Instagram Navigation: What Is It & How to Understand It?

At this point, I’m guessing you’ve heard of the phrase “Instagram navigation.”

If you’re new to managing Instagram accounts, your understanding of the phrase might be from a general sense. (e.g., IG’s structure, buttons, features, etc.)

But if you’ve been using IG for quite some time now, you’ve seen its Instagram Navigation metrics—something that means totally different from the generic IG navigation meaning.

Confused?

That’s what this guide is here for.

We’ll talk about the basics of Instagram Navigation in a generic sense. And the Instagram Navigation metrics.

As a social media manager, understanding both can help you effectively manage and optimize your clients’ Instagram accounts for maximum engagement and growth. 

Let’s hop right in.

via GIPHY

What you’ll learn:

• What is Instagram navigation?
• Let’s talk about Instagram Navigation metrics
• Best way to track and measure Instagram navigation analytics
• Customers also ask
• Master Instagram Navigation

What is Instagram Navigation?

Think of Instagram navigation as your trusty map to explore the platform and ace managing your client’s Instagram account. 

Let’s dive into the basics:

• Bottom Navigation Bar: Your go-to quick access menu at the bottom of the screen. It’s got it all—Home feed for the latest posts, Search to find anything you want, Reels for snappy videos, Shop for retail therapy, and Profile to showcase your clients’ awesomeness.

• Home Feed: Tap that home icon for a personalized mix of photos, videos, and Stories from your clients’ followed accounts.

• Explore Tab: The magnifying glass icon opens up a treasure trove of trending posts and cool accounts waiting to be discovered. It’s like Instagram’s secret stash!

• Search: Hunt down accounts and hashtags, discover brands, or even check out popular spots with the Search icon. Instagram makes it easy with suggestions and relevant results.

• Reels: Lights, camera, action! Watch and create short videos for clients with the Reels icon. It’s Instagram’s version of TikTok.

• Shop: Discover and buy amazing goodies from brands and creators on Instagram’s Shop feature.

• Profile: This icon is your gateway to your clients’ special spot on Instagram. Manage their posts, show off their bio and Instagram URL, customize their profile, and engage with their followers. 

Need to temporarily deactivate Instagram accounts for your clients? This guide has you covered. 

If you want to hear it from Instagram, head to its Help Center. They’ve got all the deactivation and deletion info you need. 

Remember, Instagram is always evolving, so its navigation will keep changing. 

For example, Instagram removes its Shop tab from the main UI (as of 2023), so stay tuned for updates. 

Let’s Talk About Instagram Navigation Metrics

Understanding the ins and outs of IG navigation lets you peek into the minds of your clients’ viewers, knowing who’s sticking around and waving goodbye.

You can decode those interaction numbers and gain insights into your clients’ audience behavior. 

Navigation stats matter since they are a crucial Instagram Stories metric. The navigation stats track your client Stories’ overall completion rate. 

Must read: Instagram Following List Order Algorithm Explained [2024]

Check out the Navigation stats, which show how people get around your clients’ Stories:

Back Taps

The IG Story backtaps are the sweet, sweet replays that indicate your client’s Story hit the right spot. 

Your client’s viewers can’t resist reliving the magic and swipe left, whether for the content, engagement or simply to marvel at the content’s greatness. 

So if you see those Back Taps (repeat views) piling up, consider your client’s content a storytelling wizard. 

You can even incorporate creative and catchy Instagram Notes ideas into your clients’ Stories to help draw more eyeballs to their content. 

Forward Taps

Forward taps don’t always signify doom and gloom. 

Viewers often zoom through stories with lightning speed, forward-tapping their way to the next exciting tale. 

But keep an eye on those numbers. If your clients’ Stories experience a high count of Forward Taps, it’s time to sprinkle some extra sparkle into their content to keep their audience hooked.

Next Story Swipes 

Next Story swipes are when your clients’ viewers bid adieu to the previous Story and venture into the unknown. 

Analyze those Next Story navigation metrics to discover the Stories where your clients’ audiences tend to drop off. 

Plus, it’s a valuable lesson for deciding how many Stories to add to your client’s Instagram adventure.

Exit Story Taps 

Sometimes, folks need to take a break, check their feeds, or embark on other Instagram adventures. 

It does not always reflect your client’s content performance, so don’t let it bring you down.

With these navigation insights, you can help your clients conquer Instagram like never before. 

Must read: Instagram Story Viewer Order: How Does It Work?

Ready to give your content workflow and posts a major upgrade? Try AI Assistant powered by ChatGPT today! 🤖💙

Best Way to Track and Measure Instagram Navigation Analytics

Want to keep your clients’ social media game strong? 

Look no further than Vista Social. 

Our social media management platform has all the tools you need to track your clients’ success, create killer reports, including Instagram Stories analytics, and understand why discovery stats matter. We have a comprehensive Instagram Management Tools for Business that contains all that you need to grow your account.

With Vista Social, you can easily monitor their performance on various social media platforms using one super user-friendly dashboard. 

It’s the ultimate weapon for staying on top of your tasks and your client’s social media game.

Vista Social’s main analytics features allow you to:

• View and access each client’s social profile performance to quickly assess their social growth.
• Compare reach with competitors on Instagram.
• Analyze your clients’ post level performance, including engagement rates, to determine the content that works and why.  

With this advanced platform, you can transform your Instagram analytics reports into PDFs and schedule them to be sent automatically to your awesome teams and clients. 

Vista Social doesn’t stop at analytics and reports. 

It has social media publishing and content scheduling tools to make your life a breeze when juggling multiple client accounts.

Check out the Instagram Planner, a magical tool that lets you organize and schedule your clients’ Reels, Stories, and regular posts effortlessly. 

Drag and drop content from your client’s media library into the preview area, and voila! 

You can even arrange the order of their posts by moving them around like a boss.

Effortlessly tweak each client post before hitting that publish button. 

Add stickers, captions, hashtags, emojis, mentions, and all those cool elements that make your client’s content shine, and set specific dates and times for auto-publishing. 

Vista Social’s user-friendly features help supercharge your clients’ navigation and content performance analysis.

You’ll breeze through everything, from learning how to make Reels with photos to scheduling an entire month’s worth of your client’s awesome content.

A sweet bonus: you can create Instagram drafts that your clients can easily review and approve before going live. 

It’s all about being on the same page and avoiding content mishaps that could get your clients in trouble. 

No more scrambling to submit an Instagram appeal form to save the day. 

FAQs on Instagram Navigation

Check out the commonly asked questions from fellow Instagram users.

1. Where is Instagram’s navigation bar?

You’ll find the navigation bar at the bottom of your Instagram app.

2. Can you see the number of times someone viewed your clients’ IG videos?

You can check out how many views your clients’ videos racked up right below the video. 

If you’ve shared your client’s video as part of a post with a bunch of photos and videos, you won’t see the view count individually. But you can still keep tabs on those solo video stats. 

3. What is InstaNavigation?

InstaNavigation is a service that lets you set clients to follow their favorite users without the users knowing, stay updated on the latest news, scoop up all the juicy content, and do it all incognito. 

Master Instagram Navigation

Equip yourself to conquer Instagram Navigation like a true pro. 

Don’t let this newfound expertise go to waste, and use it to take your clients’ Instagram game to the next level—from leveraging navigation tactics to uncovering Instagram insights. 

Streamline your navigation, scheduling, and analytics for clients in one place with Vista Social. 

Try Vista Social for free and unleash its full potential to help you and your clients navigate, dominate, and thrive on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms.