I’m going to make a bold statement. Before I do, I’ll go ahead and let you know that I am addicted to Facebook. I check my profile 75 to 100 times a day, from the moment I get out of bed until the moment I’m back in bed. I hardly ever miss a friend’s post. I’m that guy that looks at his newsfeed during dinner; I’ve even been known to sneak a peek during church. All the signs point to an addiction. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, my ‘bold’ statement won’t come of surprise to you.
Here it goes:
I believe Facebook is the most powerful form of free marketing to exist. With the release of a new Insights tool last month, business owners have a plethora of in-depth knowledge about their fan page. We know that one of the most important rules of marketing is to know your demographic and understand how to best serve and communicate to that market. That’s what makes this tool invaluable. How old are your Facebook fans? Where do they live? Who is the most engaged? These are all questions that Insights answers, helping small business identify their market without having to spend any money!
Here is a breakdown of the tool:
People
You already know how many people Like your page, but Facebook breaks down this information and gives you specific insights into your fan base, including:
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Male to female ratio
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Age distribution
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What cities your fans live in
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What countries your fans live in
Reach vs. Engagement
Not only does the tool give you information about your current fans, it also lets you know who sees your posts (Facebook calls this “reach.”) and who is interacting with the posts by commenting, liking, or sharing (“engagement”).
Use Facebook Insights to learn:
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How many people your page and posts have reached and engaged
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Male to female ratio for users reached and users engaged
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Age distribution for users reached and users engaged
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The countries where you have reached/engaged users
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The cities where you’ve reached/engaged users
Posts
The tool also lets you see how many of your fans login Facebook each day of the week, and even the times they are logging in. With this information, you can schedule your posts for the most popular times in order for the most users to see your post. It also provides you with stats for each post, letting you know how many people were reached, how many were engaged, etc.