Let’s face it. Facebook Insights are an absolute nightmare. There’s a ton of valuable data within Insights, but it’s often surrounded by useless data. For those of us brave enough to click on the ‘Export Data’ button (pictured below), it gets even worse. Facebook tosses hundreds of additional metrics at you in a painfully difficult format. So what numbers should you actually be paying attention to?
Facebook Insights Example
Before we get down to the numbers, let’s look at how to export the data. From the Admin Panel on your Facebook Page, click on the Insights section. You’ll arrive at a screen that looks like the one pictured above. When you click on the ‘Export Data’ button, you’ll be greeted with a popup that looks like this:
Insights Export Popup
Note that I selected ‘Post level data’ rather than ‘Page level data’. All 6 of the following metrics– ones that actually matter– are post level metrics. I’ll get back to why later, but here are the metrics:
1. Lifetime Post Organic Reach
Facebook’s Definition: Lifetime The number of people who saw your Page post in News Feed or ticker, or on your Page’s Wall. (Unique Users)
Where to find it: Facebook Insights Post Level, Key Metrics Sheet, Column F
Key Point: As of July 2nd, post reach includes both desktop and mobile. Prior to this date, only reach via desktop was accounted for in this number. This also applies to total reach, viral reach, paid reach and reach to people who like your page.
2. Lifetime Post Reach by people who like your Page
Facebook’s Definition: Lifetime The number of people (who like your Page) who saw you Page post. (Unique Users)
Where to find it?: Facebook Insights Post Level, Key Metrics Sheet, Column U
Key Point: Facebook briefly showed you this number (as a percentage) at the bottom of your page posts next to the number of fans reached, as pictured below. Although it disappeared from the main stage, it still exists, albeit hidden inside Insights. It seems as though Facebook decided to hide it after users were infuriated when they discovered their posts were only reaching a small percentage of their fans.
Fan Reach Percentage – Credit allfacebook.com
3. Lifetime Post Viral Reach
Facebook’s Definition: Lifetime The number of people who saw your Page post in a story from a friend. (Unique Users)
Where to find it: Facebook Insights Post Level, Key Metrics Sheet, Column H
Key Point: To be clear, viral reach means the story appeared in the Newsfeed (of John Smith’s friend) saying “John Smith commented on Coca Cola’s photo” rather than “Coca Cola posted a photo”, which would be considered ‘organic’.
4. Lifetime Post Engaged Users
Facebook’s Definition: Lifetime The number of people who clicked anywhere in your posts. (Unique Users)
Where to find it?: Facebook Insights Post Level, Key Metrics Sheet, Column M
Key Point: Most people think of engagement as just likes, comments, and shares. That’s not the case– video plays, photo views, and other clicks (such as clicking to see who ‘liked’ a status) are also considered engagements by Facebook, and they increase EdgeRank, specifically the affinity between a user and your page.
5. Lifetime Negative Feedback
Facebook’s Definition: Lifetime The number of people who have given negative feedback to your post. (Unique Users)
Where to find it?: Facebook Insights Post Level, Key Metrics Sheet, Column R
Key Point: Monitor this number closely. If a post garners an abnormally high amount of negative feedback, delete it and stop posting similar content!
6. Lifetime Talking About This
Facebook’s Definition: Lifetime The number of unique people who created a story about your Page post. (Unique Users)
Where to find it?: Facebook Insights Post Level, Key Metrics Sheet, Column N
Key Point: This number tells you how well your content is resonating with your fans. If it’s steadily increasing, keep up the good work. If not, it’s time to implement (or create) your Plan B. If you’re wondering how well your page is doing, our tips tool is a good place to start.
So What About Page-Level Data?
As I mentioned before, I neglected to include any page-level metrics in my list above, and for good reason. Page-level metrics are meaningless for most page owners because most page owners don’t post consistently. If you posted 10 times last week and 2 times this week, your weekly reach numbers will be lower, but not because your posts were bad– just because you didn’t post as much as you did before. Unless you’re posting at a similar frequency every week, these numbers can’t really provide any value for you. So think twice before you freak out about your weekly or 28-day numbers.
If you found this post helpful, you’ll probably enjoy some of my other posts:
Facebook Marketing Down to the Core – 4 Factors of Post Optimization
7 Easy Ways to Increase Your Page’s EdgeRank
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to comment/like/share/tweet/etc 
Mike
