Facebook Insights is a free analytics tool that allows Facebook Page owners to track and analyze data about their page’s posts, users, demographics and more. It provides valuable information to help page owners understand their audience and what content resonates with them.
Is Facebook Insights going away?
No, Facebook is not getting rid of Insights. Insights is an integral part of Facebook Pages and is here to stay. There have been some changes to Insights over the years as Facebook has updated and improved the tool, but it remains a core offering for Page owners.
Where did the rumor of Insights going away come from?
There was a rumor circulating in mid-2021 that Facebook was planning to remove Insights. This rumor stemmed from Facebook’s announcement that they would be shutting down their analytics tool CrowdTangle. Some speculated this meant Insights would also be going away, but this was inaccurate.
Facebook quickly clarified that CrowdTangle and Insights are two completely separate tools. CrowdTangle is owned by Facebook but offered as a standalone analytics platform, while Insights is integrated directly into Facebook Pages. The decision to discontinue CrowdTangle did not impact the availability of Insights in any way.
What Facebook has said about Insights
Facebook has repeatedly emphasized that Insights is staying. In their original announcement about CrowdTangle, Facebook said “This change will not affect the experiences of Pages or public information on Facebook. Page admins will still be able to access insights via Page Insights.”
They also stated “While we are winding down our CrowdTangle branded public dashboard product, dashboard services that partners like CrowdTangle use can continue until 6/2022.” This made clear Insights would remain unaffected.
More recently in 2022, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed again that “Facebook Pages will continue to have access to their Facebook Page Insights.” There are no plans to remove this vital analytics tool.
What useful data does Facebook Insights provide?
Facebook Insights gives Page owners access to detailed analytics about their page performance. Some of the most useful data it provides includes:
Post reach and engagement
See how many people your posts are reaching and how users are interacting with them. Metrics include reach, post clicks, reactions, comments, shares and more.
Page followers
View follower growth over time. See follower demographics like age, gender and location.
Traffic sources
Determine where your page traffic is coming from – organic, paid or user referrals.
When fans are online
See what days and times your followers tend to be most active on Facebook.
Video metrics
For video posts, view additional metrics like 3-second views, completion rate and more.
Saved and sharing activity
See how often posts are being saved and shared.
Top performing content
Identify your best content by engagement, reach and more. See exactly which types of posts resonate most.
How has Facebook Insights evolved over time?
Facebook is continually updating Insights with new data and features. Here are some key developments over the years:
Launch
Insights first launched in 2008, providing only basic metrics like post reach, user demographics, and traffic sources.
More engagement metrics
Over time, more detailed engagement metrics were added like post reactions, shares, comments, photo views, etc.
Mobile metrics
As mobile usage increased, mobile-specific data was added, like percentage of visitors on mobile.
New content types
With additional content formats like video and Stories, new metrics were added around video views, completion rate, taps forward, etc.
More audience details
Expanded audience demographic reporting including language, city and country-level data.
New layouts
Facebook has updated the Insights interface multiple times over the years to improve navigation and visualizations.
More real-time data
Insights has reduced lag time, allowing more near real-time tracking compared to solely daily or weekly reporting early on.
Page management integration
Insights has become more integrated directly into the Facebook Pages interface for easier access.
What are some tips for using Facebook Insights effectively?
Here are some tips to help Page owners get the most value out of Facebook Insights data:
Check Insights frequently
Don’t just look at Insights sporadically. Checking in regularly helps identify trends and patterns.
Compare posts and formats
Compare metrics on different types of content to see what resonates best with your audience.
Examine when fans are online
This can inform the best times to post content to maximize reach.
Look at historical data
Evaluate performance over longer time periods to spot meaningful trends.
Set specific goals
Determine specific KPIs you want to track – like reach, engagement rate, followers gained, etc.
Track competitors
If competitors also have public Pages, look at their Insights to compare performance.
Use filters
Leverage filters to narrow in on specific countries, time frames and other factors.
Export data
Export Insights data to Excel or Google Sheets for additional analysis and visualization.
Integrate with other tools
Connect Insights API to tools like Google Analytics for a bigger picture.
Make data-driven decisions
Actually apply insights to optimize content strategy, scheduling, ad spend and more.
What types of Facebook Pages can use Insights?
Most types of Facebook Pages can access Insights, with a few exceptions:
Standard pages
Business pages, brand pages, community pages, entertainment pages, organizations and non-profits can all use Insights.
Unavailable for personal profiles
Insights is only available for formal Facebook Pages, not personal timelines and profiles.
Inaccessible for unpublished or closed pages
Insights can only be viewed for published Pages. If a Page is unpublished or closed, Insights will not be accessible.
Limited for new pages
Newly created Pages have limited Insights available until the page accumulates enough posts and traffic over time.
What metrics and reports are available in Facebook Insights?
Facebook Insights provides a robust set of metrics and reports to analyze different elements of your Page’s performance. Key categories include:
Overview
Summary of key metrics like page views, post reach and page followers.
Followers
Follower count, new followers, follower sources and demographics.
Posts
Metrics for your page’s individual posts like reach, engagement, clicks, demographics.
Videos
Additional metrics for video posts like 10-second views, completion rate, original audio percentage.
Events
Data on events hosted through your Page like attendees and interest.
Messages
Overview of messaging activity on your Page through comments, posts, messenger, etc.
Devices
Visitor device types and operating systems used to access your Page.
Audience Retention
How daily and weekly retention rates among your audience compare historically.
Traffic Sources
Percentage of visits from search, direct links, referrals and other channels.
Location
Location data about your audience like country, city and language.
Shopping
For eCommerce pages, product view and purchase metrics.
Ads Reporting
Metrics on traffic and conversion from ads run directly through Facebook.
How can smaller businesses benefit from Insights?
Insights provides invaluable data for both large corporations and small businesses alike. Here are some specific benefits for smaller brands:
It’s free
Small businesses don’t have big marketing budgets. Insights provides robust data at no cost.
Informs content strategy
Provides data to identify what content your audience most engages with to optimize posting.
Tracks growth
Monitor follower growth and page traffic metrics over time as you build your brand.
Troubleshoots problems
Diagnose issues like sudden drops in reach or followers gained.
Prioritizes ad spending
With minimal ad dollars, focus spend on highest converting audiences and placements.
Gauges engagement
Engagement rate metrics help understand customer satisfaction and sentiment.
Monitors competitors
Review competitor Insights data to compare page performance.
Identifies influencers
See who is driving traffic and engagement to your page the most to spotlight your brand evangelists.
What are some common challenges or limitations with Facebook Insights?
While Insights is very useful, it does have some drawbacks that Page owners should be aware of:
Only available for Page owners
Insights can only be viewed by designated admins on the Page, not the general public.
Time delay
Metrics only update once per day, not 100% real-time.
Sampling
Larger pages have metrics sampled from subsets of data, not full data sets.
Can’t track individuals
User-level data is anonymous – individual people can’t be segmented and analyzed.
No comment sentiment
No built-in tools to analyze comment sentiment or classify comments.
Video metrics limitations
Full video metrics only available on videos hosted natively on Facebook, not other sources.
No historical export
Can only export last 90 days of data, not full historical Insights.
What are some Facebook Insights alternatives?
For those needing capabilities beyond Insights, here are some alternative Facebook analytics tools to consider:
| Tool | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Iconosquare | In-depth audience demographic analytics, competitive benchmarking, automated insights reporting |
| Socialbakers | Historical data exports, predictive analytics, audience segmentation, UX analysis |
| Sprout Social | Cross-platform social media management, team collaboration, advanced listening & analytics |
| SocialInsider | Campaign management, reputation monitoring, persona profiling tools |
| Mention | Social listening, brand monitoring, influencer tracking |
| Buffer | Scheduling & publishing, engagement analytics, easy reporting |
| Hootsuite | Social media management, campaign planning, multi-user team access |
However, these tools come with monthly subscription costs while Insights remains free for all Page owners.
How can Insights be combined with other analytics platforms?
Insights provides a wealth of Facebook-specific data, but it can be supplemented with other analytics tools for additional perspectives. Some ways to combine Insights with other platforms include:
Import Insights data into Google Analytics
Connect Facebook Page Analytics API to import key metrics into GA for larger analysis.
Add Facebook tracking pixels
Install Facebook pixel on website to track site visits driven by Facebook in GA.
Link UTM parameters
Add campaign tracking UTM codes to Facebook links to trace performance from social through other platforms.
Feed Insights into marketing dashboards
Display key Facebook KPIs like Engagement Rate on cross-channel dashboards in Data Studio, Klipfolio or other BI tools.
Compare owned, earned, and paid data
Bring together metrics from Insights (owned), brand monitoring tools (earned) and ad platforms (paid).
Blend with in-person analytics
For physical businesses, merge digital Insights data with local foot traffic analytics tools to get full picture.
Correlate with other social platforms
Compare Facebook metrics to same metrics from Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and other channels.
Enrich follower interests with 3rd-party data
Append audiences with demographic data from tools like Acxiom, Experian, etc.
Conclusion
Facebook Insights remains a robust, free analytics tool for Facebook Page owners. While Facebook will continue evolving Insights with new features and refinements, its core capabilities of providing valuable audience and content data will remain unchanged. Insights is indispensable for any brand wanting to improve their Facebook strategy using data.
Small businesses and marketers on a budget can benefit tremendously from tapping into Insights. All types of organizations should make checking and analyzing Insights part of their regular social media workflow. For larger brands needing more advanced functionality, Insights can still provide a strong data foundation supplemented by third-party analytics tools.
Facebook Insights eliminates guesswork by giving concrete metrics to identify high-performing content, analyze the customer journey, track growth, monitor competitors and inform marketing activities. Page owners who regularly monitor, compare, filter, apply and share Insights data will maximize their chances for Facebook success.