What’s real engagement on Instagram?

Instagram has released its stats of the year 2017, with top hashtags, celebrities and most-Instagrammed cities. But beyond the lists of usual suspects, what can this Instagram data tell us about influence on the visual platform?

Influence on Instagram has been in the news throughout 2017, with reports of buying followers sullying the integrity of ‘genuine influence’. But even with social accounts that boast millions of ‘real’ followers – does having more mean having more influence?

One element of influence is engagement – how much the individual interacts with and provokes response from their followers, and, in turn, how much that creates a community. A ‘like’ on an Instagram post could be a passive action – your post would appear in your follower’s feed and they double tap to like – not much effort on their part.

Or perhaps the like isn’t even from your follower – maybe you’ve played a good hashtag game, causing your post to appear in a new ‘discover’ timeline. A like that way could mean even less if it’s someone who won’t see your post again or engage with your account. Though this can get even trickier – if they become a follower then it obviously means more.

One method of measuring real engagement is through Instagram Stories. The collections of posts and videos put together by users are typically less polished, using emojis and text with a more ‘personal’ insight into their lives. Stories have to be actively watched, so they don’t just appear if you login to Instagram, they have to be consumed – much like people choose a TV channel to watch.*

Instagram Stories, for those that don’t use them, do not have traditional visible data to the outside world. A user can see how many, and more specifically who, has watched a story but that’s how far this data usually travels.

Now Instagram has revealed the most-viewed Instagram Stories of 2017, from verified accounts with over five million followers:

1. Lele Pons @lelepons (74)
2. Neymar Jr. @neymarjr (11)
3. Olga Buzova @buzova86 (-)
4. Kim Kardashian @kimkardashian (6)
5. Amanda Cerny @amandacerny (99)
6. Chiara Ferragni @chiaraferragni (-)
7. Maluma @maluma (46)
8. Anitta @anitta (57)
9. Ariana Grande @arianagrande (4)
10. Kourtney Kardashian @kourtneykardash (22)

The numbers in brackets are the users’ place in the top 100 Instagram accounts by followers, with third place Olga Buzova and sixth place Chiara Ferragni both failing to make the top 100 by a margin of some seven million followers.

While some followers may not watch Stories, it is surprising that Kim Kardashian, with five times the number of followers as Lele Pons and 10 times the followers of Buzaova, is still beaten by both in this list.

Though the number of Stories put out by these users varies wildly, this new method of reaching fans is a clear indication that macro influencers aren’t necessarily driving the most engagement or reaching the right people – which should be a consideration for all brands and businesses looking to work with Instagram stars in 2018.

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