Glossary / Instagram

Industry terms

Reach

Reach is the number of different accounts that saw your content at least once.

Also called: accounts reached

By Aulto · Last reviewed

Reach, impressions or views?

Reach counts people. Impressions and views count every time content was shown, so one person seeing it three times is one reach but three views.

Which reach matters most?

Reach among non-followers tells you whether content is finding new people. Reach among followers tells you whether your existing audience still sees you.

How do you grow reach?

Content people share, especially by DM, and formats Instagram shows to non-followers, like reels.

Example

A reel reaches 40,000 accounts, 32,000 of them non-followers, and brings in 600 new followers.

  • Engagement rate

    Engagement rate is the share of people who interacted with your content (liked, commented, shared or saved) compared with how many followers you have or how many people saw it.

  • Sends

    Sends are the times people shared your post or reel with someone else by DM, one of the strongest signs that content is worth showing to more people.

  • Instagram algorithm

    The Instagram algorithm is the set of ranking systems that decide which posts, reels and stories each person sees, and in what order.

  • Auto-reply

    An auto-reply is a message sent automatically in response to a DM, comment or keyword, so people get an answer without waiting for someone to type it.

  • Carousel post

    A carousel post is an Instagram post with several photos or videos that people swipe through, up to 20 in one post.

  • Close Friends

    Close Friends is an Instagram list of people you choose; content shared to it is seen only by them and marked with a green badge.

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