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