Sarah Mourtos Instagram saves are an important metric to track for a growing beauty business.
When I am not working, eating or sleeping, I am on Instagram. Actually, that’s a lie. I love a cheeky lunch-break scroll.
Instagram is so much more than a social media app. It’s a tool you can strategically use to grow your business, and with the growing features, metrics and expert knowledge available, it’s becoming easier than ever.
We all understand the importance of likes, shares and comments, but there is a new metric on our radar; saves. It’s not necessarily a new feature. It’s been around since 2017, but it’s recently piqued the interest of social media marketers.
For those unfamiliar with Instagram saves, it’s a function that allows users to save posts. You simply tap on the bookmark symbol on the bottom right corner of a post.
It’s pretty straightforward. Unlike likes or comments, these are private and curated in a library with other saved posts. Instagram also introduced a feature called ‘collections’, which gives users the ability to categorise these posts. If you have an Instagram business account, you can view the amount of saves a post receives through insights.
Why is Instagram saves important?
If you took a look at my Instagram saves, you would find a lot of outfit inspo, quotes and shopping posts. It’s like a Pinterest board on Instagram. Sometimes I skip Pinterest all together when looking for a new dress because I know the Instagram algorithm will have curated something to my liking in my feed.
The above is an example of, in a nutshell, why Instagram saves are so important. Firstly, saves indicate to the creator that their content is resonating with their audience. If a post has lots of saves, it’s probably worthwhile investigating what made it so popular. Instagram content is fleeting and continually reshuffling, so a post must be valuable if someone is urged to revisit it later.
Similarly, Instagram saves are vital if you’re an e-commerce business. Users are increasingly using the app to shop, and your most saved posts indicate what they have their eye on. You can use this information to create targeted marketing campaigns (more on that later).
Finally, saves impact your position in the algorithm. The like is becoming more of an obsolete tool to measure a post’s success, and this has been evident since Instagram removed them in 2019. Instead, other metrics like comments, shares and saves are used to determine a post’s value.
Instagram is a business too. They want their users to be satisfied with the content they see on the app, and a save is the biggest indication that people are enjoying the content. Hence, they are going to want to push that content first.
How to use your Instagram saves to reach new clients
The people who are saving your Instagram posts are a captivated audience. You are on their radar, and you can create targeted marketing campaigns to heighten this awareness even more. It’s as simple as checking a few boxes when setting up your next campaign. This is outline in full below.
Whether it be a skincare tip or a new treatment, the people who have saved your posts are interested in your business. It’s like they are standing out the front of your spa or clinic, and a targeted ad could be the push to get them through the door! Use this to your advantage.
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