So, Instagram metrics are now changing because the real reason is that IG wants you to refocus on reach rather than an old followers and likes.

For months, Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri has been trying to convince creators that they should stop worrying about their follower count and start focusing on reach instead. Because reach, Mosseri says, is what every creator really wants.

Not sure that's entirely correct, but…

Today, Instagram announced it is refreshing analytics to make "Views" the focus in every element.
According to Instagram:
"We're introducing 'views' as the primary metric across all formats, including reels, live, photos, carousels, and stories. These changes ensure creators have the same metrics across Instagram to help better understand how their content is performing, regardless of format, and develop better strategies to help them succeed.".

To put it simply, Instagram is changing the following:

Reels Plays are now being called "Views"
"Views" will now be the main metric for photos, carousels, and stories
In Insights IG is adding a "Views" icon instead of "Plays" and other metrics. This will replace "Accounts reached," "Accounts engaged," "Interactions," and "Watch time."
Also to be noted:
"As part of this change, repeat views of content will be counted, like the way plays and replays are counted for reels.".

So you're refocused on views, but you're also going to get a lot more of them, which Instagram probably hopes will ease in this shift.

So why the change?

Well, as I mentioned earlier, for months now, Instagram has been working to reframe how creators prioritize different metrics, in order to shift the focus off of follower counts.

That's because people don't follow others the way they used to.

It's a long time ago, Instagram and Facebook's algorithms were basically arranged around your following graph, i.e. the people and Pages that you would have chosen to follow. Anything outside of that was not eligible to be shown to you in the main feed. But now, that main feed is largely composed by content from profiles you do not follow, but that IG's algorithms think you might like.

And indeed, more than 50% of what appears in your feed now involves Meta's AI-based recommendations and isn't actually coming from profiles you're choosing to follow. What also means, by extension, that who and what you follow are no longer the biggest influencers over your in-app experience.
That means that people are not following anymore. People, specially on Threads, have given this particular feedback-that is, they are failing to come up with a large following, as was happening earlier with Twitter. That's because people now rely highly on the algorithmic feed known as the "For You" feed, and when Meta becomes better at recommending what users like, then they can't need to follow a selected set of pages and profiles anymore.

People increasingly rely on Meta's systems to show them what they want.

That's why Instagram reminded creators in April to "stop crying" about their follower counts in the app-and that's why Mosseri keeps telling you that what you really want is reach, whether you know it or not. That's because usage patterns are changing, and people are not using IG or Facebook the same way.

That's also the reason why Mosseri is saying now that "Views," together with "Sends per Reach," are now the most critical metrics to focus on for IG creators.

Sends per reach: this measure tells you how many people share your posts in DMs, which is the new main way people share on IG. People aren't liking things at the same rate, still forwarding cool stuff to friends more than they ever have before.

In its efforts to reformulate its metrics to better align with these shifts in usage, Instagram is effectively reflecting those changes.

So, Instagram is effectively saying, don't worry too much about followers and likes-those are most important when more people have viewed your content over time. That, ostensibly at least, is a much better indicator of your performance in the app.

But that also means that IG's algorithm now has the upper hand in influencing your content's performance.

If people are relying more on the system to show them what they want to see in the app, then the only way to really maximize reach is through appealing to the algorithm. Logically, if engagement rates go up, that suggests that Instagram's algorithm is showing users what they want to see, but it also means you're more reliant on playing the algorithm game, as opposed to building a following in the app.

Both play a role, but it does mean that building a dedicated audience in the app is probably harder than it has been.  At least, to measure, a little bit more, because you're relying on your follower count and your engagement stats, and the latter, IG says, is more important.

So it's a change of mind, but there is logic here, and it aligns with usage trends.

All you need to do is reset your expectations around this paradigm.