[STUDY] Instagram Benchmarks 2024: Latest Insights on Content Performance and Metrics

In the world of social media, things tend to change pretty fast. And yet, year after year, Instagram continues to be a major hub for visual storytelling and brand community engagement.

To deal with a renewed performance landscape, algorithm changes, and many other challenges, marketers need to adapt and they need to constantly be refining their social media strategy.

Staying on top of the latest social media engagement benchmarks for Instagram will help you see the bigger picture, anticipate changes and approach social media marketing in a way that will bring you closer to your goals.

Without further ado, let’s explore the 2024 Instagram benchmarks data in detail:

Key findings

Reels continue to be the most engaging content format on Instagram

There’s no denying that Reels on Instagram have become a powerhouse feature, dominating Instagram marketing and offering brands a dynamic way to express themselves and creatively connect with their audience.

For this reason they keep outperforming all other content types on Instagram, year after year.

Such is the case in 2024, when our Instagram industry benchmarks data revealed that the average Instagram engagement rate for Reels has reached 1.48%.

So, If you haven’t been prioritizing Reels in your Instagram strategy, now might be the time to dust off and implement some Instagram Reels tricks and watch your engagement climb back up.

But what about the other post types, you might ask. Well, here’s how they stand right now:

• Engagement benchmark for carousel posts: 0.91%
• Engagement benchmark for image posts: 0.69%

For context, as of March 2024, the overall Instagram average engagement rate across all content types is 1.09%. So if you’re wondering what’s a good average engagement rate on Instagram, there’s your answer.

Engagement on Reels has decreased by 20% YoY

Despite being the top-performing content type on Instagram, Reels engagement has suffered a slight decrease since the beginning of the last year. Our data tells us engagement on Reels has gone down by 20%.

What’s more, in the last year, there was one major event that caused Instagram Reels engagement to spike - the much expected release of Meta’s new Threads app.

Around the time of the launch, the engagement rate for Reels went way up - almost reaching 3%, only to fall back down in the months that followed.

In order to master the Instagram Reels algorithm, you should keep a close eye on the most popular Instagram trends and implement them into your strategy wherever possible.

Whether that works for your brand or not - that’s not an answer our Instagram benchmarks report can answer.

That’s something you can only discover via a thorough Instagram audit. If you don’t know how to get started on one, you can check our full guide that will walk you through the entire process.

Brands prioritize Reels over single images, with a 46% increase in Reels volume YoY

As Instagram's user base expands, more content should be shared to make sure it reaches your target audience as much as possible. Brands are aware of the importance of posting regularly. They know it doesn’t just influence Instagram engagement, but also brand awareness and loyalty.

So, last year, they decided to increase the volume of posts they share on Instagram. Care to guess what they prioritized? Reels, of course!

It’s important to mention that, although images make up the largest segment of posts shared on Instagram, it was Reels that saw the highest increase in usage over the last year.

According to our Instagram content benchmarks, brands have shared 46% more Reels on Instagram in 2023.

Small brands increase their audience size by 40.5% in a year

As a social media marketer, you might be very focused on your brand Instagram engagement analytics. Engagement rate benchmarks get a top spot in social media reports, and that’s not a bad thing.

But if you’re a small brand trying to grow on Instagram organically, you might want to also take into consideration follower growth benchmarks.

The data might surprise you. It turns out that small brands have the highest potential to increase their follower base, compared to other profile sizes.

In 2024, the average follower growth rate for brands under 5k followers is a whopping 40.5%. Middle-sized profiles also get a decent audience growth of 33.8%.

Instagram is a place where brands of all sizes can grow beautifully - as long as they share valuable content that makes people want to take part in their story. Small brands may have an upperhand here, but all types of brands can expand their following and build strong communities on this platform.

The highest Reels view rate (13.3%) is registered among small brands

If you’re a small brand (under 5k followers) reading our 2024 Instagram engagement benchmark report , you will be happy to find out that your Reels have the highest potential to get views, compared to all other brand sizes.

In 2024, small brands get a 13.3% average view rate on their Reels. At the other end of the spectrum, large brands (over 100k followers) only get a 6.5% Reels view rate.

So, our latest Instagram benchmarks data tells us that the Reels view rate declines as profile size grows, which means the smallest accounts can score higher average Reel views on Instagram.

Images are generating the most comments for large brands

Reels are a great way of getting more comments on Instagram, but they might not always be the only recipe for success. If you’re a big brand looking to increase the number of comments you get on your Instagram posts, you might want to start sharing more images.

Our latest social benchmarks for Instagram revealed that the median number of comments is highest (81.3) for big brands sharing images.

It’s important to mention that Reels are almost on par with images across the board, no matter the brand size, but when it comes to brands with a large audience, sharing images on Instagram seems to be a safer bet.

Getting comments on your posts on Instagram is a great indicator of an engaged audience. It means your followers have an opinion about your content and your company, and that is always useful.

Whether they’re sharing a personal story, positive feedback or constructive criticism about your product, you should always welcome and respond to comments to further improve your average engagement rate on Instagram.

Large brands receive a higher median count of saves on their Reels

If you’re not already brainstorming for Instagram post ideas on how to get more saves, you should get started on that. Let us give you a head start and share our hottest trick - create more Reels.

According to our Instagram benchmarks report, in 2024, Instagram Reels are the number one post type that generates saves across all profile sizes, but especially large brands.

Many marketers are hoping for instant gratification - likes, comments, maybe even shares - but saves are a long-term one of the key Instagram metrics that should not be overlooked.

People usually save posts because they find them so valuable that they don’t want to lose them in the sea of content that’s being displayed on their feeds every day.

Saved posts can be organized in collections, and as of 2023, they can also be included in collaborative collections which are shared between multiple users. That opens up endless possibilities and has the potential to skyrocket your social media reach and engagement from just one single post.

Reels are giving smaller brands the biggest boost in impressions

What do you do as a small brand on Instagram trying to get your content in front of as many people as possible? Easy - you share Reels.

Our yearly reports are very much focused on engagement, and for good reason. However, beyond the usual Instagram engagement benchmarks, it’s important to look at other metrics that describe your content performance on Instagram - such as impressions.

So let us check the latest Instagram impressions benchmarks, shall we?

A boost in your Instagram Impressions says a lot about your brand’s potential to reach and captivate a large audience, as well as your skill as a marketer to master the Instagram algorithm.

Our data for 2024 reveals that Reels generate the highest impression rate on Instagram across all brand sizes, so no matter if you have 3k or 300k followers, it’s a great idea to keep sharing Reels if you want to improve your Instagram performance, your brand awareness and spread the word about your products.

It’s equally important to share a variety of content, seeing as carousels and images are also generating a decent amount of average impressions onInstagram.
However, when you’re creating your social media content calendar, remember to leave more room for Reels than any other content type.

Key takeaways

👉 For increased engagement on Instagram, prioritize Reels but make sure to have a mixed content strategy. Reels will get most people to engage with your content, but carousels and images are not far behind.

👉 As a small brand on Instagram (under 5k followers), you can expect a higher YoY audience growth. That gives you the opportunity to build a large, dedicated community around your brand.

👉  The best way to get more comments on Instagram is to share more images. Make sure they are visually appealing and offer value to your audience.

👉 Reels generate the most saves on Instagram, so invest in sharing Reels that are fun, easy to follow and will inspire people to add them to their collections (both private and collaborative).

👉 As a small brand looking to increase your brand awareness, you get the best traction out of sharing Instagram Reels.

Final thoughts

When it comes to Instagram best practices, studying social media benchmarks data is a top priority. Not only does it help you massively improve your strategy but it’s also an important step of any recommended Instagram competitive analysis.

As the social media landscape continues to change, you will realize that your key benchmarks for Instagram are also a moving target. The best way to reach your social media goals is make data-driven decisions and stay close to your audience.

Methodology

The findings of this study were based on the analysis of 21M Instagram posts, collected from 125,000 pages with an active presence between January 2023 - March 2024.

The average engagement rate per post (by followers) on Instagram is calculated as the total engagement (the sum of likes and comments) of the posts published within an established timeframe divided by the total number of followers that a profile has. The result is then multiplied by 100.

The median number of comments and saves: midpoint values for the comments and saves generated by a post type.

The average Instagram view rate represents the percentage of unique people that have seen a profile’s video posts. It is calculated by dividing the total views of a post by the total number of followers and multiplied by 100.

The average Instagram impression rate shows the percentage of people that have seen a profile’s posts more than once. It is calculated by dividing the total impressions of a post by the total number of followers and multiplied by 100.

The average follower growth rate is calculated as the number of followers you gained divided by the number of followers you started with and multiplied by 100.