Instagram insights basics for expat language schools
DISCLAIMER: In the article below we are showing you a case study - so we’re analyzing the data of a real expat language school, for you to get a real-life look inside another school’s social media strategies.
HOWEVER, we are not using our client’s company name, nor are we sharing any data that might direct false traffic from this article to his actual profiles. We don’t want to obstruct the results he’s getting on his Instagram profile and we do not want to cause any confusion with his future campaigns due to false traffic.
ALL THE DATA PRESENTED BELOW is authentic and represented on ACTUAL SCREENSHOTS from his Instagram insights which he allowed us to use in our communication.
We have covered the sensitive data and used our own profile wherever the screenshot from his profile could reveal his identity. But even in places where we present our own profile, we give his actual results as an example to keep it relevant to expat language schools.
So you’ve been trying to grow your Instagram for a while now. You see other schools do it. And it seems like everyone makes it look so easy.
But for some reason, success keeps eluding you. Every time you get close to getting more likes, views, or comments on your post, something happens and you end up back where you started.
You are angry, tired, and disappointed - after all, you’ve spent so much time creating this beautiful graphic/ reel/ story!
Well, my friend - never again! 💪
Because it’s about time that you got serious about your Instagram. No more looking just at the number of followers, likes, and comments.
You ARE NOT a social media influencer - those are not your goals on Instagram! You have a language school and your goal is to sell courses! Correct me if I’m wrong? Didn’t think so 😉
From now on you’re going to be armed with the same tips, tricks and secrets that the top marketers are using when creating social media strategies and content.
Hey ho, let’s go?! 💪😎
Shortcuts:
Instagram Insights - basics
Many people are afraid of Instagram insights - all the charts and tables are, indeed, confusing and intimidating at first. No worries - we will walk you step-by-step through everything 🤗 And once you’ll get a hang of it - you might see them as one of the valuable tools for growing your sales!
Remember, that most of your insights update every 30 days (except for the data considering the content you upload - you can track the progress here for up to 2 years). So it is a good idea to schedule an hour or two every month on the same day to go through your Instagram data and see what’s happening. Don’t worry - after a while, it takes less and less time.
We have prepared a downloadable tracker for you to capture all of the most important data. You can either print it out or fill it out on your computer (remember to keep the blank one as a template!).
Please note, that those are the basics, so if you’re looking for more advanced resources - stay tuned, we have this article planned for you 😊
Before you start tracking your Instagram Insights
Define which marketing cycle are you in. Are you gathering, connecting, or selling?
Decide on your social media goal: more likes, comments or views is good for influencers and highly frustrating and counterproductive for product- or service-based businesses. You can focus, for example, on sales, inquires, interactions or brand awareness - depending on which marketing cycle you are in!
Define at which point of your marketing funnel, sales funnel and customer journey are the people visiting your Instagram profile.
Don’t start tracking too early - if you haven’t been doing anything on your profile and suddenly you start posting - you will obviously have amazing results. We have waited 3 months before creating the first report for our client.
Don’t give yourself false praise for growing engagement 300% - if you haven’t been posting for months 300% might be one comment and that result gives you absolutely no useful data… Don’t fool yourself 🤷♀️
However - you can start looking at what your audience is reacting to best immediately, which might allow you to create more appealing content. In that case, watch the trends mentioned in the last point of this article for the first 1-2 months.
But remember - marketing is about testing and trying to figure out why things worked or didn’t. So if you'll focus too much on following the trends you see in your insights you might actually lose a chance to experiment with something that would work even better.
Conclusion: start seriously tracking after around 3 months of consistent posting. Before that, you can check insights for trends, but don’t get deviated by them - follow through with your initial content strategy and compare the data after a significant period of consistent, strategic content.
Get your free Instagram Insights tracker now:
Where to find Instagram insights
As mentioned - it might be overwhelming at the very beginning. But no worries - we’ll walk you through it step-by-step. First - where to find the Instagram insights.
Instagram is a mobile-first app. It is easier to access your insights through the app on your phone. In this article, we will be sharing the screenshots from the mobile app. But - in case you want to access insights from the desktop - we will show you how to do that as well below.
Where to find Instagram insights - mobile app
Where to find Instagram insights on desktop
Important Instagram metrics to track for expat language schools
We are fully aware that jumping into your analytics can leave you breathless for a moment.
What we suggest is that - at the very first attempt, you play around a little bit, have a look at what is where, and then come back to our instructions and extract the data you need.
Social media goals
First and foremost - as we’ve told you at the beginning - you need to know your social media goals.
Our client’s main goals are obviously course sales, but here’s what we expect from his social media channels:
to pull traffic to his website, where people can get more info about his current courses and sign up or message for more details;
get direct messages from people inquiring about the courses.
When those Insights were collected he was in a befriending phase of his marketing cycle.
Here are our client’s Instagram Insights, conclusions, and suggestions on how to read your own data:
Get your free Instagram Insights tracker now:
Conclusions
Instagram is not the main social platform for our client. As you have seen above - after cross-verifying with our website analytics, real-life observations, and constantly surveying the students* we know as a fact, that this is our least popular channel.
This is why we don’t waste much time or resources on it. We do keep it alive, but we prioritize (both financially and time-wise) our other social channels.
How do we do that?
Here are some actionable tips you can use if Instagram is also not your main performer, but it’s still worth keeping it alive:
We create our social media content in the universal size of 1080x1080 px (that way you can post the same graphic/video on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn without losing the quality and reach)
We pre-schedule posts for both Facebook and Instagram directly from Facebook Business Suite - that way the content we create populates both Facebook and Instagram feeds without any additional work (obviously it works the same if you’re using any other scheduling tool)
We don’t spend time creating stories and reels. At this point, we focus our client’s finances and time on other, far more successful in his case actions - creating lead magnets (free downloadable resources), Facebook ads (not Instagram ads), and email marketing.
What’s next?
Sit down and have a good look at your Instagram profile:
Be firm about the results you’re getting - a big following or impressive growth might not mean anything to your overall growth.
Cross-verify your Instagram Insights with other data - your website analytics, student surveys, your inboxes.
Answer sincerely: are you sure you’re not wasting your time and money on Instagram (or Facebook/ LinkedIn/ TikTok)? If you are - how can you keep your profile alive without additional effort? (use our client’s example above!)
Use your Insights wisely while planning your social media content.
Hopefully, now you can see the real value of your Instagram Insights. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg...
* all it takes are three simple questions: how did you learn about our school, what convinced you to sign up for our course, and which social media platforms are you using most often.