Instagram is reportedly preparing to launch a new suite of analytics tools called “Insights” for brands and publishers. According to Later, the visual networking site’s offering will focus on follower demographics and post analytics, giving enterprises a better view of who is engaging with their content and how people are doing so.

Location information

The follower demographics section will provide an overview of the age, gender and location of followers via easy-to-digest pie charts and graphs. More importantly, brands will be able to see where users are by both country and city, which will be particularly useful for targeted content campaigns. This section will also show the number of new followers on an hourly and daily basis.

The post analytics section is set to offer metrics such as website clicks, reach, impressions and a range of other follower activities that will allow marketers to see exactly how their content is performing. Brands will also be able to track when followers are using the service the most in order to optimise their posting schedule and boost engagement.

Visual content

This section will also feature a Top Posts list, which will be sorted by impression on either a weekly or monthly basis. Instagram is using its strength as a visual platform here by presenting the information as a grid of image thumbnails rather than a chart, so publishers can better visualise the content that resonates with their audience.

The Facebook-owned platform has been making moves in recent months to make itself more valuable to marketers, and the arrival of analytics could be a significant step towards achieving that goal, as it would allow users to finally understand their audience for the first time and create better content for them.

Business profile

Insights’ public launch is expected in the coming months, but Instagram has not confirmed official details, though it did say that testing has started. Tech site TechCrunch has also noted that some users are already seeing some of the tools listed live in their mobile app. The expected arrival of analytics follows tests for new business profile features, including a “contact” button, linkable location tags and a mobile ad-buying experience.