Content metrics measure the lifetime performance of posts that were published during the selected date range, including any new activity since the selected date range.
Instagram offers content metrics natively in the Content section of its Insights tool. Many of these metrics are also available in Measure, in addition to metrics that aren't available natively.
In this article, learn more about Instagram content metrics and why Measure's results may differ from Instagram's native reporting.
In this article:
Network rules
How much historical data is available for Instagram content metrics?
When you connect an Instagram channel for the first time, Measure will backfill all posts from the past 14 days and their data. Stories cannot be backfilled.
How often are Instagram content metrics refreshed?
Instagram content metrics will receive their first data refresh 15 minutes after a post's publication. Additional refreshes will continue at varying intervals for 14 days.
Instagram content metrics will also receive a data refresh 15 minutes after each new engagement on the posts. These refreshes will continue for up to 194 days.
Lifetime data collection for an Instagram post is complete at 194 days after publication.
Do Instagram content metrics include paid data?
Instagram content metrics will show paid data for promoted posts and organic data for non-promoted posts. You can also use Facebook's paid content metrics to report on your promoted Instagram posts.
Metrics rules
* = Metrics available in Measure but not natively
| Metric | Definition | Post Types |
| Average watch time* | The average amount of time, in seconds, spent playing a Reel. | Reel |
| Comments |
The lifetime number of comments on the post. This metric includes replies to comments. Note: Due to privacy restrictions, Story replies are not available for the regions of Europe and Japan. |
Image, Carousel, Reel, Story |
| Engagement rate (reach)* |
The ratio of the post's lifetime engagements to its lifetime reach, represented as a percentage. Formula: ((Reactions + Comments + Shares + Saves) / Reach) x 100 |
Image, Carousel, Reel |
| Engagement rate* |
The ratio of the post's lifetime engagements to its lifetime impressions, represented as a percentage. Formula: ((Reactions + Comments + Shares) / Impressions) x 100 |
Image |
| Engagements | The lifetime number of reactions, comments, saves and shares on the post. | Image, Reel |
| Exits rate* |
The ratio of the lifetime number of people who viewed a Story to lifetime number of people who exited a Story, represented as a percentage. Formula: (Exits / Reach) x 100 |
Story |
| Exits* | The lifetime number of exits from a Story. | Story |
| Frequency* |
The ratio of the post's lifetime impressions to its lifetime reach, represented as an average. Formula: Impressions / Reach |
Image, Carousel, Story |
| Impressions | The lifetime number of views on the post. | Image, Carousel, Story |
| Initial plays |
The lifetime number of times a Reel was played for at least 1ms. This metric only includes the plays that start a watch session, not the auto-replays within a single session. Note: Plays are the Reels equivalent to impressions. They represent the number of views, not the number of viewers. For unique viewers, please use reach. |
Reel |
| Likes | The lifetime number of likes on the post. | Image, Carousel, Story |
| Plays |
The lifetime number of times a Reel was played or replayed for at least 1ms. Formula: (Initial plays + Replays) |
Reel |
| Profile activity* |
The lifetime number of user actions taken in your profile after engaging with your post. User actions include: clicking on your profile's Bio, Call, Direction, Email, Text, etc. |
Image, Video |
| Profile visits* | The lifetime number of visits to your profile from the post. | Image, Video |
| Reach |
The lifetime number of people who viewed the post. Discrepancies: Meta reports your content-level reach data separately for each post, and Measure adds these post totals together to calculate the total reach for your selected content. This means a unique user may be counted multiple times if they viewed multiple posts from the selected date range, giving Measure a higher number than Instagram's. To avoid this effect, please use reach avg., which shows your average reach per post instead. |
Image, Carousel, Story, Reel |
| Reactions | The lifetime number of likes on the post. | Image, Carousel, Reel |
| Replays | The lifetime number of times a Reel was auto-replayed for at least 1ms within a watch session. | Reel |
| Saves* | The lifetime number of saves on the post. | Image, Carousel, Reel |
| Shares | The lifetime number of shares on the post. | Image, Carousel, Video, Reel |
| Taps back* | The lifetime number of taps on a Story to see the previous Story. | Story |
| Taps forward* | The lifetime number of taps on a Story to see the next Story. | Story |
| User follows* | The lifetime number of fans gained from the post. | Image, Video |
| Video view rate* |
The ratio of the post's lifetime video views to its lifetime impressions, represented as a percentage. Formula: (Video views (3s) / Impressions) x 100. |
Video |
| Video views |
The lifetime number of views on a video post. Instagram categorizes a post as a video instead of a Reel when it exceeds 90 seconds. The video must play for at least 3 seconds to be counted as a view. Note: For Reels, please use the plays metric instead. |
Video |
| Watch time* | The lifetime amount of time, in minutes, spent playing or replaying a Reel. | Reel |
| Weighted eng. rate* |
The ratio of the post's lifetime weighted engagements to its lifetime impressions, represented as a percentage. Formula: ((Reactions + (Comments x 2) + (Shares x 3)) / Impressions) x 100 |
Image, Carousel, Reel |