How to audit your Instagram account

An Instagram audit is a structured review of your recent posts and Insights, measured against your own usual results, that ends with a short list of things to change. It isn’t a grade. It is how you stop guessing why some Reels travel and others stall.

For creators it is mostly about Reels: how far they reach, how long people stay, and whether viewers become followers.

How often to do one

Do a full audit every three months. Instagram shows account insights for any period within the past 90 days, so a quarterly audit uses the whole window. In between, check your usual views and posting pace once a month, and audit sooner after a new niche, a new format or a sudden drop.

Set aside an hour and open a blank sheet: one row per Reel, plus a few account totals.

How to find your Insights

1. Make sure your account is public. Instagram only shows insights to public accounts.
2. Go to your profile and tap Insights, or open your Professional dashboard (called Your dashboard on a personal account).
3. Tap the timeframe dropdown at the top left and pick 90 days, or set a custom range within the past 90 days.
4. Tap the (i) at the top right of an Insights screen to read Instagram’s definition of each metric.

The overview shows Views, Interactions, New followers and Content you shared. Note all four, plus your follower count.

What to record for each Reel

Tap View insights under each Reel from the period. The content library, under Content you shared, can filter by media type, reach, interactions and time frame. For each Reel, note:

• The date posted and the length.
• Views: the number of times it was played or displayed.
• Viewers or reach: the number of unique accounts that saw it at least once.
• Likes, comments, shares and saves.
• Average watch time, and skip rate if your Insights show it. Meta defines skip rate as the percentage of views from people who skipped during the first three seconds.
• The first line you say or show, and what is on screen in the first frame.

Instagram labels some of these metrics as estimated and in development, so treat small differences as noise. Audience demographics only appear on preset timeframes once you reach or engage more than 100 accounts.

Work through these in order, and judge each one against your own usual, not someone else’s numbers.

1. Your goal

Look at: one sentence saying what the account is for over the next three months. Reaching new people, turning viewers into followers and winning clients are different goals, and each changes what a good Reel is.

Good looks like: you can say it without hedging and name the number that shows it’s working.

2. Your profile and bio

Look at: your profile as a stranger sees it after tapping your name on a Reel: photo, name field, bio, link and pinned posts. On a professional account, open Account Status to check that your content can be recommended to people who don’t follow you.

Good looks like: a stranger can tell in seconds who you are, who the account is for and why to follow. Your pinned Reels are your strongest, and Account Status shows no recommendation issues.

3. Your usual views per Reel

Look at: the median views across your Reels from the period, the middle value once you sort the column. Use the median, not the average, because one Reel that takes off drags the average up to a number your account doesn’t normally get.

Say eight of your last nine Reels got between 800 and 1,500 views and one got 40,000. The average is about 5,470, which none of them did. The median is 1,200. That is your normal, and your baseline for the rest of this audit.

Good looks like: a median that holds or rises between audits. If yours is falling or stuck, why are my Reels not getting views covers the usual causes.

4. Best and softest Reels, side by side

Look at: your three best and three softest Reels. Divide each one’s views by your median, so a Reel at 3x did three times your usual, then watch them back to back.

Good looks like: you can name what the winners share that the others don’t, whether a topic, a first line, a format or a length.

5. Hooks and first frames

Look at: the first frame with the sound off and the first line you say or show. If your Insights show skip rate and average watch time, compare them across your best and softest Reels. Instagram says its most important Reels predictions include whether someone will reshare a Reel, watch it to the end and like it, and none of that happens if they leave early.

Good looks like: the first frame says what the Reel is about, the first line makes a specific promise, and skip rate is lowest on your best Reels. Our guide to Reel hooks has openings to test.

6. Production: light, sound, on-screen text

Look at: light on your face or subject, a voice that is easy to hear over any music, and on-screen text that is readable and clear of the app’s buttons. Instagram says it makes some Reels less visible, including ones that are low resolution, watermarked, muted, bordered or majority text, and ones already posted on Instagram.

Good looks like: none of those problems on any Reel. Expensive gear isn’t the bar. Clear is.

7. Scripts and the promise of each Reel

Look at: each Reel’s promise, the one thing a viewer should expect from the opening. Write it in one sentence, then check whether the Reel delivered it, and how quickly.

Good looks like: one plain promise per Reel, a middle that doesn’t wander, and an ending that gives a reason to follow, save or send it. If you can’t write the promise in one sentence, your viewer couldn’t find it either.

8. Audience fit

Look at three numbers:

• Reach per follower: each Reel’s viewers divided by your follower count. When viewers outnumber your followers, the Reel reached people who don’t follow you yet.
• Concentration: the share of all your views that came from your single best Reel. In the example above, one Reel holds about 81% of the views.
• Likes and comments per view: add the two, divide by views, and compare your Reels with each other.

Good looks like: reach per follower that holds steady instead of spiking once, views spread over several Reels rather than carried by one, and likes and comments per view that run highest on the topics you want to be known for.

9. Consistency

Look at: how many Reels you posted in the period (Content you shared counts them), your longest gap between two Reels, and the days since your latest one.

Good looks like: a pace you can keep for months, with no long silences. A steady pace is also easier to learn from than bursts and month-long breaks. Instagram’s Best Practices hub in your professional dashboard has its current advice on posting frequency.

10. Content mix by job

Look at: your last 12 to 15 Reels, labeled by their main job.

• Discovery: for people who don’t know you yet, with a broad, clear promise and a fast hook. Instagram says eligible Reels are first shown to a small audience it thinks will enjoy them, and the top performers go wider.
• Connection: for people who already follow you. Your story, your opinions, behind the scenes, replies to comments.
• Depth: to earn trust. Fuller explanations and step by step teaching, the Reels people save to come back to.

Good looks like: all three jobs show up, weighted toward your goal from point 1. A feed of only discovery Reels can bring views that don’t turn into followers, and only connection Reels can keep an account small and warm.

An audit that ends in a spreadsheet changes nothing. Finish it like this:

1. Mark each of the ten points as fine, could be better, or clearly holding you back.
2. Pick the three to five weakest and write one specific change for each. Not “better hooks” but “open on the finished result, then explain how.”
3. Make your next several Reels with those changes, one change per Reel where you can, so you know which one moved.
4. At your next audit, compare those Reels with the median you wrote down today.

No audit can promise views. What it does is make your next Reels deliberate instead of hopeful.

A chat model is good at sorting a table, doing the math and spotting patterns you’re too close to see. The catch: it only knows what you paste into it. It can’t log in to your account or see your Insights, and it has no idea what is in a Reel unless you upload or describe it.

What to paste

• Your goal for the next three months, in one sentence.
• Your follower count, the date range and the account totals from your Insights overview.
• Your Reel table, one row per Reel: date, length, views, viewers, likes, comments, shares, saves, average watch time and skip rate.
• Your bio, exactly as written.
• For your three best and three softest Reels: the first line, a one-sentence description of the first frame, and the script or a transcript.

The prompt

Copy this, then paste your data underneath it:

Act as a direct, specific Reels coach auditing my Instagram account. Use only the data below, and say when something can’t be judged from it. 1) Find my median views per Reel and show the math. 2) Rank my Reels by views divided by that median. 3) Compare my three best and three softest Reels on hook, first frame, promise, length and pacing. 4) Per Reel, calculate viewers per follower and likes plus comments per view, and give my top Reel’s share of total views. 5) Describe my posting pace and longest gap. 6) Label each Reel as discovery, connection or depth. 7) Judge everything against my goal and my own median, not general benchmarks. End with three to five changes in priority order and three Reel ideas built on what already works for me.

Then check its median against your sheet, because chat models can slip on arithmetic. Push back on advice that could apply to anyone, and ask it to name the Reel behind each claim. For more on getting personal output from these tools, see using AI for social media.

If you’d rather skip the spreadsheet, ClipScore’s free Instagram account audit reads your recent Reels and, once at least five of them have view counts, writes up what is working and what to look at next. It works on public accounts and is free.

With fewer than five, it says little, because a small sample can’t show a pattern.

It is a starting point, not a replacement for your own read: your Insights still hold numbers it can’t see, such as who watched and for how long.

Your goal, profile and content mix are still yours to judge, so use points 1, 2 and 10 alongside it.

What does an Instagram audit mean?

An Instagram audit means reviewing your recent content and Insights against your own usual results to decide what to keep and what to change. For creators it centers on Reels. Brands also use the word for vetting an influencer’s audience before a deal, which is a different job.

How often should I audit my Instagram?

Do a full audit every three months and a quick check of your median views and posting pace each month. Instagram Insights cover the past 90 days, so a quarterly audit uses the full window.

Can ChatGPT or Claude audit my Instagram account?

Yes, if you paste in your data, but neither can see your account on its own. Give the model your Insights numbers per Reel, your bio, your goal and transcripts of your best and softest Reels, then use the prompt above.

What is a good engagement rate or view count for my Reels?

A good number is one that beats your own usual. Find your median views per Reel and your likes and comments per view, then judge each new Reel against those. Outside averages mix accounts of every size and niche, so they say little about yours.

Do I need a professional account to see Instagram Insights?

No, any public account can view insights, personal or professional. If you switch to private you lose access, though Instagram says you can regain past data by going public again within 90 days.

Why can’t I see my audience demographics in Insights?

Instagram only shows audience demographics on preset timeframes once you reach or engage more than 100 accounts. If a short timeframe shows nothing, try Last 30 days, Previous month or Last 90 days.

Is there a free Instagram audit tool?

Yes, ClipScore’s free Instagram account audit reads a public account’s recent Reels and, once at least five of them have view counts, writes up what is working and what to look at next. It is free.

The free Instagram account audit reads your recent Reels and, once at least five of them have view counts, writes up what is working and what to look at next.

More from ClipScore: all guides.

• Instagram Help Center: About Instagram insights
• Instagram Help Center: Select a date range for your account insights on Instagram
• Instagram Help Center: View account and content insights on Instagram
• Instagram Help Center: About Instagram dashboards
• Instagram Help Center: Recommendation eligibility on Instagram
• Instagram: Instagram Ranking Explained (Adam Mosseri, 31 May 2023)
• Instagram for Creators: Helping creators find new audiences (30 April 2024)
• Meta for Developers: Instagram Media Insights (Reels metric definitions, including skip rate)
• Meta: Introducing Best Practices, an Education Hub for Creators on Instagram (October 2024)