I'm addicted to Instagram - an iPhone application that lets you take photos, transform those photos using filters, and then share them via Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr. Initially I had no insight into how well or how poorly my content was performing. Now, I can get statistics for my Instagram content with Iconosquare (formerly Statigram).
Iconosquare gives you a few features you don't get with Instagram, the ability to see who followed you recently, who unfollowed you, which fans follow you that you follow back, and more. You also get recommendations about when to post.
Reviewing Your Most Popular Content
In the Viewer (the default view), you can organize your photos by Likes and by Comments Received. This ordering allows you to see which photos are getting liked or commented on, and if you chose, influence the direction of your future content.
You can also quickly scan through entries into Instagram Challenges or your uniquely tagged Instagram series.
Planning When You Share Content
Iconosquare also gives advice on how to optimize your stream, highlighting the best times to post new photos so that you get likes and/or comments. My two best days for fan interaction are Thursday and Monday. Yet, I typically post on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Because most likes and comments on my photos occur within the first six hours I should rethink my posting schedule. On Thursdays, fans tend to engage between 9 and 11AM and 5 and 7 PM. On Mondays, fans tend to engage between 6 and 8PM. (In December 2011, when I first wrote this post, 10AM on Friday and Saturday were the best times for me to post with 6PM on Friday and 5PM on Saturday being the second best times.) Posting more frequently on Monday mornings, Wednesday nights, and throughout Thursday may get my photos seen by more fans.
Getting to Know Your Fans
In Statistics, you can review new followers as well as lost followers. If you're participating in social media boost programs this is an easy way to see how effective they are. Do your new followers stick around or do they unfollow you shortly after?
In addition to monitoring programs designed to increase your followers, you can use this view to see how fans are responding to new content. If you're changing up your type of content, you can tell whether followers like it or not, by both likes and comments as well as Lost Followers.
In the Viewer, you can dive deeper and see who follows you and decide whether or not you want to follow them. Likewise, you can see who you follow and who does or doesn't follow you back and determine whether you want to continue following them.
P.S. Don't feel like commenting? Strike up a conversation with me elsewhere: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, or Pinterest.
Credits: All layouts designed by and images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.
Post was originally written December 1, 2011 and updated on April 26, 2014.