Instagram is shifting its focus from traditional metrics like followers and likes to reach and views. This update aims to help creators prioritize reach as a more accurate measure of content performance. The change aligns with evolving user habits and Meta’s AI-driven recommendations, emphasizing engagement metrics like Sends per Reach.
Key Changes
- Primary Metric: "Views" will become the main metric for all content formats.
- Reels: The Plays metric will be relabeled as Views. Plays will be phased out across Insights and other tools like Meta Business Suite.
- Non-Reels: Views will be the primary metric, but Accounts Reached will still be tracked in Insights. Impressions will no longer appear in Insights but will be available in Meta Ads Manager.
- Other Metrics: Metrics such as Accounts Reached, Accounts Engaged, Interactions, and Watch Time will continue to be available but their locations in Insights will shift.
Rationale Behind the Change
- Algorithmic Influence: Over 50% of posts in users' feeds come from profiles they do not follow but are recommended by Meta’s AI, reducing the importance of follower counts.
- User Behavior: Users increasingly rely on algorithmic feeds to discover content, making traditional follower counts less relevant.
- Content Sharing: Metrics like "Sends per Reach" are becoming more important as users share content via DMs rather than liking posts.
Implications for Creators
Creators need to focus on maximizing reach and views to align with Instagram’s new metrics as appealing to Instagram’s algorithm is crucial for content performance.
