Facebook, the social network that attracts over 1.73 billion users every day, uses a series of algorithms and analytic tools to figure out how people engage with content. If you business uses Facebook, you'll need to understand the metrics of this social media giant in order to interpret reports and find success in your Facebook ad campaigns and overall digital marketing strategies.
What are the main Facebook metrics to understand?
CPM — This is the cost per thousand impressions. The CPM indicates how much your business is spending on ads compared to the amount of potential customers interacting with them. Overall, the lower the number, the better you’re doing.
Reach — Put simply, Reach is how many unique users your ad is being displayed to. A higher number should be the goal with this metric, as it indicates your ad is reaching a higher number of people.
Impressions — This Facebook metric analyzes how many individual times an ad was displayed. Whereas Reach counts the number of people, this metric is focused solely on the ad and how it presents itself.
Link Clicks — This tracks the amount of actions (or clicks) that are taken on your post. These can either count as engagement (a like, comment, or share) or clicks on your Call-to-Action (“Learn More,” “Shop Now,” “Get Offer”).
Conversions — The most important metric, conversions is a measurement of the total times your intended goal was completed. This could be purchases, form fill outs, phone calls, or even page views. It is essential to define your ultimate digital marketing strategy goal that you intend to measure.
Why are conversions so important?
Conversions are the lifeblood of your social media advertising efforts. Once you establish your ultimate advertising goal, tracking conversions will indicate whether or not your efforts are successful. Utilizing this effort enhances your online presence and enables you to grow your business past traditional methods like cold calls and emails.
If you find your ads getting a large rate of conversions, you know that your ad is doing what it needs to do and your business will benefit from it. Conversely, low conversions indicate that you may need to rethink your Facebook ad campaign.
How does this relate to Facebook ads?
These days, ads are just pieces of content with sales goals. Looking at ads this way, it’s simple to see how an understanding of Facebook metrics can lead to successful Facebook ad campaigns and ultimately conversions.
With proper analysis, your Facebook metrics will paint a complete picture of where you’re succeeding and where your efforts are falling short. Low engagement on your posts can signal that your content isn’t relevant. A high amount of link clicks, but few conversions, can signal that your landing page experience isn’t optimal.
Why do we need to focus on Facebook metrics?
With the understanding of these metrics in your toolbelt, you can properly leverage content and engage more deeply with your audience. When this information is used as part of your Facebook ads campaign, you have the power to create a structured approach that incorporates business’s social media profiles and pages into real business goals. For example, if your goal is to sell more products, you can leverage your social presence and structure your ads to increase conversions and reach this goal.
These metrics are available for all content pieces on your Facebook business page, not just ads. Analyzing them also allows you as a business owner, manager, or social media director to get tangible proof of return on your investments of time and money on advertising. With this information, you can make necessary changes and refine your digital marketing strategies for success.