Instagram to make Views as primary metric for content across all formats

Creators will be able to measure all their content, regardless of format, through the same metric. The update will be introduced in the coming weeks

In an attempt to promote multi-format content, Meta-owned Instagram has announced that "Views" are going to be the primary metric across all media formats including reels, live, photos, carousels and stories. 

Creators will now be able to monitor the content using the same metric. The update will be introduced in upcoming weeks. The change was announced in a post from Instagram’ creators account. 

“Views will measure the number of times a reel started to play or reply and the number of times a non-reel appeared on a person’s screen. Views will ensure you have the same metric across Instagram and help you better understand how your content is performing, regardless of its format,” say the post titled ‘Instagram Insights Updates.’ 

“Historically we’ve shown different metrics for Reels vs. other posts, but we want to evolve this so it’s easier to understand how your content is doing regardless of the format,” Instagram chief Adam Mosseri wrote in an Instagram post. 

In an accompanying video, he also explains that a view differs from a reach since an individual can view the same piece of content more than once. Adam Mosseri also advises creators to keep an eye on sends per reach as well even if views might be the primary metric as both are “probably the most important metrics for anybody trying to understand how their content is doing on Instagram,”. 

Views also became a key metric on threads earlier this year. Users can tap a Threads post to see the total view count. Elon Musk-owned X has also been prioritising view counts.