Facebook content analysis is an important part of any social media marketing strategy. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook offers tremendous opportunities for brands to connect with customers and drive results. However, in order to fully capitalize on Facebook’s potential, marketers need to regularly analyze their Facebook content performance. Here are some tips on how to analyze Facebook content effectively.
Set Up Facebook Analytics
The first step is setting up Facebook Analytics, which is Facebook’s built-in analytics tool. This allows you to track key metrics for your Facebook Page and ads. Some key metrics to examine in Facebook Analytics include:
- Page views
- Post reach
- Engagement rate
- Video views
- Page followers
Monitoring these metrics over time will give you a good sense of how your Facebook content is resonating with your target audience. You can access Facebook Analytics by going to your Facebook Page and clicking on “Insights” in the top menu.
Analyze Individual Posts
In addition to looking at overall Page metrics, it’s important to analyze the performance of individual posts. When you share content on Facebook, you can view detailed analytics for each post by clicking on the “Insights” button below it.
For individual posts, take a look at metrics like reach, engagement, clicks, reactions, comments, and shares. Strong performing posts will have high reach and engagement. Analyzing your top posts helps you identify the types of content that resonates best with your audience.
Compare different post types
Compare metrics across different types of posts – like link posts, photo posts, video posts, etc. See which post formats tend to perform better in terms of engagement and reach. This can inform your content strategy going forward.
Analyze when your fans are online
Facebook Analytics also shows you when your followers are online. Knowing the days and times when your audience is most active on Facebook can help you schedule posts for maximum visibility.
Benchmark Against Competitors
It’s useful to not just look at your Facebook metrics in isolation – but to benchmark yourself against competitors as well. Facebook makes this easy to do.
Simply go to your Facebook Page, click “See All Metrics” below your number of Page views. Then click on “Pages to Watch.” Here you can enter competitor Facebook Pages to compare against.
Metrics you may want to benchmark include:
- Page views
- Post reach
- Engagement rate
- Video views
- Page followers
See how you stack up against others in your industry. If competitors are generating better results, you may need to re-evaluate your Facebook approach.
Analyze Engagement by Post Type
One way to dig deeper into your Facebook analytics is to break down engagement rates by post type. For example, you could compare engagement on link posts vs. photo posts vs. video posts vs. text-only posts. Here’s a sample data table:
| Post Type | Engagement Rate |
|---|---|
| Link Posts | 5% |
| Photo Posts | 4% |
| Video Posts | 10% |
| Text-Only | 2% |
This allows you to see which post types resonate best with your audience. You can then create more of that content type moving forward.
Analyze When Your Fans are Online
Optimizing the timing of your Facebook posts is crucial. You want to post when your followers are most likely to see it. Facebook Analytics shows you when your fans are online.
Go to your Page’s Insights, click on “When Your Fans Are Online.” It will show a graph with the days and hours when your audience is most active. Here’s a sample graph:
| Day/Time | Fan Activity |
|---|---|
| Monday 10 AM | LOW |
| Monday 3 PM | HIGH |
| Tuesday 10 AM | MEDIUM |
| Tuesday 3 PM | HIGH |
You can use this data to schedule Facebook posts for times when engagement is likely to be highest.
Analyze Engagement by Device
You can also break down Facebook analytics by device. This allows you to see the % of engagement coming from mobile vs. desktop.
Go to your Page’s Insights and find the “Device Type” graph under “How People Engage.” It will show the % of Page views, post reach, and engagement from mobile vs. desktop. Here’s a sample graph:
| Device | Page Views | Post Reach | Engagement |
| Mobile | 70% | 80% | 75% |
| Desktop | 30% | 20% | 25% |
These insights can inform your content formatting and placement. For example, you may want to optimize posts for mobile if that is driving the majority of engagement.
Analyze by Connection Type
You can also segment Facebook analytics based on the connection type – fans, friends of fans, etc. Go to your Page’s Insights and find the graph called “People Reached” under “How People Engage.”
This shows the percentage of reach/engagement driven by:
- Fans
- Friends of fans
- Others
If you see a large % coming from friends of fans, it indicates your content is good at spreading organically. Content focused on fans may aim to deepen relationships with your core audience.
Analyze Responses to Ads
For Facebook ads, analyze metrics like cost per result, CTR, reach, frequency, conversions, and relevance score. These indicate how well your targeting and creative is performing.
Drill into demographic and placement data. See which audience segments and placements deliver the best results at the lowest cost.
Use Facebook’s reporting to identify high performing ads. Replicate their targeting and creative in future campaigns.
Use Third-Party Analytics Tools
Facebook’s built-in Analytics provide a great starting point. But many marketers also use third-party analytics tools for deeper analysis.
Tools like Buffer, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Rival IQ, and BuzzSumo integrate with Facebook to provide expanded analytics. Features may include:
- Historical data beyond Facebook’s 2-year limit
- Engagement metrics by post, image, link, mention, hashtag, etc.
- Automated listening for brand mentions
- Competitive benchmarking
Tap into these tools to take your Facebook analytics and reporting to the next level.
Regularly Review Key Metrics and Trends
Don’t just analyze Facebook metrics once and forget about it. Regular analysis should be part of your ongoing social media strategy.
Schedule time at least once a month to dig into Facebook Insights. Review historical trends across the key metrics discussed above. Look at both overview page-level stats and granular post-level data.
Compare current and past performance. Look at metrics week-over-week, month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, and year-over-year. This regular analysis will illuminate trends and opportunities.
Tie Analytics to Business Goals
While Facebook metrics provide volumes of useful data, don’t get lost in the numbers. Always tie your Facebook analytics back to core business goals.
Some examples of business goals include:
- Increase brand awareness
- Drive website traffic
- Boost online sales
- Grow email list
- Reduce customer service cases
Analyze how your Facebook activity is impacting these larger goals. This prevents analytics from becoming a meaningless exercise.
Turn Insights Into Action
The true value of Facebook analytics is using the insights to inform your strategy and optimize your approach. Here are some ways to turn analysis into action:
- Create more of your top-performing post types
- Repurpose popular posts that continue driving engagement
- Test new formats based on competitive benchmarking
- Adjust posting cadence based on when fans are online
- Shift budgets towards high ROI ad placements
Let data guide your Facebook marketing decisions. Analytics insights should trigger tangible changes to your content, posting strategy, ad campaigns, and more.
Conclusion
Facebook provides a wealth of data to measure your performance. But analytics are only useful if you actually look at them and take action based on the insights. Regularly analyze metrics for your Facebook page, posts, and ads. Trend the data over time. Compare against benchmarks. Then refine your Facebook marketing strategy based on what the numbers tell you. Ongoing analysis and optimization is key to success.