Beyond the Double Tap: what your Instagram metrics are telling you
Have you ever posted a well-planned and recorded reel, watched the likes roll in and thought: “Surely this one’s a viral one, a winner”? And two weeks later that it didn’t move the needle at all? Let me tell you that you’re not alone. It’s all about the Instagram Metrics or social metrics.Â
I have seen it all the time over 20 years in my professional career, especially in the wellness, beauty and boutique travel space, where aesthetic content is queen and engagement often feels like validation. But let’s be honest: a double tap doesn’t pay the bills. And followers? They don’t always convert.
Take Polished Byron Bay, for example.
This dreamy holistic beauty Spa based in Byron Bay has a loyal local following, however this didn’t translate to their Instagram metrics... Even if they got likes and views in reels and pictures, when we zoomed out and looked at their bookings and inquiries, something didn’t quite line up.Â
For months, they were measuring success based on likes and follower count. But none of those metrics were telling the full story.Â
What changed in the strategy?
Enkompass helped them shift their focus from vanity to value. Instead of obsessing over surface-level numbers, we mapped out meaningful KPIs based on their business goals like website traffic, DMs per week, retention from Instagram to their bookings.Â
Beyond social, launched a weekly newsletter, The Glow Journal, offering value-driven content, wellness tips and community updates. Moreover, revamped the loyalty program into Polished Perks to reward existing customers and encourage repeat visits.
The result? Amy Phipps, Founder of Polished Byron Bay, stopped creating content just for the algorithm and started creating content for real, paying humans. To target real people around Byron Bay who care about holistic wellness and self care and to increase the lifetime value (LTV) of her customers.Â
If you’ve ever felt unsure about what your numbers are telling you, stick around. Let’s break down what your Instagram metrics are really saying and how to turn Instagram insight into business impact.
What you think matters VS What actually does in INSTAGRAM metrics
Since the beginning of instagram or social media, we have been measuring the success of our content through the so-called “vanity metrics”. I am not the one to blame. It’s easy to look at our most-liked post and think; “well, that must’ve worked!” Or to assume that follower growth equals business growth. But nothing could be further from the truth.
INSTAGRAM Vanity metrics
We call vanity metrics to:Â
- Likes
- Followers
- Video views (thanks to reels since 2020).
They’re flashy. Easy to measure. Super tempting to chase. But the truth? They tell you very little about how your audience preferences or if it is actually engaging with your brand or whether your content is helping you hit your business goals.
And now you would be wondering: Okay, how can I know if I am making an impact on the correct people and for my business? If you’re building a wellness brand with purpose, you need to look deeper. That’s where “impact metrics” come in.Â
Instagram Impact metrics
We call impact metrics to:
- Engagement rate (ER): total interactions vs reach
- Saves: if they save your content, it’s because it matters.
- Shares: the ultimate “I believe in this” metric.
- Click-through rate: first, you need to use UTMs to measure the traffic to your site, booking page or lead form.
- DMs per week: especially for service-based wellness brands. Then, you’ll need a sales strategy to convert them.Â
- Conversion rate: what percentage of social traffic becomes a client or customer.Â
These are the numbers that really matter for a business in social media. These metrics reflect real audience connection, behaviour and business alignment.
Understanding the Instagram or other social network’s metrics is a game-changer. Because once you stop chasing applause (likes) and start measuring alignment, you can build a strategy that actually works.Â
For your brand, your audience and your business goals.
3 Instagram metrics to understand
Reach, impressions and engagement rate
Beyond content metrics, you must know how to differentiate three essential metrics for an Instagram account or other social networks: reach, impressions and engagement rate.
- Reach: tells you how many unique accounts saw your content.
- Impressions: tell you how often your content was delivered to screens (hello, algorithm!). So, one account could have seen your content more than once, twice…
- Engagement rate (ER): it highlights the active participation of your audience with your content or account. This participation includes the following metrics: likes, comments, shares, clicks, saves, reactions and other platform-specific actions. It has a basic formula: (Total Interactions / Total Reach or Impressions) * 100 = Engagement Rate (%).
Here’s the truth: high-performing brands aren’t the ones with the biggest numbers, but the ones with the clearest understanding of what those numbers mean.Â
When you know how to read your metrics with intention, you stop creating content for applause and start creating content that drives action, builds connection and grows your business sustainably.
The 8 most common mistakes in InstagramÂ
Firstly, you feel that you’ve put all your heart into a campaign: you thought carefully about every title, caption and call-to-action with love and launched it full of hope. Only to be left wondering if it actually did anything.Â
Then, you want to believe it worked. You hope those out of the box ideas are driving sales. But deep down? You know the numbers aren’t backing it up. Now that you know which are the most important numbers. And you are sitting in front of the computer wondering why? Why is it always me?
It’s a classic story, and honestly? It happens way too often, usually for the same reasons.
In the fast-moving world of social media marketing, especially in the wellness, health and travel industries, it’s easy to get swept up in creativity and forget to check the basics. But if we want to scale with intention and actually see results, you need to understand where things go off-track.
So here are the 8 most common mistakes wellness, health and travel brands make when measuring campaign success and how to avoid them.
Obsessing over likes and followers
As we have seen, those little hearts feel good. But a “like” isn’t the end game. Engagement metrics like saves, shares, comments and profile clicks give you far more insight into real audience connection.
Skipping clear goals
No shame, but running a campaign without goals is like going bushwalking with no map. Set SMART goals that align with your marketing strategy and give your metrics real meaning.
Not tracking conversions properly
Every Instagram post should have a purpose. Use UTM parameters, proper links and conversion tracking to see what’s actually driving action and revenue in your business. And revenue.
Ignoring engagement metrics
Likes are vanity. Comments, DMs, shares, story replies, that’s the metrics that tells you people are actually interested. Wellness is about connection. So is your content.
Forgetting ROI
Your time and budget are precious. Calculate your return on investment regularly, not just what you’re spending, but what you’re earning back. For example enquiries, DMs or new subscribers.
Not adjusting based on the data
Your Instagram analytics are a goldmine. Don’t ignore them. Use your insights to pivot, refine and elevate your content strategy.
Overlooking competitor benchmarks
Knowing what others in the wellness or travel space are doing isn’t about copying, it’s about context! Your competitor’s metrics can highlight gaps and spark ideas.
Relying too heavily on automation
Scheduling tools? Love them. AI captions? Handy. But don’t forget the human touch. Social media is, well, social. Behind every metric is a real person, with real needs.
At the end of the day, success on Instagram or social media isn’t about being the loudest, smartest or most followed. It’s about being relevant, consistent and aligned with your brand values. Especially in the wellness space, authenticity wins every time.
And if you mess it up? That’s okay. The best growth comes from the lessons we learn when things don’t go to plan. Keep showing up, keep refining and trust the process.
You’ve got this.
You’re building something that matters. We’ve got tools, truth and a community to back you.Â
