I think most of us have a love-hate relationship with social media. Particularly Facebook, because it seems like they’ve switched gears so many times and in some cases left us wondering what is going on.
If I’m being honest, I have the same feelings as you when it comes to my business and Facebook. But I also know that I need to remove emotion from the equation when I’m making decisions for my business.
Rather than use my emotions to drive me in one direction or the other, I opt for using hard numbers. I’m referring to a monthly check in on my Facebook analytics to determine what is working and what isn’t with my content posting strategy.
Taking time once per month to review your Facebook analytics is a great way to determine if what you’re posting is getting engagement and working to build brand awareness. This week on The Wellness Business Podcast we’re discussing how best to use the analytics that are provided on your Facebook business page.
I recently had a coach post this question…
‘So my reach and engagement numbers are increasing incrementally every month. EXCEPT that there are 0 link clicks?!! What?! I have a CTA at the end of almost every post, different ones depending on what it is about. But does this basically mean, my freebie(s) are NOT working. I mean, a lot of these are educational. But still. 0 link clicks is depressing for all this work.’
Numerical data is always the quickest way to know if things are working or not. Even if you sit down for 15-20 minutes once per month you’ll gain a world of knowledge to help you make future decisions.
In her case she reached 2.4k people with her posts in the past 28 days and had 1.5k engagements. That’s amazing! It’s a 63% engagement rate.
The problem comes in because the data is also showing that she has had zero link clicks. She’s consistent with putting her freebies out there, so she’s wondering if is it true that no one is clicking?
5 WAYS TO TROUBLESHOOT YOUR FACEBOOK ANALYTICS
If you’re reviewing your analytics and finding similar results as the ones described previously, here are 5 ways to troubleshoot so you can improve your link clicks.
STRATEGY #1 – Consider the Impact of iOS Updates
The first thing that we want you to consider is whether or not the iOS updates that happened last year are skewing your numbers. Anytime a link takes someone off of Facebook there is the potential for false reporting since that update. This is an unfortunate reality but one we have to deal with so we need to find other ways to verify our results.
Interested in learning more about the iOS update and 5 Ways To Overcome The Email Open Tracking Issue Due To The iOS15 Update? Check it out here.
STRATEGY #2 – Check If You Are Increasing Your Email List
The second thing to do is to check your email management system to see if you are getting new subscribers. In the case of the coach mentioned above, she had 9 new subscribers but didn’t have a way of knowing where they came from. She posts on several platforms and always uses the same link so she wasn’t able to know for sure if they came from Facebook or somewhere else.
If you do the same thing, we would recommend checking to see if your email management system allows you to create individual links for each platform you post on. It’s a fabulous way to improve your overall tracking. In the case of this coach, the great news is that she was getting new subscribers so something she was doing is working.
STRATEGY #3 – Look At Post Reach
The 3rd step in figuring out if your analytics are accurate would be to look at the reach for each individual post. What is the reach for each post compared to your overall number of followers? Are you including a specific call-to-action so your followers know exactly what they should do? The coach in the example said she is adding a call-to-action in her posts so that’s perfect. The question is whether or not the posts that are sharing her freebie link are getting much less reach than her other posts so looking at individual post analytics will help answer that question. Get familiar with your data, see what trends are being reported based on your specific audience, and do your best to verify the information. If you have Google Analytics installed on your website you can use the data being collected there to verify where the traffic is coming from.
STRATEGY #4 – Determine Which Posts Perform Best
Speaking of other posts, the 4th step is to determine if there are certain types of posts, (let’s say quotes over blog or freebies), that seem to consistently get more reach than others? Oftentimes Facebook will limit the reach of a post that has a link going outside of the Facebook platform. It’s important to know what your specific analytics look like for the different post types. Again, if you don’t have Google Analytics installed on your website platform it’s a great way to monitor your traffic. There are lots of training tutorials on YouTube showing you how to install it based on the platform you use. Just type in, “How to install Google Analytics on a _________ website.”
STRATEGY #5 – Ask Your Audience What They Want
Lastly, step 5 to improve your analytics and engagement would be asking your audience what they want to hear from you? What do they want more of and what do they want less of? Never be afraid to ask what they like better, A or B. It’s important to switch things up and try new things to see if your analytics reflect an increase in engagement. People love to give their opinion and by creating a post with an A or B answer it will likely get more reach and engagement than other types of posts. You can track that with your analytics as well to determine if you should make it a regular part of your posting strategy.
HOW TO VERIFY YOUR FACEBOOK ANALYTICS ARE ACCURATE
In episode 273 of The Wellness Business Podcast, you’ll discover:
- 5 ways to troubleshoot your Facebook analytics so you can improve your link clicks and overall engagement
- Our recommendation for digging into your own analytics and how often you should do it
- The best way to verify what the analytics are telling you if you think there is a reporting problem
Tune in to find out how to add at least one more offer to your coaching business to stay profitable and attract more clients.
Links/Resources mentioned on the show:
Episode 244 – 5 Ways To Overcome The Email Open Tracking Issue Due To The iOS15 Update
Links to resources:
