Likes, comments and views are all engagement metrics that are publicly visible on Instagram. Let’s dig into the platform’s hidden Saves and Shares metrics which are not visible to the public to understand how your content is connecting with your audience in a deeper way.
As a refresher, engagement metrics could be described as follows:
Likes say, “I like this.”
Comments say, “I care about this enough to share my thoughts.”
Shares say, “I like this and think someone else will, too.”
Saves say, “I like this so much and will want to view it again later.”
What are Instagram Saves?
They are a feature that enables people to select and save their favorite posts. Simply tap the bookmark icon in the bottom right corner of a post and it gets saved. Users can organize their saved posts into Collections. To see your saved posts, tap the menu icon in the top right corner of your profile and select Saved.
To better understand what content your audience is connecting with, take a look at which posts from your brand profile get the most saves. Brand managers can see this by accessing Insights on their Instagram business profile, select Content You Shared, and sort by Saves.
In the past year, CSU’s top three most-saved posts are Candy Cane Drive — a collection of spring snow photographs taken by a CSU alum (430 saves), actress and comedian Leslie Jones reppin’ her CSU gear in an Uber Eats commercial (231 saves), and a gallery of nature landscapes taken by a CSU student (187 shares). This tells me that CSU’s Instagram audience really enjoys beautiful nature photography taken by members of our community and notoriety/awe of celebrity alumni.
What are Instagram Shares?
They are a feature that enables people to share their favorite posts with others. Simply tap the paper airplane icon in the bottom left corner of a post and select if you would like to share the post to your Story or share as a DM to friend.
Take a look at what posts are being shared by your audience to help drive insight into your content strategy moving forward. Brand managers can see this by accessing Insights on their Instagram business profile, select Content You Shared, and sort by Shares.
In the past year, CSU’s top three most-shared posts are the Candy Cane Drive collection (1,501 shares), actress and comedian Leslie Jones reppin’ her CSU gear in an Uber Eats commercial (1,168 shares), and a Black Lives Matter mural painted on campus (1,014 shares). Stunning nature photography, the cool factor of a celebrity alum, and community support for the BLM movement resonated with our fans so much that they chose to share those posts with others.
Why are Instagram Saves and Shares important?
Saves and share are key factors in Instagram’s algorithm to determine how posts rank in a feed. Not only do they tell you as the brand managers who is connecting with your content on a deeper level, they are also telling Instagram. In turn, Instagram positions your posts higher and more often in those viewers’ feeds.
Examples of savable and shareable posts
To create more save-and-share-worthy posts, it goes back to understanding what each engagement type means for users:
Shares say, “I like this and think someone else will, too.”
Saves say, “I like this so much and will want to view it again later.”
CSU Extension provides trusted, practical and timely education to help people solve problems, develop skills and build a better future. Their Instagram account supports that mission with practical and timely advice including tips for high altitude food preparation and tree care in winter. This useful content is both savable and sharable.
CSU Admissions is creating savable content by providing helpful resources for prospective students.
As you continue to hone and strengthen your Instagram content strategy, don’t forget the hidden power of saves and shares.