forcletter

Get started

Forcletter guides

Instagram insights glossary

A glossary of core metrics used to analyze Instagram growth, combining metric definitions with practical ways to interpret them. It includes reach, saves, shares, profile visits, follow conversion, engagement rate and Reel retention.

Last updated: 2026-04-24

Reach — unique accounts reached

Reach counts unique accounts that saw content, counting repeat viewers once. Impressions count total displays, including repeats. Reach is a basic measure of how widely content was distributed.

Impressions — total displays

Each display counts, including repeat views by the same person. Reach is no greater than impressions. A large gap can indicate repeated exposure to the same audience.

Saves — bookmarks for later

Saves count bookmarks for later viewing. They often appear on summaries, checklists and guides and indicate useful content. Save rate, saves divided by reach, can be more useful than the raw total.

Shares — sending content to others

Shares count distribution through Stories, DMs or other surfaces. They can extend exposure beyond followers and help explain how content spreads.

Profile visits

Visits show interest in learning more about the account and come before follow conversion. Strong reach with few profile visits may suggest that the hook or caption does not connect to the account’s identity.

Follow conversion rate

The proportion of profile visits that lead to follows. Forcletter separates this stage to help evaluate changes to the bio, highlights, pinned content and grid.

Engagement rate (ER)

Likes, comments, saves and shares divided by reach or follower count. ER reflects response to content and audience fit and often informs sponsorship discussions. Always specify the denominator.

Reel watch time and retention

How long people watch a Reel and what proportion of its length they view. These help explain retention and further distribution; the opening seconds and pacing can affect them.

Follower growth

Net follower change over a period: new follows minus unfollows. Content-level new follows help identify which posts contributed to that growth.

Reach rate

Reach divided by follower count, multiplied by 100. This expresses reach relative to account size; benchmarks vary widely by format and period, and reached accounts may include non-followers.

Non-follower reach share

The share of reached accounts that do not follow you. It indicates exposure to new audiences through discovery surfaces and can precede new follows.

Contribution by content type

How Reels, carousels, single images and Stories contribute to reach, saves, shares, visits and follows. Forcletter organizes these contributions to help you decide which formats to repeat.

Frequently asked questions

See your own account’s performance in Forcletter.

Connect through Meta OAuth to see posts, Reels and follower metrics together.

Start for free