Instagram Audience Insights
Turn real Instagram data into a read on what is working: which posts in your niche are traveling right now and why, and how any account (yours or a competitor's) actually performs. This is the read layer, so the skill sees real numbers instead of guessing.
One honest limit: Instagram caps and cookie-gates who liked or commented on someone else's post, so a liker or commenter roster is not reliably available for other accounts. The signal here is niche post performance + profile stats, which is what you can actually read on Instagram.
When to use
- "What is working in my niche / scan the #hashtag"
- "Pull the stats for this account / how big is this competitor"
- "What format is traveling under this hashtag right now"
- "Compare my follower count to this account"
Not for writing a caption (use ig-caption-writer) or planning a carousel (use ig-carousel-planner).
Setup (optional)
The read layer uses Apify (no login, no cookies). Get a free token at https://console.apify.com/account/integrations and set APIFY_TOKEN. No token? Paste the posts or profile stats you already have and the skill runs the same analysis on them.
Input
- A niche hashtag (with or without the
#), a username (yours or a competitor's), or both
- Optional: the goal (niche pulse / competitor read / self benchmark)
Output
- Niche pulse - the top posts under a hashtag ranked by engagement, with the pattern behind the winners (hook shape, caption length, image vs carousel vs Reel, presence of a question or a specific number)
- Profile read - the stats for a handle: followers, post count, bio, category, verified and business flags
- Benchmark - your account against a competitor on follower count and post cadence, normalized so a small account's breakout is not buried under a big account's average
- Action list - what format to make more of, which accounts to watch, what to route to
ig-caption-writer or ig-carousel-planner
Steps
- Pull the data. For a niche:
lib.ApifyClient().fetch_niche_posts(hashtag, max_items=20). For a profile: fetch_profile(username). Falls back to pasted data if no token.
- Rank by engagement. Sort the niche posts by likes + comments. Normalize against the owner's reach where known so a mega-account's average does not crowd out a small account's breakout.
- Extract the pattern. For the top posts, name what they share: the hook shape (question, confession, list, data-point), the caption length, image vs carousel vs Reel, the presence of a specific number. That is the repeatable part.
- Read the profile. From
fetch_profile, report followers, post count, bio, category, and whether it is a verified business account. Use it to benchmark, not to guess private engagement.
- Benchmark honestly. Compare handles on the stats Instagram exposes (followers, post count, cadence). Do not imply access to a liker or commenter list for accounts you do not own.
- Build the action list. Make-more-of (the winning format), watch (specific accounts), route drafts to
ig-caption-writer / ig-carousel-planner.
- Deliver the report in the Output shape, with the raw ranked posts and profile stats attached.
What the read layer exposes
| Method |
Returns |
fetch_niche_posts(hashtag, max_items) |
top posts under a hashtag: caption, likes, comments, owner, type, url |
fetch_profile(username) |
profile stats: username, followers, following, posts, bio, category, verified, business |
Hard rules
Global voice rules: see root SKILL.md Voice rules. Additional skill-specific rules:
- Be honest that Instagram hides who liked or commented on other accounts. This is niche discovery + profile stats, not a liker or engager roster. Do not imply otherwise.
- Normalize by follower count before calling a post a winner, or you extract "big account" effects, not "good post" effects.
- Never invent a post, a number, or a pattern. If a hashtag returns thin, say so and try an adjacent tag or pull known accounts.
- A pattern is only a pattern if it recurs across several top posts, not one.
Related skills
ig-caption-writer - write more of what the niche data shows is workingig-carousel-planner - turn a winning format into a slide planig-hook-extractor - reverse-engineer the hook from a top-performing postig-hashtag-strategist - size the hashtag set around the tags that are travelingig-content-planner - feed the winning patterns into a weekly plan
1---2name: ig-audience-insights3description: Read your Instagram niche and profile from real data via Apify, no login. Scan a hashtag for the posts traveling now (likes, comments, owner) to see the format and hook that works. Pull profile stats for any handle, yours or a competitor's: followers, posts, bio, category. Instagram hides who liked or commented on other accounts, so this is discovery plus profiles, not engagers. Triggers on "what works in my niche", "scan the hashtag", "competitor stats". Not for writing captions (use ig-caption-writer).4---56# Instagram Audience Insights78Turn real Instagram data into a read on what is working: which posts in your niche are traveling right now and why, and how any account (yours or a competitor's) actually performs. This is the read layer, so the skill sees real numbers instead of guessing.910One honest limit: Instagram caps and cookie-gates who **liked** or **commented** on someone else's post, so a liker or commenter roster is not reliably available for other accounts. The signal here is **niche post performance + profile stats**, which is what you can actually read on Instagram.1112## When to use1314- "What is working in my niche / scan the #hashtag"15- "Pull the stats for this account / how big is this competitor"16- "What format is traveling under this hashtag right now"17- "Compare my follower count to this account"1819Not for writing a caption (use `ig-caption-writer`) or planning a carousel (use `ig-carousel-planner`).2021## Setup (optional)2223The read layer uses **Apify** (no login, no cookies). Get a free token at `https://console.apify.com/account/integrations` and set `APIFY_TOKEN`. No token? Paste the posts or profile stats you already have and the skill runs the same analysis on them.2425## Input2627- A niche hashtag (with or without the `#`), a username (yours or a competitor's), or both28- Optional: the goal (niche pulse / competitor read / self benchmark)2930## Output31321. **Niche pulse** - the top posts under a hashtag ranked by engagement, with the pattern behind the winners (hook shape, caption length, image vs carousel vs Reel, presence of a question or a specific number)332. **Profile read** - the stats for a handle: followers, post count, bio, category, verified and business flags343. **Benchmark** - your account against a competitor on follower count and post cadence, normalized so a small account's breakout is not buried under a big account's average354. **Action list** - what format to make more of, which accounts to watch, what to route to `ig-caption-writer` or `ig-carousel-planner`3637## Steps38391. **Pull the data.** For a niche: `lib.ApifyClient().fetch_niche_posts(hashtag, max_items=20)`. For a profile: `fetch_profile(username)`. Falls back to pasted data if no token.402. **Rank by engagement.** Sort the niche posts by likes + comments. Normalize against the owner's reach where known so a mega-account's average does not crowd out a small account's breakout.413. **Extract the pattern.** For the top posts, name what they share: the hook shape (question, confession, list, data-point), the caption length, image vs carousel vs Reel, the presence of a specific number. That is the repeatable part.424. **Read the profile.** From `fetch_profile`, report followers, post count, bio, category, and whether it is a verified business account. Use it to benchmark, not to guess private engagement.435. **Benchmark honestly.** Compare handles on the stats Instagram exposes (followers, post count, cadence). Do not imply access to a liker or commenter list for accounts you do not own.446. **Build the action list.** Make-more-of (the winning format), watch (specific accounts), route drafts to `ig-caption-writer` / `ig-carousel-planner`.457. **Deliver the report** in the Output shape, with the raw ranked posts and profile stats attached.4647## What the read layer exposes4849| Method | Returns |50|---|---|51| `fetch_niche_posts(hashtag, max_items)` | top posts under a hashtag: caption, likes, comments, owner, type, url |52| `fetch_profile(username)` | profile stats: username, followers, following, posts, bio, category, verified, business |5354## Hard rules5556Global voice rules: see root `SKILL.md` Voice rules. Additional skill-specific rules:5758- Be honest that Instagram hides **who liked or commented** on other accounts. This is **niche discovery + profile stats**, not a liker or engager roster. Do not imply otherwise.59- **Normalize by follower count** before calling a post a winner, or you extract "big account" effects, not "good post" effects.60- Never invent a post, a number, or a pattern. If a hashtag returns thin, say so and try an adjacent tag or pull known accounts.61- A pattern is only a pattern if it recurs across several top posts, not one.6263## Related skills6465- `ig-caption-writer` - write more of what the niche data shows is working66- `ig-carousel-planner` - turn a winning format into a slide plan67- `ig-hook-extractor` - reverse-engineer the hook from a top-performing post68- `ig-hashtag-strategist` - size the hashtag set around the tags that are traveling69- `ig-content-planner` - feed the winning patterns into a weekly plan
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