Viral video breakdown

Short video with some advice on how to read your insights on Instagram.

Summary

Adam Mosseri explains which Instagram Insights metrics creators should prioritize, emphasizing engagement rates and the difference between connected vs unconnected reach to understand why some posts or reels perform better.

At a glance

Who it’s for

Instagram creators who regularly post reels or feed content and want to interpret their analytics better

Best fit: Startups

Where it fits

Top of funnel

Awareness. Reaches viewers who don’t know you yet.

How it’s built

tip-with-proof

Give an actionable tip, then back it with a concrete demo or result.

educationtalking headcallout

The hook

Short video with some advice on how to read your insights on Instagram.

Make it yours: the reusable formula

Short video with some advice on how to [achieve specific goal] on [platform].

Swap the highlighted parts for your own niche.

The re-hook

Now, the thing I think that matters most and that you really should focus on is not how much reach your post got.

Flips a common focus (reach) to a different primary metric, creating a curiosity gap about what actually matters.

Hot take

The metric that matters most is not how much reach your post got, but your engagement rate.

Why it works

This works because it directly addresses a pain point for Instagram creators: confusion about Insights and why some posts take off. Mosseri quickly calls out the context (reading Insights), then subverts the default obsession with reach to spotlight engagement rate, which feels like insider guidance from the platform itself. Explaining connected vs unconnected reach plus which engagement types matter where gives tangible, easy-to-apply rules that make viewers feel more in control and more likely to watch to the end.

Swipe-file takeaways

  • Open by explicitly stating the topic and benefit ("advice on how to read your insights") so your target viewers instantly self-select in.
  • Create a re-hook by challenging the metric or goal everyone fixates on (e.g. "what matters most is NOT [common metric]").
  • Teach one simple diagnosis framework (engagement rate + connected vs unconnected reach) instead of dumping every metric.
  • Differentiate what matters for different segments (followers vs non-followers) to make the advice feel advanced yet usable.
  • Close with an invitation for questions to drive comments and signal you as an ongoing resource, not a one-off tip.

Full script

Short video with some advice on how to read your insights on Instagram. Also, by the way, insights are on edits as well, particularly for those of you who create reels. Now, the thing I think that matters most and that you really should focus on is not how much reach your post got. That is an important thing, obviously, but if you want to understand why a post got more or less reach, you should focus on your engagement rates. So of all the people who saw the post, how many of them actually engaged with that post? They liked it, or they sent it to a friend, or they commented on it, or they saved it, etc. You should also take a look at the connected reach versus the unconnected reach. Now what connected reach is, is it's the number of people who saw your post who actually follow you. And unconnected reach or recommendations is the number of people who don't follow you who actually saw your post. And the engagement rates that matter most vary slightly. So for instance, like rates matter more for your followers and send rates matter more for those who don't follow you. These were a couple tips to try to help you figure out how to work out why one poster reel might do better or worse than another. If you've got any questions, please feel free to ask and definitely always check out your insights. We're going to continue to try to improve them to give you good information about what's happening on the platform and why. More to come. Later.

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