New Instagram analytics: enhanced performance metrics for content

Last updated on August 20th, 2025 at 09:16 am

Instagram just launched some new analytics features. Now the word game-changing is thrown around quite a lot. But these new updates might genuinely fit that bill.

Some of you reading this may have seen these new metrics in testing. But recently, Instagram has fully confirmed and rolled out these new updated metrics within its insights tab. But what’s new and different here is that Instagram is now finally giving users and content creators some truly meaty and granular metrics on which to build and review their content strategies.

There are four new updates, and we’re going to look at each one in this blog, exploring what it does and what it means for your content strategies moving forward.

Enhanced reel insights

Before this update, social insights into reels were somewhat homogenous. You could get a ‘net value’ of your content. But this new update gives content creators some really powerful insights into their reels.

The big change, Instagram analytics will now show you the exact point at which a user liked your content. The exact moment, take a moment and think about that. This is a big deal because it’s going to allow users and content creators to get granular in assessing the actual impact of their content.

With these enhanced insights, we can now dive even deeper. We can see if hooks and calls to action are actually leading to likes. We can see not only if an individual piece of content is working, on the whole. But we can see which constituent parts of that content are having the most positive reaction.

Improved carousel engagement data

Carousels have been part and parcel of our main feeds for years now. They’re a useful and popular tool in the Instagram arsenal.

But analytics for these have always been broad. We’ve seen the likes come in on a five-image carousel. But we’ve never been able to see which of those five images earned the engagement, until now.

You may have noticed when scrolling that you’re often fed the second image from a carousel. That’s because Instagram has noticed that you’ve seen the lead image before, but you haven’t swept through the entire thing so it gives you a ‘second chance’ to do just that.

Now, with Instagram giving us the power to see which specific image has earned that all-important link, we can have much greater analytical oversight of this particular feature. We can see the exact image that’s resonated with users and do more of that!

More detailed follower data

Previously, Instagram would show your follower growth. What we’ve never been able to see is which posts have pulled in those followers. You might be inclined to think that your most liked posts are the ones pulling in followers. But that’s not the case.

Your highest engaged post may be bringing in likes, comments and shares. But that doesn’t mean it’s your best follower growth driver. High post engagement rates don’t always directly correlate to followers.

To attempt to link engagement rate with follower growth was an incredibly manual and flawed process. But now Instagram is giving us that data and this is quite possibly the most important and impactful update.

That’s because we can now identify content that is successfully driving follower growth. Content strategy is all about testing and learning. Figuring out what strands work and what strands don’t, and acting accordingly.

So to be able to see, with absolute ease and clarity, which specific post(s) have sparked follower growth is huge. It lets us adapt and update content strategies, keeping things more relevant, authentic and effective.

Enhanced follower demographics insight

Now we can see who exactly is watching content in far more detail. Instagram will now offer a far more detailed set of view metrics. Particularly showing location, age and interests.

Understanding who is watching your content is powerful, and with this update, our insights just got a lot more powerful. A huge part of any successful content strategy is understanding your audience and what makes them tick. If you can get a grasp of this, you can create content that directly speaks to the hearts and minds of your audiences.

Beyond just content, this update has huge benefits in broader audience mapping and retargeting. So this isn’t just a benefit that exists within Instagram analytics.

One more thing, new ‘Close Friends’ features

On top of these four big adjustments, Instagram has also introduced some new features that Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s Head, has said will make the platform more “participatory,” not just a place for passive consumption, but a space for active engagement and connection.

This is what Mosseri said:

“We don’t want Instagram to just be a lean-back experience that is fun and entertaining, but also a participatory one, where you actually engage with and connect with the people that you care about.”

What they’ve added is very interesting and could be useful for businesses, not just individual creators. Instagram now lets you reshare your favourite public videos and have them appear in a dedicated tab on your profile. This goes beyond just friends sharing one another’s content.

Businesses could make use of this feature too. If you’re working with content creators, influencers and brand ambassadors, this repost function presents a great opportunity to consolidate these efforts into a single space. It makes it easier for brands and their ambassadors to cross-promote and share content, which ultimately helps to increase visibility.

There’s also a new ‘Close Friends’ feature, which enables users to create special lists of followers. Content can be pushed out to these lists and these lists alone. An interesting move, which potentially adds a layer of previously unseen personalisation into Instagram.

Again, this is a feature that could potentially be used in ambassador and influencer relationships, providing a means of online engagement with these partners. But it can also extend to your customer base, too. Want to share an exclusive offer or some exciting news with a sub-section of your audience, now you can.

In summary

Content strategy is one big quest for the most effective and engaging content. Using data, insights and experience to filter out what doesn’t work, stick to what does and anticipate what might.

Audience data is crucial to this. Previously, we’ve been able to make judgments and educated guesses on certain aspects of Instagram analytics. The feedback we’ve been able to deduce from it, has historically been ‘net feedback.’ We’ve been able to see the sum of its parts but never really the granular detail that can truly help us drive effective change and improvements in content strategy.

These new updates may seem like small changes, but they’re huge. The potential insights these updates can give us will make ongoing content tracking, strategy modification and overall content production far more insightful and impactful.

Ultimately, you can never have enough audience data.