Instagram is upgrading its analytics.
The social media platform has unveiled a new suite of tools that lets businesses obtain an unprecedented level of access into followers and posts. This suite will let businesses and brands on Instagram understand their audiences better and advertise their products more effectively.
Approximately 60% of Instagram's 400 million monthly active users (MAUs) learn about new products and services through the platform, according to the Financial Times. The new tools could increase that percentage.
The enhanced analytics for posts will let brands track and analyze data on the total number of times a post has been seen by users, the number of unique accounts that have seen a post, and the level of user interaction with a post. Previously, Instagram's analytics were restricted to the number of likes and comments on a post, along with the list of followers.
The new suite also improves analytics for follower demographics, which will let brands learn what segments of their audience engage with particular posts, and at what times. These features would help brand create relevant content and deliver it at the right time.
Finally, the suite would let brands select posts that are performing well and convert them into ads that appear more widely on Instagram. Brands value these sponsored posts because they can reach a wider audience outside of the brand's core followers. The new feature would include targeting options and the ability to promote a post as an ad for a set period of time.
Instagram is making these changes at a time when dollars are increasingly flowing from traditional ads to digital, as strong growth in mobile, video, and social spending continue to change the face of the US media market.
Over the next five years, marketers will especially embrace mobile. Mobile will drive up spending on video, search, display, and social, and propel the migration of ad dollars away from traditional media, including newspapers and magazines.
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