For a long time, Instagram stories were a blind spot when it came to measuring influencer campaigns. Stories were tracked manually, and couldn’t be easily monitored or measured for performance.
But now, we are happy to announce that Meltwater tracks Instagram Stories, helping you see the complete picture of your influencer campaign.
Contents
How Does Instagram Story Tracking Work?
Why Brands Love Stories
Learn More About Instagram Story Tracking with Meltwater
FAQs About Measuring Instagram Stories
How Does Instagram Story Tracking Work?
In order to track the Stories, influencers must have an Instagram business account and are required to authenticate it first.
To make it easy for marketers, Meltwater provides an easy way to send invitations to influencers to connect their accounts.
Once an influencer is connected, relevant Stories can be added to campaigns and will be measured by the hashtags and handles that were included in the Story.
The statistics will include the Unique Views of the posted Story, and the number of messages the Story received back from the audience.
Why Brands Love Stories
People spend their Instagram time on IG Stories. As of 2026, Stories have more than 500 million daily active users (Business of Apps).
People and brands love Stories because they offer the ability to share more unfiltered, off-the-cuff content. This helps humanize brands and allows influencers to communicate with their audience the way a friend might. It allows for a fuller, holistic view of a brand than one can necessarily get from a polished Instagram Grid.
And though it seems that Instagram is finally considering adding the ability to link from Grid captions, as of now Stories and the Instagram Bio are the only places allowing for links. Massively expanding brand and influencer ability to grow followings, influence sales, and increase awareness.
Learn More About Instagram Story Tracking with Meltwater
The new Instagram Stories tracking on Meltwater joins Instagram posts, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter as primary sources for Klear, Meltwater's influencer marketing and campaign measurement solution.
Want to see it live in action? Request a demo by filling out the form below.
FAQs About Measuring Instagram Stories
1. What are Instagram Stories metrics?
Instagram Stories metrics are data points that show how your Stories perform, including views, reach, taps, replies, and exits.
2. What is the difference between reach and impressions in Stories?
Reach is the number of unique viewers, while impressions count total views (including repeat views by the same user).
3. What does “taps forward” mean?
Taps forward indicate how many users skipped to your next Story, often suggesting the current Story wasn’t engaging enough.
4. What does “taps back” indicate?
Taps back show users rewatched your previous Story, signaling strong interest or engagement.
5. What are exits in Instagram Stories?
Exits track how many users left your Story entirely, which can point to content drop-off or lack of relevance.
6. How is completion rate calculated for Stories?
Completion rate measures the percentage of viewers who watched your entire Story sequence from start to finish.
7. What is a good engagement rate for Instagram Stories?
A good rate varies by account size, but typically 5–10% engagement (replies, sticker taps, etc.) is considered strong.
8. What do replies in Stories measure?
Replies count direct messages sent from your Story, indicating high engagement and audience interest.
9. How do sticker taps impact Story performance?
Sticker taps (polls, quizzes, links) show interactive engagement and help measure how actively users interact with your content.
10. Why are Story metrics important?
They help you understand audience behavior, optimize content, and improve engagement and retention over time.
