from Stories indicate high viewer interest and can increase your Story's visibility. You can encourage profile visits by posting teasers of your new post, running exclusive profile-only promotions, or sharing interesting behind-the-scenes content that prompts viewers to check out your profile for more.

 

A good story to profile visit conversion rate tells us that your followers might be interested in working with you or buying products. Always try to encourage them to check more of your offerings and old content that they loved. 

 

3. Optimize Your Content for More Organic Reach

 

More views translate to higher reach and impressions. Keep an eye on what type of content garners more views and replicates it. Additionally, regularly posting Stories can increase your chances of appearing at the front of your followers' Stories feed, thereby increasing your reach.

 

The opposite also works as taking a 24-hour break and coming back to post something engaging is also very beneficial. 

 

Growing Followers Through Instagram Stories

 

Growing your follower count through Stories is possible, but it typically happens indirectly. If someone shares your Story with someone who doesn't follow you, and they decide to follow you after viewing your Story, that's a direct gain. 

 

However, consistently posting engaging Stories can indirectly lead to follower growth by increasing your brand visibility and engagement.

 

 

 

Fine-Tuning Your Instagram Story Strategy

 

With Instagram Story Analytics in your toolkit, you can continually fine-tune your strategy. Here are some ways to do this:

 

1. Experiment and Adapt

 

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Analyze the performance of different types of content in your Stories and see what resonates with your audience.

 

Use a variety of Instagram content types, such as photos, videos, boomerangs, and carousel posts, to keep things fresh and engaging.

 

Your other feed content also gives algorithm signals that show how interested a follower will be in watching your instagram stories. And this was recently revealed by Adam Mosseri in a recent video about Instagram algorithm. He mentioned: By calculating user interest in your content, we like to push the content to more people. 

 

It is very much based on the probability of an algorithm calculating the interest of your audience correctly to push more of your content. I wrote about the Instagram algorithm too, You can check that for more context about how content rankings work. 

 

But overall you have to always experiment with engaging pieces of content to adapt and rank higher in IG stories. 

 

2. Encourage Interactions through stories

 

Create content that encourages your viewers to engage. Ask questions, create polls, and make use of the interactive stickers provided by Instagram. 

 

High interaction rates can signal to Instagram's algorithm that your content is engaging, making it more likely to be promoted.

 

Here is a list of engaging instagram poll & sticker ideas shared to help you spark your stories' engagement. It is important to try these interactions as you can find if your followers are paying attention to your stories or just scrolling through them.

 

3. Monitor Instagram Story Trends 

 

Keep track of your analytics to identify trends over time. Which type of content is increasing in reach or impressions? What kind of Stories encourage the most profile visits? Once you have these answers, you can focus more on creating similar content.

 

Instagram Story Ideas for July 2023

• 10 July : National Kitten day /  international Town Criers Day / Pick Blueberries Day / National Pina Colada Day / Share you picking up blueberries from a local farm. 
• 11 July : World Population Day / National Mojito Day  / Cow Appreciation Day / Share population of your town vs social media followers.  
• 12 July  : New Conversations Day / National simplicity Day / Etch a sketch  Day / Start a new conversation on Threads app. 
• 13 July  : National French Fry Day /  International rock day / Embrace your geekness Day / Share your favourite french fries dip or shop. 
• 14 July :  bastille Day / World Kebab Day / shark awareness Day / National Mac & Cheese Day / share your kebab place.  
• 15 July  : Woodie wagon Day / Wimbledon Women’s Singles Final / WNBA all star game: East vs West / National Gummy worm day. 
• 16 July : Free Spinach day / World Snake day / rural transit day / National Ice cream day. 

 

Jaskaran’s Take 

 

Remember to continually test and adapt your strategy based on your analytics, and don't be afraid to get creative with your Stories. People don’t judge your stories as much as they do the posts. It is always appreciated when you over deliver in them. 

 

I want you to Remember, Instagram Stories aren't just about promoting your products or services; they're about sharing the messaging behind your brand or content (for creators), connecting with your audience, and fostering a community around your business. 

 

And It is never too late to begin with them, while Instagram story analytics will help you from now on. Moving forward, try to take notes and build a pattern of what you shared in your Instagram stories. 

 

At the end of next month, try to connect your stories like dots. You will find what mistakes you might have made and where you could have improved your approach to reach more people. And impact more of your followers.