Almost everything you do online is driven by algorithms, statistics and analytics. Behind the scenes, creators also have access to metrics on what their users engage with and which posts are doing better than others. For photographers and short-form creators, Instagram Insights are invaluable. Through a simple dashboard, you can easily see who engaged with your content, which posts are the most popular, and which areas you need to focus on to increase your followers.
Tip: learn how to find your contacts on Instagram.
Instagram Insights: Can All Users Access Them?
The short answer is no, but there is a way around certain restrictions. As an ordinary Instagram user, you can see who liked and shared your photos by tapping the notification (heart) icon in the top-right corner of your feed. This displays a list of your account’s activity, such as new followers, post shares and photo likes. Beyond that, you don’t see any other metrics.
Tip: You can also find out who unfollowed you on Instagram.
However, Instagram Insights shows trends among your followers, analytics for specific posts, stories and videos, and how many accounts your posts reached. But you can only enable and access Instagram Insights if you have a Business or Creator account.
That sounds like a stumbling block, but changing your account is easy. Follow these steps to convert your account so that you can access Instagram Insights:
- Open the Instagram app, and tap the profile button in the lower-right corner.
- In the top-right corner, tap on the hamburger menu (three lines).
- Tap on “Settings and privacy.”
- Scroll down, and under the “For professionals” heading, tap “Account type and tools.”
- Tap on “Switch to professional account” on the next screen.
- At the bottom, tap on “Continue” as you go through the information page.
- Select the options that best describe your profile. It doesn’t seem to matter which options you choose. Tap “Done” at the bottom.
- On the next screen, leave the option on “Creator” and tap “Next.”
- Before finalizing your changes, Instagram displays six recommended actions. Click on each one to perform the action, or tap on the closing “X” in the top-right corner.
- To access Instagram Insights, tap the profile button in the lower-right corner, then tap the new “Professional dashboard” banner.
Tip: just want to view your liked posts on Instagram? We can show you how.
How to See Who Shared Your Instagram Post
Instagram Insights isn’t as robust as other platforms, like Google Analytics or third-party plug-ins, but it gives you a decent amount of information. For any creator, engagement is hugely important. One of the best ways to reach more people is when your content is shared.
Good to know: don’t want other users to find you? Learn how to hide your Instagram account from others.
However, Instagram doesn’t make it easy. To get to the analytical page for a single-photo, regular post, follow the steps below:
- Open the Instagram app, and click on your profile in the bottom-right corner.
- Scroll down to your photo grid, and tap on your post.
- Underneath the photo, you can see who liked it, but tap “View Insights” to learn more.
- This takes you to the Instagram Insights page for that photo. The first row underneath the image shows the number of likes, messages, shares and saves.
- Scroll down on the page to reveal how many accounts the photos reached, accounts engaged, and impressions.
- The Engagement section is where you can see the number of shares.
Good to know: did you just find something you really liked on Instagram? Learn how to repost and reshare Instagram content.
How to See Who Shared Your Instagram Story
Finding useful information through Instagram Insights can be tricky, as there are different actions to see more in-depth reports. While you would generally go to the primary Insights tab for metrics on a Story you posted, seeing who engaged with it is accomplished differently. For a point of clarity, Stories are the short clips that pop up in the top row of your profile. Unless you change the settings, they are only visible for a limited time.
- Open the Instagram app, and tap on your profile picture in the top row. This will play your Instagram Story.
- Stories are usually a collection of photos, so as soon as the first photo appears, swipe up.
- The top row displays the content pieces used in the Story, and you can go through it by tapping on each one.
- Statistical insight may take some time to populate, but you can tap the “Viewers” button to see how many and who has already watched your Story.
Unfortunately, even if you have a Creator or Business account, you can’t see who shared your post – only the number of shares and views.
FYI: rock out on your Instagram by adding music to your Instagram Story.
How to See Who Shared Your Instagram Reel
Instagram refers to videos as “Reels,” but you can add multiple photos if you wish. It has more creative options, such as adding music, text, graphical overlays and location tags. Of all the Instagram posting options, Reels is the only one that shows who shared your content. Follow these steps to see that:
- Open the Instagram app, and tap on the profile button in the bottom-right corner.
- Tap on the Reels button next to the default photo grid view.
- Tap on the reel for which you want to see statistics, and when it starts playing, tap on the three-dot icon in the top-right corner. This option is available if you haven’t updated Instagram yet. After that, you must tap on the three-dot icon, then tap on “Manage” to reach the settings.
- This brings up the advanced options menu, where you can remove it from your profile grid, hide the likes, edit the post, or turn off commenting. If you haven’t updated the app, tap on the fifth option, View Story Reshares, to see who shared it to their profile.
- If you’ve updated your Instagram app, you can find information on how many people shared, saved, commented or liked it through the Insights menu.
- Like the other posting options, you can access additional information on a reel by going directly to the Insights page in the app. However, while that section shows how many shares and likes the reel has, it doesn’t tell you who shared it. The only other way to see that is through notifications, where it will pop up as a “mention” in someone else’s reel – accessed by tapping on the heart icon.
Tip: do you enjoy taking photos? Learn about some Instagram alternatives for photographers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far back does the data on Instagram Insights go?
There are several time periods that you can choose from, when you want to see how a post is doing: the last seven days, last 14 days, and the previous month. However, the furthest back you can go is the last 90 days.
Can I see who shared my Instagram post to a DM?
No. As with all the limitations on Instagram Insights, you can only see the number of shares on a post, not how it was shared or by whom.
Why can’t I see who shared my post on Instagram?
Due to privacy concerns, Instagram doesn’t let you see who shared your content. Unless they specifically mention you in the shared content, there is no way of knowing.
Image credit: Unsplash
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