How to Analyze Instagram Reels Performance

Instagram Reels are a fantastic way to reach new audiences, but posting without a plan is like shouting into the void. To actually grow, you need to know what’s working and what isn’t. This guide will walk you through exactly how to analyze your Reels performance, breaking down the key metrics that matter and showing you how to turn those insights into a smarter content strategy.

Why You Should Analyze Your Reels Performance

Diving into your analytics isn’t just for data nerds - it’s the fastest way to improve your content. Tracking performance helps you stop guessing and start making decisions based on what your audience actually wants to see. Here’s why it’s worth your time:

• Understand Your Audience: Metrics show you exactly what topics, formats, and styles resonate with your followers (and potential followers).
• Refine Your Content Strategy: When you know which Reels drive the most engagement and follows, you can double down on creating more content like that.
• Maximize Your Reach: The Instagram algorithm rewards content that keeps users on the platform. By analyzing what performs well, you can create Reels that the algorithm is more likely to show to a wider audience.
• Achieve Your Goals: Whether your goal is brand awareness, website traffic, or sales, your Reels analytics will tell you if your content is actually helping you get there.

How to Find Your Instagram Reels Analytics

First things first, you need a Business or Creator account to access these insights. If you’re still using a Personal account, make the switch in your settings - it’s free and unlocks a ton of valuable data.

Once you’re set up, you have two main ways to view your Reels data:

1. Insights for an Individual Reel

This is perfect for seeing how a specific video performed. It helps you understand the immediate impact of a new Reel you just posted.

1. Open the Reel you want to analyze.
2. Tap the three dots (...) at the bottom-right of the screen.
3. Select View Insights from the menu.

Here, you'll see a performance overview for that single video, including metrics like plays, accounts reached, likes, comments, saves, and shares.

2. Insights for All Reels (Aggregated View)

This view gives you a bird's-eye perspective of your overall Reels strategy across a specific time frame. It’s ideal for spotting trends and identifying your top-performing content over weeks or months.

1. Go to your profile page.
2. Tap on your Professional Dashboard, located right below your bio.
3. Under "Account Insights," tap See All.
4. You’ll see an overview of key metrics. To drill down, look for the "Content You Shared" section and tap on Reels.
5. From here, you can sort your Reels by different metrics (like Reach, Plays, or Comments) and adjust the time frame (e.g., Last 30 Days, Last 90 Days).

The Most Important Reels Metrics (And What They Mean)

Once you’re in your analytics dashboard, you'll see a lot of numbers. Not all of them are created equal. Let's break down the most important ones and what they actually tell you about your content.

Reach & Discovery Metrics

These metrics tell you how many people saw your Reel.

Plays (Views)

This is the number of times your Reel has been started. It includes replays, so if someone watches your 10-second Reel three times, that counts as three plays. While it’s exciting to see a high play count, it’s more of a vanity metric. It doesn't tell you how many unique people saw your video or if they actually watched the whole thing.

Accounts Reached

This is the number of unique accounts that saw your Reel at least once. This is a far more reliable metric than Plays for understanding your true reach. If one person watches your Reel 10 times, your ‘Plays’ will be 10, but your ‘Accounts Reached’ will still be 1. A high reach means the algorithm is successfully showing your content to new people beyond your existing followers.

Engagement Metrics

These metrics measure how people interacted with your content. They’re a powerful signal to the Instagram algorithm that people are finding your content valuable.

Likes & Comments

Likes are a simple, low-effort form of engagement. They're nice to have but are the weakest signal of true interest. Comments, on the other hand, are a much stronger indicator. It takes effort to stop scrolling and type out a response, so comments show that your Reel was thought-provoking, relatable, or interesting enough to spark a conversation. Always respond to comments to encourage more engagement!

Saves

Saves might be the single most important engagement metric for Reels. When someone saves your Reel, they’re telling Instagram, "This content is so useful that I want to refer back to it later." This is a huge signal to the algorithm that you’ve created high-quality, valuable content. Reels that are educational, inspirational, or provide tips (like recipes, workout routines, or marketing hacks) tend to get a lot of saves.

Shares

Shares are another powerful metric. When someone shares your Reel, they’re sharing it with their own network, acting as a personal endorsement of your content. This is fantastic for organic growth because it puts your Reel in front of a new audience that already trusts the person who shared it. Funny, relatable, or shocking content often gets the most shares.

Watch Time Metrics

While Instagram doesn't show these in the public insights dashboard as clearly as TikTok does, watch time is a massive factor in the algorithm.

Total Watch Time & Average Watch Time

These two metrics measure how long people are watching your video. A high Average Watch Time - ideally close to the full length of your Reel - is a huge indicator of quality. It tells the algorithm that your content is compelling enough to hold viewers' attention. A Reel with a lower view count but a higher average watch time could end up being pushed to more people than a Reel with lots of views but a poor watch time.

How to improve watch time: a strong hook in the first 1-3 seconds, fast-paced editing, and clear value are essential.

Business Goal Metrics

These metrics show if your Reel successfully moved a viewer to take the next step with your brand.

Profile Visits

Did your Reel make someone curious enough to check out your main profile? A spike in profile visits after posting a Reel is a great sign that your content is attracting the right audience and making them want to learn more about you.

Follows

This is the ultimate prize. Did a non-follower see your Reel and like your content so much that they decided to follow you? This tracks how effective your Reels are at converting new viewers into community members. If your goal is to grow your account, this is a metric you should watch closely.

Putting It All Together: From Data to Action

Analyzing your metrics isn't about staring at numbers, it's about spotting patterns and asking "why?" Use the aggregated insights in your Professional Dashboard to find your top-performing Reels over the last 90 days. Then, ask these questions:

What do your best videos have in common?

• Topic: Are certain themes or topics consistently getting more saves or comments?
• Format: Do your followers prefer tutorials, talking-head videos, behind-the-scenes content, or trends?
• Hooks: What did you do in the first three seconds of your most-watched Reels? Did you ask a question, make a bold statement, or show an impressive result?
• Audio: Did you use trending audio, an original voiceover, or just a popular song? Trending audio can give you a quick boost, but original audio can help establish your unique brand voice.
• Call-to-Action (CTA): Did you ask people to comment, save, or follow? CTAs in captions and on-screen text can make a big difference.

How can you analyze the comment section?

Don't just count comments, read them! The comments section is a goldmine of insights. Are people asking follow-up questions? Are they sharing their own experiences? Are they tagging their friends? This qualitative data gives you context for the numbers and is an amazing source of ideas for future content.

Final Thoughts

Analyzing your Instagram Reels performance helps you ditch the guesswork and focus your efforts on creating content that your audience loves and the algorithm rewards. By regularly checking in on metrics like reach, saves, shares, and follows, you can turn raw data into a powerful feedback loop that consistently improves your strategy and grows your account.

Staying on top of this data across different platforms, however, can quickly turn into a time-consuming chore of logging in and out of different apps. We built Graphed because we believe getting answers from your data shouldn't be so manual. It lets you connect your marketing sources (like Instagram, Google Analytics, and Shopify) in one place and then use simple, natural language to ask questions or create real-time dashboards. Instead of digging through menus, you can just ask, "Show me my top 10 Instagram Reels by saves last month," and get an instant report that helps you make smarter decisions, faster.