Do you understand how to use Facebook Insights?  Are you using them to help you to improve your Business Page?  Or do they leave you a bit puzzled?

A question on my Social Media for Newbies Facebook Page, made me realise that it would be useful to give you a guide to Facebook Insights.  Rather than overwhelm you with too much information at once, I will be posting a series of blog posts over the next few days.

Today’s post is about Reach as an answer to the question asked on Social Media for Newbies Page:

“Hi Nicky, Are you able to help me please? On my Fan Page I can see how many people a post has reached but this information is not consistent with every post. How can I change that so that I can see the audience for every Post? Also how can I increase the reach figure. I have 158 Fans but the reach figure is considerable lower?”

Let’s look at this

The first thing to be aware of is that there is a delay in getting your analytics by 3 days and that is why not all your posts will show numbers.  The figures may change for up to 28 days after the post if more people view your post.

The number of people reached is the total number of unique people who saw that post.  It will predominantly be people who have Liked your Page, but it also includes their friends who saw them liking or commenting on your update.

If you assumed that because someone has liked your Facebook Business Page they will automatically see your post in their news feed, this is your wake-up call.

Not all your fans will see all your posts!

The more interaction that your fans have with your Page, the higher the visibility of each of the posts. 

• If someone regularly interacts with your Page, Facebook will highlight your posts in their News Feed.
• The more people interact with your post, the more of their friends are likely to see it.
  

The time and day you post your update will also have an influence on the number of people reached.

• Have you thought about the best time for you to update your wall?  If you post early in the morning and your fans are more active on Facebook book in the late afternoon, you are reducing your chances of being seen.
• Certain days of the week will have lower figures.  My reach is lower over the weekend.
• It is worth experimenting to find out when is your optimum time to post.
• Luckily, Facebook records the time of each post so it makes it easy to see trends.

Over the past week the number of people reached for each post on Social Media for Newbies has ranged from 66 to 234.  The Page currently has 405 Likes yet over last week 863 unique people have seen my updates.  More than double the Fans!

Note:  Do not get obsessed with the details.  The trends are more important.  You want to increase the average weekly number of people reached over time rather than worry about the figures of a specific post.  Use the specific figures to work out what’s working for you.  Look at the high numbers to see what you are doing well and do more of the same.

The next posts on Facebook Insights

Facebook Insights: What does “Talking about this” mean?

Facebook Insights:  How to use it to get to know your fans

Let me know if this has been helpful to you and if you have any particular questions you want answered by leaving a comment below.

Nicky Kriel

Nicky Kriel is a Social Media Coach & Trainer inspiring, educating and empowering Business Owners to use Social Media more strategically. She is also the author of How to Twitter for Business Success. For more information visit http://www.nickykriel.com or to find out about her courses that she runs in Guildford visit http://www.nickykriel.com/courses

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