In short
- Ask for Instagram screens on reach, audience, Reel insights and Stories, and YouTube Studio screens on overview, audience, traffic sources and retention, each with the date range visible.
- Read audience location first, then reach against followers, then the split of a post's views between followers and non-followers. Each answers a different question.
- Match the audience to your buyer on city, age, gender and language before you look at engagement.
- Cross-check every screenshot against public numbers. Odd fonts, cropped dates and mismatched view counts are reasons to ask for a live screen-share.
To read influencer audience insights, start with audience location, then compare reach with followers, then check how a post's views split between followers and non-followers. Location tells you whether the audience can buy from you. Reach tells you whether they see anything. The split tells you whether content travels beyond a loyal base. Ask for dated screenshots, cross-check them against public numbers and ask for a live screen-share if anything looks off.
Our guide to how to spot fake followers lists which screenshots to request. This post is about reading them. For the search that comes before, see how to find influencers in India, and for the whole channel, the complete guide to influencer marketing in India. Instagram is the main influencer platform for 93.1% of surveyed Indian brands in a 2026 vendor survey, per a vendor research page, so the post starts with its screens and then covers YouTube Studio.
Menu names and layouts change with app updates, and platforms have used different names for the same figures. The labels below describe what each screen shows. This is general product knowledge, not a published statistic, so ask the creator which metric each number is.
What to ask for
| Platform | Screen | Date range | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts reached, with followers and non-followers split and the split by content type | Last 30 days | Shows how many people posts reach and whether they travel beyond followers | |
| Audience: top cities and countries, age range, gender | Current | Confirms the audience can buy from you | |
| Follower growth chart | Last 90 days | Reveals spikes | |
| Insights for the last 10 Reels: views, reach, likes, comments, shares, saves | Each Reel's lifetime | Gives median views and engagement quality | |
| Stories for the last 10: reach, replies, taps forward, taps back, exits | Each Story | A second view of attention | |
| YouTube Studio | Overview and reach: views, impressions and click-through rate | Last 28 days | Shows whether packaging earns clicks |
| YouTube Studio | Audience: returning and new viewers, subscribers share, age and gender, top geographies | Last 28 and 90 days | Shows loyalty and location |
| YouTube Studio | Traffic sources: search, suggested, browse, Shorts feed and external | Last 28 days | Separates durable discovery from spikes |
| YouTube Studio | Engagement: average view duration and the retention graph | Last five videos | Shows where viewers leave |
Ask for screenshots with the date range, the account name and the phone's status bar visible. Say that you ask every creator for the same, which is true of our process and avoids singling anyone out. A creator who prefers can send a short screen recording that starts on their profile and scrolls into insights. The wording for the request is in influencer outreach message templates.
Reading Instagram: five screens
Accounts reached: followers and non-followers
| Pattern | What it suggests | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Most reach comes from followers | A loyal base with little discovery; good for community-led brands | Does content ever reach beyond followers? |
| A large share comes from non-followers | Content travels; good for awareness | Do those viewers match my buyer? Check the audience screen |
| Reach far below followers on every post | An inactive or inflated audience | Reach on the last 10 posts, not the best one |
| Reels reach far more than static posts | The audience responds to video | Price Reels, not posts |
A healthy creator has a stable middle and occasional spikes. One viral Reel over a flat line gives an average that overstates what a sponsored post will do. Ask for the median across 10 posts, as our guide to Instagram engagement rate benchmarks explains.
Audience: cities, countries, age and gender
| What you see | Healthy pattern | Warning pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Top countries | India leads clearly for India-focused content | Many countries the creator never addresses |
| Top cities | Match where the creator lives and the language they use | Cities unrelated to the creator's base or language |
| Age range | Overlaps your buyer's age | Concentrated in ages the content does not target |
| Gender | Fits the niche and your buyer | A split at odds with the content |
| Most active times | Useful for scheduling | Not a test of authenticity |
Some versions of the audience screen show followers, and some also show the audience of accounts reached. Ask which one the screenshot shows. Followers describe who chose to follow; reached accounts describe who saw content. For a campaign, the reached audience is the one that counts, and the follower audience is the check on who was acquired.
A Reel's insights
| Metric | What it shows | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Views | Plays, including repeats | Compare with followers: views per follower |
| Reach | Unique accounts that saw it | Compare with views for repeat watching |
| Likes | Passive approval | Treat as the weakest signal |
| Comments | Active response | Read them, do not count them |
| Shares and saves | Recommendation and usefulness | The strongest signals for a brand |
Where average watch time is shown, compare it with the Reel's length. A creator whose Reels hold viewers for most of their length has the craft to hold an ad. For how to calculate engagement from these figures, use the engagement rate calculator.
Stories and the growth chart
Story reach against follower count shows how many followers pay attention day to day. Taps forward and exits show where interest drops; a Story set that loses viewers by the second frame will not carry a three-frame brand message. The follower growth chart should rise gradually, with spikes that match viral posts. A stair-step with flat gaps suggests batches of followers arriving at once, from contests or bought followers. Ask what happened on the date of each jump.
Reading YouTube Studio: four screens
| Screen | Healthy pattern | Warning pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Overview and reach | Click-through rate and views steady across videos | One spike, then low views; thumbnails that do not earn clicks |
| Audience | A good share of returning viewers; location and age that fit your buyer | Almost all new viewers every time; no returning base |
| Traffic sources | Search and suggested videos feed older uploads | Almost all traffic from one source, such as a single external link |
| Engagement and retention | Viewers stay past the point where a brand mention would sit | Half the audience gone before an integration begins |
Retention is the screen most brands skip and the most useful for YouTube. If a 60 to 90 second integration sits at minute four and the retention graph shows most viewers leaving by minute two, the brand message reaches a fraction of the views the creator quotes. Ask for the retention graph on the last five videos, and for Shorts and long videos separately; they behave differently, and published rate sources price Shorts close to Reels. For platform choice, see YouTube vs Instagram for influencer marketing.
Match the audience to your buyer: a worked example
Spotting edited or old screenshots
| Tell | What to do |
|---|---|
| The date range is cropped or missing | Ask for a new set with the range visible |
| Fonts or sizes differ between screens | Ask for a live screen-share |
| Status bar times that cannot all be the same day | Ask for a recording |
| No account name or handle on any screen | Ask for a version with the profile visible |
| A Reel's reach in the screenshot disagrees with its public view count | Ask the creator to explain, politely |
| Every number is round | Ask for exact figures |
| Figures from a third-party analytics site, not the platform | Ask for the platform's own insights |
Do not accuse. Say that the screenshots do not match the public numbers and ask for a fresh set. A creator who offers a screen-share without being asked is a good sign. One who refuses after two requests is covered by the stop rules in our influencer vetting checklist.
What insights cannot tell you
Insights cannot show purchase intent, brand safety or the quality of comments, which you read yourself. They also cannot flag fake followers directly. Geography is the best tell, because bought followers often come from places a creator never addresses, but a convincing mix of cities can still hold inactive accounts. Combine insights with comment reading, as in how to spot fake followers, and with a check for pods; see engagement pods explained.
Insights are also a snapshot. A festival week, a giveaway or one viral Reel changes the picture. Ask for 30 days for the decision and 90 days for the growth chart, and ask what happened in the period.
How the Gully Score uses these screens
Audience authenticity carries 30 points and engagement quality 25 in the Gully Score, and insights feed most of both. In the scored sheet in our influencer vetting checklist, these screens answer checks A1, A2, A3, A5, B4 and C1, which together carry 38 of the 100 points. A creator's media kit often includes some of this data; see influencer media kit: what to look for.
Storing and handling creator data
Treat screenshots as the creator's data. Keep them in a folder named by creator and date, share them only with the team that decides, and ask creators to blur anything personal, such as earnings. Add a confidentiality line to the contract; our influencer contracts in India guide covers data and confidentiality. This is general information, not legal advice.
Mistakes when reading insights
- Reading engagement before location. Great engagement from the wrong city is wasted.
- Using the best Reel as the average. Ask for the median across 10.
- Mixing follower audience with reached audience. They answer different questions.
- Ignoring dates. Undated screenshots are stories, not data.
- Skipping retention on YouTube. It decides what an integration reaches.
If you want insights collected, read and scored against your buyer, send us a brief. We return a creator plan within 48 hours of the brief call, and our Instagram influencer marketing service and YouTube influencer marketing service both start with these screens.
Sources
- India creator-economy research report page: brand behaviour survey, Q1 2026 (vendor estimate), Influencer-platform vendor research page (accessed 31 Oct 2026)
- Indian consumers and influencers: coverage of a 2025 Kantar-backed study of consumers and brands, Campaign India (12 Jun 2025)
- Influencer marketing pricing in India 2026 (Shorts priced close to Reels), A published rate card Digital (20 Apr 2026, updated 16 Sep 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What audience insights should I ask an influencer for?
On Instagram: accounts reached over 30 days with the follower and non-follower split, audience top cities and countries, age and gender, a follower growth chart, and insights for the last 10 Reels. On YouTube: overview, audience, traffic sources and retention for recent videos. Ask for the date range to be visible.
How do I know if an influencer's audience insights are real?
Cross-check them against public numbers, such as the reach on a Reel against its public view count, and look for inconsistent fonts, cropped dates, different account names and round numbers throughout. If anything looks off, ask for a live screen-share or a screen recording that scrolls from the profile into insights.
What is a good audience location split for an Indian brand?
There is no universal split. Your city and country should lead clearly, and the top cities should match where the creator lives and the language they speak. A creator posting in Hindi with a top audience in unrelated countries needs questions. Match the split to your buyer, not to a benchmark.
What is the difference between reach and views?
Reach counts unique accounts that saw content. Views count plays, including repeats. A Reel can have more views than reach because people watch it more than once. Platforms have changed the names of these metrics over time, so ask which one a screenshot shows. See influencer media kit: what to look for.
Can I ask an influencer for a screen recording instead of screenshots?
Yes, and it is harder to fake. A short recording that starts on the creator's profile and scrolls through insights, with the date range visible, answers most doubts. Offer it as an option for any creator whose screenshots look inconsistent, and tell them you ask everyone for the same.
How often should I ask for fresh insights?
Before every booking and every rebooking, because audiences shift. Ask for 30-day data for the decision and 90-day data for the follower growth chart. Insights taken in a festival week or after a viral Reel can mislead, so ask what happened in the period.