# Data Overview

## Available reports

Instagram Public Data gives you access to two distinct report types, each serving different tracking and analysis needs:

| Report Type               | Data Level             | Refresh Frequency | Ideal Use Case                                                                       |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Public profiles info**  | Profile-level snapshot | Daily or weekly   | Track follower growth, verify accounts, compare metrics across profiles              |
| **Public profiles posts** | Individual post-level  | Daily or weekly   | Analyze engagement patterns, identify top-performing posts, monitor content strategy |

## Public profiles info metrics

#### Follower & reach metrics

| Metric              | Definition                                          | Example       |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------- |
| **Follower count**  | Total number of accounts following this profile     | 1,250,000     |
| **Following count** | Total number of accounts this profile follows       | 350           |
| **Post count**      | Total number of posts published (photos and videos) | 245           |
| **Website**         | URL link in the profile bio (if available)          | instagram.com |

#### Profile identity metrics

| Metric                  | Definition                                    | Example                |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| **Username**            | The unique Instagram handle                   | nasa                   |
| **Full name**           | Display name on the profile                   | NASA                   |
| **Bio**                 | Profile description text                      | Exploring the universe |
| **Is verified**         | Blue checkmark status (true/false)            | true                   |
| **Profile picture URL** | Link to the profile's avatar image            | https\://...           |
| **Is private**          | Account privacy status (public accounts only) | false                  |

## Public profiles posts metrics

#### Post engagement metrics

| Metric              | Definition                                         | Example |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| **Like count**      | Total likes on the post                            | 48,000  |
| **Comment count**   | Total comments on the post                         | 3,200   |
| **Engagement rate** | Combined likes and comments as % of follower count | 2.1%    |

#### Post content metrics

| Metric        | Definition                                  | Example                  |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| **Post ID**   | Unique identifier for the post              | 17999999999999999        |
| **Caption**   | Text content of the post                    | "Taken from orbit today" |
| **Post type** | Image, video, or carousel                   | image                    |
| **Media URL** | Direct link to the image or video thumbnail | https\://...             |
| **Posted at** | Timestamp when the post was published       | 2024-01-15T10:30:00Z     |

## Common metric combinations

Here are helpful ways to combine metrics from both report types:

* **Track engagement velocity**: Pull "Public profiles posts" daily and compare like counts over time to identify trending content
* **Benchmark competitor growth**: Use "Public profiles info" weekly to graph follower count changes across multiple accounts
* **Analyze posting cadence**: Combine post count from "Public profiles info" with individual post dates from "Public profiles posts" to understand frequency
* **Monitor bio changes**: Compare bio text month-over-month to spot strategy shifts

## Use cases by role

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Marketers" %}
**Why you need Instagram Public Data**: Track competitor activity and industry trends without logging into Instagram manually.

* **Competitive analysis**: Monitor 5–10 competitor accounts' follower counts and post engagement weekly. Spot when they launch campaigns based on post frequency spikes.
* **Influencer vetting**: Pull public profile metrics for potential brand partners to validate audience size and verify badge status before outreach.
* **Content benchmarking**: Compare your posts' like and comment counts against industry peers to identify gaps in your strategy.
* **Audience insights**: Track top-performing posts by engagement to understand what resonates with your audience segment.
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Social Media Managers" %}
**Why you need Instagram Public Data**: Automate competitor monitoring and free up time spent on manual screenshot tracking.

* **Daily performance reports**: Schedule "Public profiles posts" to pull overnight, so you have the latest engagement data in your spreadsheet each morning.
* **Trend detection**: Monitor 3–5 accounts in your niche and set up alerts when follower count jumps (sign of viral moment or paid campaign).
* **Content calendar cross-check**: Pull posts from accounts you admire and compare their captions, posting times, and hashtag strategies to your own schedule.
* **Crisis monitoring**: Track mentions and comments on public posts (if available) to catch emerging issues early.
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Data Analysts" %}
**Why you need Instagram Public Data**: Build dashboards and trend reports without manual data collection.

* **Time-series analysis**: Schedule weekly "Public profiles info" pulls and chart follower growth curves, identify seasonal patterns, and forecast growth.
* **Engagement benchmarking**: Combine "Public profiles posts" data with your own company data (via Coupler.io's Join transformation) to compare performance side-by-side.
* **Multi-account aggregation**: Use Append transformation to combine data from 10+ competitor accounts into one table, then filter and pivot by account.
* **Dashboard automation**: Push data to BigQuery or Looker Studio for real-time competitive dashboards that update on schedule.
  {% endtab %}
  {% endtabs %}

## Platform-specific notes

* **Public profiles only**: This source fetches data from public Instagram accounts only. Private account data is not available, even if you follow them.
* **Instagram API limits**: Meta applies rate limits to Instagram API requests. If you're tracking many profiles simultaneously, consider staggering refreshes or monitoring for rate limit errors.
* **Post engagement lag**: Like and comment counts may take a few minutes to update on Instagram's servers, so expect slight delays in the data.
* **Deleted posts**: If a post is deleted, it will no longer appear in "Public profiles posts" reports. Historical data may be lost if you don't archive old snapshots.
* **Bio and metadata changes**: Profile info (bio, name, follower count) is a point-in-time snapshot. Schedule regular refreshes to track changes over time.