FAQ: What link-click rate should I expect from my bio/Stories?
Low, and that's normal — these are weak-intent surfaces.
— Bio link: median ~0.5-1.5% of profile visitors click
— Story link sticker: median ~1-3% of Story viewers
— Story link after a strong CTA frame: ~4-8%
Profile-visit-to-click beats follower-to-click as your denominator; most followers never see a given Story.
So what: measure clicks against the surface that actually saw the link, not total followers. And gate the link behind a value frame — the CTA setup roughly 3x's the click rate. (n=470 accounts, 30-day window)
—
Доп. контекст по cost per link — @LinkBuildIndex
Low, and that's normal — these are weak-intent surfaces.
— Bio link: median ~0.5-1.5% of profile visitors click
— Story link sticker: median ~1-3% of Story viewers
— Story link after a strong CTA frame: ~4-8%
Profile-visit-to-click beats follower-to-click as your denominator; most followers never see a given Story.
So what: measure clicks against the surface that actually saw the link, not total followers. And gate the link behind a value frame — the CTA setup roughly 3x's the click rate. (n=470 accounts, 30-day window)
—
Доп. контекст по cost per link — @LinkBuildIndex
Caption keyword search now drives 3.2x more non-follower reach than hashtags
We tagged impression sources across a matched-pair test. Hashtags are no longer the discovery lever.
— Search/keyword surface: ██████ 31% of non-follower reach
— Hashtags: ██ 9.6%
— Reels feed/Explore: ████████ 47%
— Audio page: ██ 12%
Accounts that moved their target terms from hashtag blocks into the first caption line and on-screen text saw a median +18% search reach within 21 days. Hashtags still help topical classification, not volume.
n=240 accounts, paired A/B, 45-day window.
We tagged impression sources across a matched-pair test. Hashtags are no longer the discovery lever.
— Search/keyword surface: ██████ 31% of non-follower reach
— Hashtags: ██ 9.6%
— Reels feed/Explore: ████████ 47%
— Audio page: ██ 12%
Accounts that moved their target terms from hashtag blocks into the first caption line and on-screen text saw a median +18% search reach within 21 days. Hashtags still help topical classification, not volume.
n=240 accounts, paired A/B, 45-day window.
Engagement rate by niche spans a 6x gap at the same follower count
Comparing ER without controlling for niche is meaningless. Same 10k-50k cohort:
— Personal finance: █████ 5.8%
— Fitness/coaching: ████ 4.1%
— Travel: ███ 3.0%
— Fashion/apparel: ██ 2.2%
— E-commerce product: █ 0.9%
The driver is comment intent: finance and coaching provoke questions, apparel provokes silent saves. If your niche sits low, benchmark against your niche median, not the platform-wide 1-3% figure that gets quoted everywhere.
n=1,420 accounts, ER = (likes+comments+saves)/reach, 30-day window.
Comparing ER without controlling for niche is meaningless. Same 10k-50k cohort:
— Personal finance: █████ 5.8%
— Fitness/coaching: ████ 4.1%
— Travel: ███ 3.0%
— Fashion/apparel: ██ 2.2%
— E-commerce product: █ 0.9%
The driver is comment intent: finance and coaching provoke questions, apparel provokes silent saves. If your niche sits low, benchmark against your niche median, not the platform-wide 1-3% figure that gets quoted everywhere.
n=1,420 accounts, ER = (likes+comments+saves)/reach, 30-day window.
Story completion drops a median 14% per frame; the cliff is at frame 3
Most accounts post 5-7 frame sequences. The data says trim to 4.
— Frame 1→2: -7% viewers
— Frame 2→3: -11%
— Frame 3→4: -14% (the cliff)
— Frame 4→5: -19%
By frame 5, the median account retains only 58% of frame-1 viewers. Sequences ending at frame 4 carry the highest completion-rate percentile. The one exception: polls/quizzes on frame 2 cut per-frame drop roughly in half by resetting attention.
n=3,100 story sequences, 60-day window.
Most accounts post 5-7 frame sequences. The data says trim to 4.
— Frame 1→2: -7% viewers
— Frame 2→3: -11%
— Frame 3→4: -14% (the cliff)
— Frame 4→5: -19%
By frame 5, the median account retains only 58% of frame-1 viewers. Sequences ending at frame 4 carry the highest completion-rate percentile. The one exception: polls/quizzes on frame 2 cut per-frame drop roughly in half by resetting attention.
n=3,100 story sequences, 60-day window.
Worth your feed
@ReelsTrenchNotes. Field notes from someone posting Reels daily: what's working THIS week, the hooks… We read it, you probably should too.
@ReelsTrenchNotes. Field notes from someone posting Reels daily: what's working THIS week, the hooks… We read it, you probably should too.
Save rate predicts 7-day reach with r=0.71; like rate predicts almost nothing
We ran correlations between each engagement signal and downstream reach. The hierarchy is clear.
— Saves → 7-day reach: r=0.71 (strongest)
— Shares/sends: r=0.64
— Comments: r=0.38
— Likes: r=0.11 (statistically near-noise)
Likes are a vanity signal the algorithm has largely discounted. Optimize content for the save and the send: reference-value posts (lists, frameworks, how-tos) and tag-a-friend hooks beat aesthetic likeable posts on distribution.
n=1,650 posts, Pearson correlation, 30-day window.
We ran correlations between each engagement signal and downstream reach. The hierarchy is clear.
— Saves → 7-day reach: r=0.71 (strongest)
— Shares/sends: r=0.64
— Comments: r=0.38
— Likes: r=0.11 (statistically near-noise)
Likes are a vanity signal the algorithm has largely discounted. Optimize content for the save and the send: reference-value posts (lists, frameworks, how-tos) and tag-a-friend hooks beat aesthetic likeable posts on distribution.
n=1,650 posts, Pearson correlation, 30-day window.
Trending audio drives a median 22% of Reels reach — but only in a 5-day window
The audio page is a real discovery surface with a sharp expiry.
— Audio age 0-2 days (rising): ██████ 28% of reach via audio page
— 3-5 days (peak): ████ 19%
— 6-10 days (saturated): █ 6%
— 10+ days: ▏ 2%
By the time an audio is obviously trending, the window is closing. The edge is using sounds at 500-5,000 uses, not 500k. Track the use-count growth rate, not the absolute count — acceleration is the signal.
n=1,100 Reels, 45-day window.
The audio page is a real discovery surface with a sharp expiry.
— Audio age 0-2 days (rising): ██████ 28% of reach via audio page
— 3-5 days (peak): ████ 19%
— 6-10 days (saturated): █ 6%
— 10+ days: ▏ 2%
By the time an audio is obviously trending, the window is closing. The edge is using sounds at 500-5,000 uses, not 500k. Track the use-count growth rate, not the absolute count — acceleration is the signal.
n=1,100 Reels, 45-day window.
The reach-loss signature people call "shadowban" is a sudden 60-80% hashtag-reach drop with feed reach intact
Most "shadowban" panic is a misread. The data shows a specific, separable pattern.
— Genuine restriction: non-follower reach -65% median, follower reach flat
— Content-fatigue dip: both fall proportionally ~20%
— Normal volatility: ±25% day-to-day, mean-reverts in 72 hr
If only your non-follower line collapses while followers still see you, it is a discoverability flag, usually from flagged hashtags, banned audio, or rapid automation. Audit those three before assuming a platform penalty.
n=140 flagged cases, controlled comparison, 30-day window.
Most "shadowban" panic is a misread. The data shows a specific, separable pattern.
— Genuine restriction: non-follower reach -65% median, follower reach flat
— Content-fatigue dip: both fall proportionally ~20%
— Normal volatility: ±25% day-to-day, mean-reverts in 72 hr
If only your non-follower line collapses while followers still see you, it is a discoverability flag, usually from flagged hashtags, banned audio, or rapid automation. Audit those three before assuming a platform penalty.
n=140 flagged cases, controlled comparison, 30-day window.