Instagram is looking to help more creators make the most of their opportunities by providing new insights data for both Reels and Instagram Live broadcasts within the app.

As explained by Instagram:

“Based on feedback from creators and businesses, today we’re launching insights for Reels and Live. We have been inspired by the ways our community has embraced these content formats and want to make sure creators and businesses can understand how their content is performing.”

As you can see in the example above, Instagram will now provide a range of new metrics for all types of content, with the new, in-depth stats for Reels and Live adding to the already available data for feed posts and IGTV.

• For Reels, Instagram will now provide data on Total Plays, Accounts Reached, Likes, Comments, Saves, and Shares.
• For Instagram Live broadcasts, users will be able to access data on Accounts Reached, Peak Concurrent Viewers, Comments, and Shares.

Instagram’s also adding these new elements into its Account Insights overview “to provide a broader picture into how Reels and Live shape an account’s performance over time”.

Its a significant expansion for Instagram’s insights data, which will provide a heap of new information for Instagram business and creator account holders to process.

That could lead to whole new approaches in your posting strategy, with better understanding of what, exactly, is resonating with your audience, and where you can improve, based on format-specific data.

“Additionally, we’re launching new detailed information about Reach in Account Insights. We know that understanding more about how content is being distributed is important, so we’ve built new breakdowns that provide transparency into which types of accounts you’re reaching and which content formats are the most effective at driving Reach.” 

Instagram’s also rolling out new preset time frame options in Insights, so you’ll be able to expand beyond the current ‘last 7 days’ and ‘last 30 days’ options, while it’ll also soon enable Insights access via the desktop version of the app, further enhancing the functionality of the desktop option. Instagram’s also testing new upload options via desktop.

This is a major update for social media marketers, providing a heap more information to help you establish the best path forward for your business. And while not everyone is investing in Reels as yet, it could become a bigger consideration as Instagram continues to test new ways to boost the option, while Instagram Live has seen a resurgence in recent months, in part due to the pandemic, and people seeking alternate social connection, and then due to the rise of the audio social format, with Instagram adding audio-only live broadcasts last month. 

Given this, it may well be worth considering your live-streaming options in the app, and as noted, Reels still could become a thing, and it could help to boost your overall Instagram presence.

With this in mind, it’s likely worth experimenting with both formats – and now, you’ll be able to tell exactly how effective those tests are, and what kind of response you’re seeing via your Insights.

Instagram Insights are only available to business and creator accounts in the app.