Instagram Audience Insights: Post Ideas from Comments

Turn Instagram comments into post ideas: find out what an audience wants to hear next. Paste a post, reel or carousel link, or a creator's profile. The actor reads the comments, finds the questions, pains and debates people raise, and turns each one into post ideas with hooks and an outline. Every theme comes with real quotes.

🆓 Free to start: up to 2 analysed posts per run on the free Apify plan · quotes and counts behind every theme · code-word replies counted, not mistaken for demand.

🎯 What it does

You give Instagram links in one of two modes. Optionally, your own niche, so the ideas are written for you.

Mode	You paste	You get
Mode 1: Analyze Posts	Post, reel or carousel links (postUrls)	One analysis per post
Mode 2: Analyze a Creator's Latest Posts	Profile links or @usernames (profiles)	One analysis per creator: their latest posts read together, so repeating themes stand out

⚠️ Pick your mode first. Each mode reads only its own input field. Example: you choose Mode 1 but paste @creator into the Mode 2 field "Creators" — the run stops at once and tells you to switch modes; nothing is charged. All mode sections stay visible in the input form, so fill only the one that matches your mode.

You get one row per audience theme: what people ask or argue about, how many people and likes stand behind it, its sentiment, up to three verbatim quotes, and 1–2 post ideas. Each idea has two hooks, a 3–6 point outline, the audience words it answers, what is new compared with the original post, and a call to action. Each link also gets a summary row: who comments, the sentiment of all comments (positive, neutral, negative), how many replied to the author's code word, and any criticism of the author.

What you won't get finished captions or scripts. Private accounts and stories are never read. Replies to a "comment GUIDE" call-to-action are counted as a number, not turned into themes.

How a theme is built: the actor removes code-word replies, emoji, tags and the author's own comments. A model groups what is left into themes and names the comments each theme rests on. Counts and quotes are then taken from those exact comments, so a quote is always word for word.

📦 Output sample

Every theme is one row. Here is what a row holds:

• The theme — priority, title, kind, signal, insight, risk.
• The evidence — commentCount, people, likes, quotes, quotesText, postUrls.
• The sentiment — sentimentPositive, sentimentNeutral, sentimentNegative (percent) and sentimentComments (how many comments they are counted over).
• The ideas — hook, ideas (format, two hooks, outline, answers, new angle, call to action), ideasText; with myNiche, also nicheFit and nicheNote.
• The link — analysisNumber, rowType, source, sourceType, author, language, myNiche, generatedAt.

A summary row (rowType: "summary") carries the sentiment of all comments with content and adds audience, reputation, reputationQuotes, callToActionReplies, commentsRead, commentsWithContent, skippedPosts, status and note. On theme rows those columns are null.

A real theme row from a recent run (one carousel, 720 comments read, 638 of them replies to the code word "stabilize"):

{
  "analysisNumber": 1,
  "rowType": "theme",
  "source": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAXnDXmBsS/",
  "sourceType": "post",
  "author": "@thenervoussystem.ot",
  "postUrls": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAXnDXmBsS/",
  "priority": 2,
  "title": "Yoga and hypermobility: why it hurts, and what safe movement looks like",
  "kind": "debate",
  "signal": "strong",
  "insight": "Many people, including former yoga teachers, confirm that yoga overstretched them. Several offer alternatives (yoga therapy, classical Pilates, PT, manual therapy). There is a push-back on megaformer versus real Pilates. People also ask what stability training…",
  "commentCount": 13,
  "people": 13,
  "likes": 5,
  "sentimentPositive": 46,
  "sentimentNeutral": 46,
  "sentimentNegative": 8,
  "sentimentComments": 13,
  "quotes": [
    {
      "text": "Omg. I abhor hot yoga and everyone made me feel like I was nuts for it. This is why!! This whole post makes me feel so seen!! Thank you!!",
      "likes": 1,
      "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAXnDXmBsS/"
    },
    {
      "text": "Yoga 0/10 tore hip labrum, shoulders pop out and wrist pain for days. PT with the right therapist is 10/10. Deep tissue massage 1000/10 agai…",
      "likes": 1,
      "postUrl": "https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAXnDXmBsS/"
    }
  ],
  "quotesText": "“Omg. I abhor hot yoga and everyone made me feel like I was nuts for it. This is why!! This whole post makes me feel so …",
  "risk": "Health. Do not give an exercise prescription. Advise working with a qualified practitioner who knows hypermobility.",
  "hook": "Yoga for hypermobile bodies: what I'd change",
  "ideas": [
    {
      "format": "carousel",
      "hooks": [
        "Yoga for hypermobile bodies: what I'd change",
        "What is stability training, and who teaches it?"
      ],
      "outline": [
        "Why end range is the problem in hEDS",
        "Which yoga styles and cues are gentler (yoga therapy, yin with modifications)",
        "Classical vs megaformer Pilates: the community correction",
        "What stability training is, with simple examples",
        "How to find a practitioner: questions to ask",
        "Signs to stop: tunnel vision, nausea, rebound pain"
      ],
      "answers": "\"What is stability training? I've not heard of that\" / \"What kind of practitioner does 'Stability' training?\" / \"Hot yoga gave me tunnel vision and severe nausea every time I tried it. Is that a sign?\"",
      "newAngle": "The post only gave ratings. This one explains what to do instead and how to find the right teacher.",
      "cta": "Save this for your next class search and tell us which movement works for you."
    }
  ],
  "ideasText": "Idea 1 (carousel): Yoga for hypermobile bodies: what I'd change\nAlt hook: What is stability training, and who teaches it?\n1. Why end range i…",
  "nicheFit": null,
  "nicheNote": null,
  "audience": null,
  "reputation": null,
  "reputationQuotes": null,
  "callToActionReplies": null,
  "commentsRead": null,
  "commentsWithContent": null,
  "skippedPosts": null,
  "status": null,
  "note": null,
  "language": "en",
  "myNiche": null,
  "generatedAt": "2026-10-23T18:56:02.769Z"
}

Long texts are shortened with "…" in this sample only; real rows carry them in full.

Views — one view, in the Storage → Dataset tab:

View	What each row is	Best for
Audience insights (default)	The same rows, trimmed to the columns you read first: priority, title, signal, insight, quotes, hook, ideas, counts, positive and negative share, audience and post links	Pasting into a content plan

The full field list is in .actor/dataset_schema.json, which is also what AI agents see through Apify's MCP server.

⚡ Quick start

1. Pick your mode first in the operationMode dropdown — this is the single most important decision. Both mode sections stay visible in the input form, so fill only the one that matches your mode.
2. Paste your links. A minimal input that works on the free plan:

{ "operationMode": "analyzePosts", "postUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAXnDXmBsS/"] }

3. Run it, then open the Insights Report from the run's Output tab. You'll see who comments, the comment sentiment, the themes with quotes, and the post ideas under each theme.

🧭 When to use it

• Planning the next post — see what your own audience asked under your last post, ranked by likes and people.
• Content agencies — paste a competitor's post, set myNiche to your client's niche, and get ideas your client can post.
• A creator's whole audience — Mode 2 reads a creator's latest 5 posts together and shows themes that repeat across them.
• Checking a lead magnet — see how many people replied to the code word, and what the rest of the comments say.
• Reputation check — criticism and distrust of the author are shown as a separate signal, not mixed into post ideas.
• Comment sentiment analysis — the share of positive, neutral and negative comments under a post, and under each theme.

🛠 Input

The form has a mode picker and three sections.

Section	Purpose
🎯 Mode 1: Analyze Posts	Post, reel or carousel links
🎯 Mode 2: Analyze a Creator's Latest Posts	Creators, and how many of their posts to read
⚙️ More options	Your niche and the language of the results

• operationMode — set this first. analyzePosts (Mode 1) or analyzeCreators (Mode 2). Each mode reads only its own section; values in the other mode's section are ignored. Both mode sections stay visible in the Apify Console regardless of your choice.
• postUrls (Mode 1) — Instagram post, reel or carousel links, up to 20. Each link is its own analysis. A profile pasted here is skipped and named.
• profiles (Mode 2) — Instagram profile links or @usernames, up to 20.
• postsPerProfile (Mode 2) — how many of each creator's latest posts with a discussion to read together, 1–10 (default 5).
• myNiche — optional. Your niche or your client's, up to 300 characters, any language. The themes are found first, without the niche; then the ideas are written for it. A theme outside your niche gets no forced ideas: nicheFit is outside, and nicheNote says what you can credibly say.
• outputLanguage — the language of the themes and ideas. By default it is the language most commenters use. Quotes stay word for word.

💰 How much will Instagram audience insights cost?

You pay per analysed post, not per comment read. The actor uses Apify's Pay Per Event model with one event:

Event	Price	When it is charged
Analyzed post	$0.99 Free and Starter · $0.89 Scale · $0.79 Business and up	Once per post that at least one theme or signal rests on

Reading the comments, the reel or the slides is included. A post without a discussion, a skipped post and a link that cannot be read are not charged.

You analyse	Plan	Approx cost
1 post	Free	$0.99
5 post links	Starter	$4.95
1 profile, 5 posts	Scale	$4.45
4 profiles, 5 posts each	Business	$15.80

🆓 Free vs paid plan

	Free plan	Paid plan
Analysed posts per run	Up to 2	Up to 20 links; up to 10 posts per profile
Code-word filter, quotes, reputation signal	✓	✓
Successful runs per month	5	Unlimited

Upgrade to a paid plan to analyse whole lists of posts and creators in one run.

🧪 Recipes

Copy-paste inputs for the most common jobs:

What did my audience ask under my last posts?

{ "operationMode": "analyzeCreators", "profiles": ["@your_username"], "postsPerProfile": 5 }

Your latest 5 posts with a discussion, read together. Themes that repeat across posts stand out.

A competitor's post, ideas for your client

{ "operationMode": "analyzePosts", "postUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/reel/XXXXXXXXXXX/"], "myNiche": "skincare clinic for women 35+" }

The themes are the competitor's audience; the ideas are written for the clinic.

Several posts, results in Spanish

{ "operationMode": "analyzePosts", "postUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/AAAAAAAAAAA/", "https://www.instagram.com/p/BBBBBBBBBBB/"], "outputLanguage": "es" }

Each post is a separate analysis; quotes stay in the original language.

📡 Live status & storage records

While the run works, the actor keeps these records:

Storage key	Type	What it holds
status.html	HTML page	The Insights Report: live progress, then per link who comments, the reputation signal, the themes and ideas
COMMENT_SENTIMENT	JSON	Every rated comment: its text, likes, how many people wrote it, and positive, neutral or negative
RUN_SUMMARY	JSON	Links analysed, themes, charges, comments read, stop reason, timings
USER_MESSAGE	JSON	What the run delivered and the next step, or why it delivered nothing
FREE_LIMITS_APPLIED	JSON	Free-plan limits and skipped entries for this run

🤖 Programmatic / API use

REST API:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/afanasenko~instagram-audience-insights/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"operationMode": "analyzePosts", "postUrls": ["https://www.instagram.com/p/DeAXnDXmBsS/"]}'

MCP and AI agents: the actor is available as a tool through Apify's MCP server at mcp.apify.com. An agent passes links and reads the themes back as rows; the summary row comes first for each link.

💡 Tips & Best Practices

Getting maximum results

• Pick posts where people ask or argue, not only praise. 50+ comments with words in them give the richest themes.
• Set myNiche when the post is not yours; leave it empty for your own posts.

Cost optimization

• You pay only for posts that gave a theme or a signal; posts without a discussion are free.
• postsPerProfile is your ceiling per creator: you never pay for more posts than that.

Performance

• One post takes about 1–2 minutes; a profile with 5 posts about 3–4 minutes.
• Links run three at a time.

Data quality

• Read the quotes before you film: they are the audience's own words.
• signal follows the numbers: strong is 5+ people or 100+ likes.
• Check risk before posting on health, money, children or grief.
• A signal row (instead of theme) means the post had too few real comments for themes.

❓ FAQ

Q: How do I find out what my Instagram audience wants? A: Use Mode 2 with your profile, or Mode 1 with your latest post, and run the actor. It reads the comments and lists the questions, pains and debates, ranked by how many people raised them.

Q: Is there a free Instagram comment analysis tool? A: Yes. On the free Apify plan the actor analyses up to 2 posts per run, 5 successful runs a month. See Free vs paid plan.

Q: What is a code-word reply, and why is it not a theme? A: Many creators write "comment GUIDE and I'll send it". Those replies show interest in the freebie, not a topic. The actor counts them in callToActionReplies and leaves them out of the themes.

Q: Can I analyse a competitor's post for my own account? A: Yes. Put your niche in myNiche. The themes stay as that audience said them; the ideas are written for you. Themes your niche cannot honestly speak to are marked outside instead of getting a forced idea.

Q: Why did a post give single signals instead of themes? A: It had fewer than 12 comments with words in them. Rather than invent themes, the actor shows up to four concrete questions or stories, each with its quote.

Q: Why was a post skipped for a profile? A: It had fewer than 8 comments with content. The next post is read instead; skipped posts are listed and not charged.

Q: I selected one mode but my run stopped with no results — what went wrong? A: The mode and the filled field do not match. Mode 1 reads only postUrls (post links); Mode 2 reads only profiles (creators). The run stops at once, says which mode to pick, and charges nothing.

Q: Does it do Instagram comment sentiment analysis? A: Yes. Every comment with content is labelled positive, neutral or negative. The summary row has the shares for the whole post or creator, each theme row for its own comments. Code-word replies and emoji are left out.

Q: Are the quotes real? A: Yes. The model only names which comments support a theme. The quotes and counts are copied from those comments by the actor itself.

Q: What if the run finds nothing? A: Nothing is charged, and the User Message says why — usually the comments are only code-word replies and emoji. Try a post with questions, or a profile.

🔗 Other Instagram actors (same author)

You start with…	You want…	Use this actor
A post or a creator	Audience themes and post ideas from the comments	This actor
A post or reel link	Every comment and reply as rows	Instagram Comments Scraper
A niche	Content ideas from posts that beat their author's usual results	Instagram Content Ideas
A reel link or a creator	The reel's script, hook and transcript	Instagram Reel Script Extractor
A carousel link	Slide text, hook and structure formula	Instagram Carousel Analysis

Start here for what the audience wants; use Content Ideas for what already worked in the niche.

🛟 Support & feedback

1. Open an issue on the actor's Issues tab — the fastest way to get a fix.
2. Request a feature in the same tab; every request is read.
3. Rate the actor on its Apify Store page to help others find it.

⚖️ Is it legal to scrape Instagram comments?

The actor reads only publicly available posts and comments and does not log in, read private content or act on your behalf. Use the results in line with Instagram's Terms of Use and the laws of your country, including privacy law when you store commenters' words. For more, see Apify's guide on whether web scraping is legal.