Forum Discussion

Smith456's avatar
Smith456
Occasional Reader
Apr 22, 2026

How to manage Instagram analytics data for  multiple client accounts.

Hi Microsoft Community,

I am a social media manager and I regularly 
work with Instagram analytics data for 
multiple client accounts.

I want to use Microsoft tools to better 
analyze this data and create professional 
reports. I have a questions for the 
community:


I export https://igunfollowtracker.com/follower and engagement data 
from Instagram in CSV format. When I 
import this data into Excel, the date 
columns are not formatting correctly 
and pivot tables are showing wrong 
results.

How can I properly format date columns 
in Excel when importing social media 
CSV data?

Account Management

1 Reply

  • Surya_Narayana's avatar
    Surya_Narayana
    MCT
    Apr 22, 2026

    hi Smith456​  This usually happens because Instagram/exported CSV files use a different date format than your Excel regional settings.

    A few things that normally fix it:

    • Import the CSV using Data → From Text/CSV instead of opening it directly
    • In the import preview, select the date column and set the correct Data Type = Date
    • Choose the right format (MDY, DMY, etc.) before loading the data

    If the dates are already imported incorrectly:

    Select the column

    Go to Data → Text to Columns

    Choose Date and pick the correct format

    Once Excel recognizes them as real dates (not text), your pivot tables and grouping should work correctly.

    Also worth checking for:

    Hidden spaces

    Mixed date formats

    Timestamps coming from Instagram exports

    Those can also break pivots/grouping.