Stop expecting every Instagram post to go viral and learn to grow over time
Growing your Instagram account doesn’t happen overnight.
You have to consistently put time into catering to your audience and producing unique content.
But here is the thing.
Even if you spend time capturing the perfect photo, writing the ideal caption, and using the best hashtags possible, you can see your hard work go to waste when it doesn’t get much exposure on Instagram for whatever reason.
It can be so frustrating. 🤬
Sure, there is a lot you can do to make sure your posts have the best chance to gain traction on Instagram. But, at the same time, there are so many things out of our control when it comes to how Instagram shows your content to interested audiences.
What if you changed your perspective a bit. 🤔
I subscribe to the philosophy that no matter what you do every post will not be a “winner” on Instagram.
In fact, if I get 2 “winners” out of every 10 posts then I’m generally happy.
I typically use a baseball analogy to explain this concept. Take a batter who comes to the plate to hit 10 times. They will hit a few singles, maybe a double, hit a pop fly out, and strike out once or twice. Sometimes they get that perfect pitch and hit a home run, maybe even a grand slam.
Okay, enough sports-talk. ⚾️
The point is our batter doesn’t expect to hit a home run every time. You shouldn’t expect that out of your Instagram posts either.
So what’s the best way to see how I’m doing when it comes to my last 10 Instagram posts?
Introducing, Curate’s newest visualization on your Instagram post views!
Let’s dive into how it helps you derive insights on your Instagram posts.
Views represent exposure
Curate specializes in hashtags and hashtags directly affect the number of views you can get on each post.
If you look at your insights on your Instagram app, it’s what they call impressions.
Remember that views are a little different than your reach which is the unique number of people who viewed your post.
If you manage to reach the Top Posts section of a hashtag or end up on the Explore page then watch your views skyrocket. 🚀
Visualize the views on each of your posts
Curate provides a unique way to instantly see how your latest posts are performing.
Your last 10 posts can be seen on your Dashboard using a simple chart.
The height of the bar represents the number of views that the post received. You can also quickly see the date you made each post below each bar.
Now you can easily see which posts are your “winners” and which weren’t so successful.
Hover and click to see even more detail
If you want to quickly see which post each bar represents then hover over it to get a preview.
You can also see the exact number of views the post received this way.
If you click the bar it will take you to a page with even more statistics, insights, and visualizations for that Instagram post specifically.
When you want to dive into your “winners” or figure out why a post wasn’t one now you are just a click away.
See how each post compared to your average
When you consistently post on Instagram, you can start to understand the average number of views your posts normally get.
Curate calculates your average views per post at the time each post was made.
The line you see on the graph is your rolling average of views per post. Use it to quickly visualize if each post received more or fewer views than your average at the time.
A post that is much higher than your average is an indication that you have a clear “winner” on your hands.
Color-coded based on how well each post did
So it’s easy to see if one of your Instagram posts is above your average or not but it helps to know how much.
To make it even easier to see how each post did, Curate color codes the bar based on how it performed.
If your post is getting 40% or more views than your average then it’s considered a winner and is colored green. On the flip side, if your post is doing 40% worse than usual then it will be highlighted in red.
This further visualizes the posts that are making the biggest impact on your growth and gives you cues to check on posts that really fell flat.
Switch it up if you seem to be stagnant
It’s okay to have a lot of fluctuation in your Instagram posts’ exposure. In fact, you should expect it.
If you see that all of your posts are pretty much gaining the same exposure then that is a sign that it is time to change things up!
You want to be looking to have some of those really viral posts that we consider “winners” and expect some just won’t work out.
Even your worst performing posts are usually just an indicator of something that you tried and didn’t work. Learn from these and ensure you aren’t putting out content that your audience isn’t interested in.
Well, there you have it. 🤗
A simple, yet powerful, visualization on the exposure of your latest Instagram posts.
Remember to not get frustrated when all of your posts aren’t “winners”.
Try to aim for 2 out of every 10 posts to really take off. Then out of the rest, expect 5 or 6 to do okay and 2 or 3 will probably tank.
You can give your posts the best chance to really take off by using hashtags. 📈
Try Curate for free today and start to grow your Instagram account organically.