How do I report on Instagram collab posts?

Overview

Instagram Collaborative Posts (shortened to “collabs”)  allow two or more accounts to co-author feed posts or Reels, displaying the content on multiple profiles simultaneously. Sprout Social supports reporting for Instagram Collaborative Posts, giving you complete visibility into how your co-authored creator partnerships and brand collaborations perform.

What You Can Do

• View Instagram Collaborative Posts (both authored posts and posts you joined as a collaborator) in the Post Performance Report, Tag Report, Instagram Business Profiles Report and My Reports.
• Measure key metrics including Views, Reach, Engagements, Likes, Comments, Shares, Saves, and Video Views for collab posts (with select metrics only available for authored collabs)
• Filter reporting views to show collab posts only, exclude collab posts, or separate posts you authored from posts you joined.
• Filter post performance by specific collaborator handles to evaluate individual creator or partner performance.
• Apply tags to collaborative posts to analyze campaign-level performance within the Tag Report.

When collab posts show up in reporting

Collab posts appear in Sprout shortly after they’re published, but will be identified as standard posts until at least one invited collaborator accepts the invitation. Once an invite is accepted, that collaborator persists in Sprout even if the collaborator is removed from the post at a later date. 

A note on timing: Once a collaborator accepts, if the post is authored by a connected profile, updates show up in Sprout after 15 minutes. If the post is authored by a profile not connected to Sprout, it may take up to 24 hours to appear in Sprout. 

How to report on Post-Level Data

1. Navigate to Reports and select Post Performance or for Premium Analytics users, create a My Report and add a Post Performance widget.
2. In the Post Performance Report, locate the page level filters: Collaboration Types and Collaborator Sources. In a My Reports widget, use the Configuration Menu to find the same filters.
3. Using the Collaboration Types filter, choose to view:
   1. All Posts by default including Standard (non-collab) posts or select Authored Collaborations only,
   2. Authored Collaborations only
   3. Joined Collaborations only
   4. Or select both Authored and Joined to filter to exclude all standard posts and focus solely on collabs.                                                                            
4. To analyze a specific partner or creator, use the Collaborator Sources filter and select or enter the collaborator's Instagram handle.                
5. If a collab post has multiple collaborators, hover or click the attribution line displaying the collaborator name and count to view the full list of collaborators.                           
6. Use the table view of the Post Performance Report to see all posts and their aggregate metric values. 
   • Note: For Premium Analytics users, post-level collab data is also available in the Post Summary widget and in the Post Analysis widget.
7. Export your reports via PDF or CSV, or schedule regular report deliveries to share results with stakeholders.

How to Report on Profile-Level Data

1. Navigate to Reports and select the Profile Performance Report or Instagram Business Profiles Report.
2. Locate the following widgets: Performance Summary, Publishing Behavior, Engagements, Impressions/Views, Video Views, or Engagement Rate (per Impression).
   • Note: For Premium Analytics users, these widgets can also be added to reports within My Reports!
3. Collab post activity will be included in applicable metric values. See full metric list below.

How to use the Post Analysis Widget + Collaboration Type Breakdown 

Premium Analytics users can leverage My Reports to create a visual post analysis breakdown comparing standard posts to collab posts. 

1. Navigate to any My Reports custom report. Use the Add Widget button to open the widget menu and add either the Cross-Network or Instagram Post Analysis widget.
2. Open the configuration menu using the control icon in the top right of the widget. 
3. Use the Metric filter to select the metric you want to analyze. 
4. Select the Breakdown filter within the widget configuration
5. Select to filter by Collaboration Type.
6. Use the Visualization filter to select the visualization you want. Example: a Donut Chart breakdown showing which posts are Standard, Joined or Authored.

What metrics are available for Instagram Collab Posts?

You are able to track a variety of performance metrics for Instagram collab posts, as well as see collab posts contribute to your overall profile performance tracking. The availability of certain post-level metrics and the inclusion of collab posts in profile-level reporting will vary based on the authored or joined collab post type. 

In general, you are able to access most Engagement metrics in your post-level performance tracking for collab posts, regardless of the joined or authored status. However, due to API limitations, we are only able to access publicly available data on joined posts. This means metrics like Views, Reach, and Video Views will be considered unavailable and listed as such in the Post Performance Report for any posts you've joined as a collaborator. 

Within your profile-level or reporting period based tracking, you will see both authored and joined collab posts contribute to most metrics. The exceptions will be Paid metric breakdowns, Reach, and Video Views. 

We've broken down the availability of metrics and the inclusion of Instagram Collab posts into two separate tables below based on Post-Level (Lifetime) reporting and Profile-Level (Reporting Period) based reporting.

Post-Level (Lifetime) Collab Post Metrics

The table below provides an overview of post-level metrics for Instagram and their availability for different Collab Post types. These metrics can be found in the Cross-Network Post Performance Report and corresponding post-level reporting widgets available with the Premium Analytics add-on.  

⭐️ Indicates a metric that requires access to Premium Analytics

Metrics Not Applicable to Collab Posts: Story Taps Back, Story Taps Forward, Story Exits, Story Replies.

Metrics Not Applicable to Collab Posts: Followers, Net Follower Growth, Followers Gained, Followers Lost, Following, Net Following Growth, Published Stories, Story Taps Back, Story Taps Forward, Story Exits, Story Replies.

Instagram Collaborative Reporting FAQS

Q: Why do I see that Views, Engagement Rate, Reach and Video Views metrics are unavailable in the Post Performance Report for posts I’ve joined as a collaborator?

A: Due to API limitations, we are only able to access publicly available data on joined posts. For joined collab posts in which we are unable to provide the metric, you will see this indicated with a null or N/A value in the Post Performance Report. 

Q: Can I access post data for joined collab posts using the Sprout API?

A: Not at this time, however, our Product team is actively working to introduce collab post reporting support for the API within Q4 2026. 

Q: Will Instagram Collab Posts automatically show up in Sprout?

A: Yes. Any Instagram feed post or Reel where your connected profile is listed as an author or joined collaborator will be expected to pull into the Post Performance Report, Tag Report, and post-level widgets in My Reports. 

Note: if the author is not connected to Sprout, your profile must accept the invite before it can be accessed. It can take up to 24 hours for a joined collab post to appear in Reporting once accepted. 

Q: Do Instagram Collaboration Posts appear in profile-level aggregate metrics and in the Profile Performance report?

A: Yes, see the metric availability table above for details. Some metrics will exclude collab data overall (paid metrics) and some will exclude data for joined collabs. 

Please note that if two or more profiles connected to your Sprout account collaborate on the same post, metrics available on both the authored and joined copies are counted once per profile, so they'll appear duplicated in combined totals. Filtering to a single profile will show that profile's numbers without duplication, but there's currently no way to get a deduplicated combined total across multiple connected profiles collaborating on the same post.

Q: Will paid or boosted Instagram Collaborative Posts be included in post-level reporting?

A: No. Boosted or paid collab post reporting is currently out of scope for this release. Reporting for collab posts focuses exclusively on organic performance metrics for feed posts and Reels and any paid activity will be attributed as organic.

Q: Can I see collab post metrics for Instagram accounts that are not connected to Sprout Social?

A: No. Sprout Social ingests collaboration post data for posts where at least one of the participating accounts is connected as an Instagram profile in your Sprout account. Unconnected third-party accounts cannot be searched or analyzed independently.

Q: Why do I see a duplicate versions of the same collab post in my report? 

A: If a collab post includes two or more profiles that are connected to Sprout, the post will appear once for each profile. Note that activity on collabs such as these will doubly count activity. Changes to tags applied to one instance will automatically update on the others.

Q: Can I report on tags on collab posts?

A: Yes in the Tag Performance Report or in any Tagged Post widget in My Reports, tags on collaborative posts will be included. If looking at a metric dimensioned by tag (“Impressions by Tag”, etc.) reference the metric availability list to ensure which collab types are included in the data. 

Please note that for a collab post where two or more collaborators are connected to sprout will surface a duplicate post. Tags altered on one instance will alter tags on all other duplicate instances. 

Q: What’s the difference between a media tag and an Instagram Collab post? 

A: Tagging an Instagram profile in a Story or Instagram feed post (single image, carousel, or reel) will send a notification to the tagged profile which may encourage that profile to share in their Story or engage with your content. This will differ from the option to invite a collaborator on an Instagram feed post. 

Inviting a profile to be a collaborator will allow the post to appear in the other profile's grid if they accept the invitation which unlocks additional reach and engagement with their followers. 

Because the feed post becomes a shared post between the profiles, this allows for post-level tracking within Sprout. However, tracking activity on posts in which your brand has been tagged (ie a media tag) is not currently available via Instagram’s API. The only exception would be tracking the performance of a Story post should you choose to add the content to your own Profile’s Story.  

Q: Can I track my joined collab posts in the Calendar or filter the content type by collab posts when viewing the Calendar? 

A: Only Instagram collab posts authored by your connected profile will be shown in the Calendar. While you are not able to apply filters to your Calendar view to isolate your authored collab posts, you will see indicators for the collab post type and involved collab profiles in the Calendar. 

Otherwise, you will not be able to see collab posts that your profile has joined in the Calendar or filter your Calendar view by collab types. Our teams are currently monitoring feedback and interest in these particular features for future consideration with our roadmap. 

Q: Why don’t I see any posts when I filter by the Collaborator Source option?

A: Collaborator Sources is not a second Sources filter and is not intended to isolate posts on its own. This filter simply narrows which collab posts appear based on who participated. This means you will need to select your connected Instagram profile in the main Sources filter, filter the Collaboration Type filter to isolate Authored & Joined, and select the corresponding date range for the Collaborator Sources filter to isolate specific collab posts in which that selected collaborator profile participated.

Q: Can I track Comment Sentiment metrics for joined Collab Posts?

A: The Comment Sentiment metrics available with the Premium Analytics add-on are currently only supported for authored collab posts. These metrics will not be available for joined collab posts.