How to Track Your Instagram Reels Performance Automatically

Why Tracking Your Reels Performance Matters

As a content creator, you know the drill: post a Reel, check it obsessively for the first 24 hours, manually write down the views in a spreadsheet, and repeat. It's exhausting.

But here's the thing—tracking your performance isn't optional if you want to grow. The algorithm rewards creators who understand what works. The problem isn't tracking itself; it's the manual labor that comes with it.

What if you could:

• Get automatic updates on views, likes, comments, and shares every 24 hours
• See exactly which content formats are working
• Track your growth trends over time without touching a spreadsheet

That's exactly what SocialWatch does. Let me show you how.

The Old Way vs. The New Way

The Manual Approach (What Most Creators Do)

1. Open Instagram app
2. Navigate to each Reel
3. Screenshot or write down the metrics
4. Copy everything to a spreadsheet
5. Repeat daily for each piece of content
6. Try to make sense of the data

Time spent: 30-60 minutes daily

The Automated Approach (With SocialWatch)

1. Paste your Reel URLs once
2. Get automatic updates every 24 hours
3. View all metrics in one dashboard
4. Export to CSV when you need it

Time spent: 5 minutes setup, then zero

How to Set Up Automatic Reels Tracking

Step 1: Add Your Content Links

Head to the Links page and click "Add Link." Paste your Instagram Reel URL—that's it.

You can add as many links as you want. Track your own content, or track competitors to see what's working in your niche.

Step 2: Let the System Do Its Work

Once you add a link, SocialWatch automatically:

• Crawls the content for initial metrics
• Updates every 24 hours with fresh data
• Stores historical data so you can see trends

No manual checking required. The data comes to you.

Step 3: Analyze Your Performance

Open your dashboard to see:

• Views over time: See how your Reels grow (or plateau)
• Engagement metrics: Likes, comments, shares at a glance
• Engagement rate: Calculated automatically so you can compare content

What Metrics Should You Track?

Not all metrics are created equal. Here's what actually matters. (For timing your posts, check out our guide on Best Posting Times for Reels.)

Views

The top-of-funnel metric. High views mean the algorithm is pushing your content. But views alone don't tell the full story.

Engagement Rate

This is your real signal. Calculate it as: (likes + comments + shares) / views × 100

A Reel with 10,000 views and 2% engagement is often better than one with 50,000 views and 0.5% engagement. Higher engagement tells Instagram to show your content to more people.

Comments

The algorithm weights comments heavily. If people are commenting, you're creating content that resonates.

Saves and Shares

These are the gold standard. When someone saves or shares your content, it signals extreme value. Track these closely.

Pro Tips for Better Tracking

Track Competitors Too

Don't just track your own content. Add links from creators in your niche who are crushing it. See what's working for them. (Need ideas? Check out the Instagram Reels Ideas Generator.):

• What hooks do they use?
• How long are their top-performing Reels?
• What posting times work?

Look for Patterns

After a few weeks of data, patterns emerge. This is the foundation of data-driven growth:

• Maybe your "talking head" Reels consistently outperform B-roll
• Maybe content posted Tuesday morning gets 2x the views
• Maybe your 15-second Reels beat your 60-second ones

These insights are gold. But you can only find them if you're tracking consistently.

Export and Analyze

Sometimes you need to dig deeper. Export your data to CSV and run your own analysis. Look for correlations between content type, posting time, caption style, and performance.

Getting Started

Ready to stop manually tracking your Reels?

1. Sign up for free - No credit card required
2. Get 100 free credits - Track up to 3 links completely free
3. Add your first Reel - See data within minutes

The creators who grow fastest are the ones who let data guide their decisions. Start tracking automatically, spend less time in spreadsheets, and more time creating content that actually works.

Start tracking your Reels for free →