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By Tom Earnest on Sep 1, 2021
In the second quarter of 2021, Facebook announced that it will be retiring its free analytics tool by 30th June. The announcement sent many digital marketers into a tizzy. Launched in 2018, Facebook Analytics became the go-to platform for millions of businesses across the world. It provided valuable insights on the users visiting your website, the duration spent on a particular page, number of clicks and more.
Facebook Analytics was a handy tool for both beginners and power users. It’s simple interface and ability to create custom dashboards made it a widely popular tool in just three years. Brands were able to share their web traffic data with prospective advertisers and partners using the tool. Besides, you could track activity across channels, pinpoint high-value customers, and chart conversion graphs for your goals.
After its shuttering, in-house marketing teams, white label Facebook advertising agencies and small business owners were left scouring for a viable alternative. What was even more daunting is that they had less than 12 weeks to find a new platform and export their data. If you or your agency is still reeling from the aftermath of this change, this article is just what you need. We’ll try to understand the reasons for this change and figure out the next course of action for you.
Facebook didn’t specify why it was discontinuing the service. Evidently, the tool never gained the popularity of Google Analytics (which analyzes over 30 million websites). In its announcement, Facebook mentioned that it’s “an initiative to consolidate business tools.” Essentially, this means that the services that were offered by the Analytics platform can be availed through other Facebook tools like Ads Manager or Events Manager.
Another plausible reason for shuttering Analytics is privacy concerns. With Google and Apple facing heat over their user tracking methods, they have already started phasing out ad cookies. This might be a pre-emptive move from Facebook to avoid a similar backlash. While there are more speculations, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reason unless Facebook comes out with a statement.
If you have been using Facebook Analytics, it means you need to do the following immediately:
In the next section, we have listed some possible replacements for Facebook Analytics.
There are no like-for-like replacements offered by Facebook. But there are alternatives that get close to providing similar analytics services. The top three in this list have been suggested by Facebook itself while we have added another big name in the mix.
Facebook Business Suite is an excellent place to get a complete overview of your business account. The best part about Facebook Business Suite is that it brings Instagram and Facebook management to one place. You can publish posts, receive notifications, and respond to community messages for both platforms at one place. While its analytics capabilities are limited, you can track engagement metrics using the ‘Insights’ tab.
More importantly, it has an excellent post scheduler that works for both Instagram and Facebook. Remember, to make the most of the Business Suite, be sure your Instagram account is a business account. If for some reason your Instagram account is not a business account, convert it.
The Facebook Ads Manager lets you track your ads and conversions on the business page. It comes neatly packaged in a panel that helps you visualize your ad campaign’s performance. Ads Manager’s insights can come in pretty handy for your marketing plans. It provides details such as estimated reach, conversion rates and ad placement location data. This lets you customize campaigns for a particular demographic, website or a time period.
The Facebook Events Manager can get slightly technical, but the amount of control it gives makes it a favorite among white label Facebook advertising agencies. It’s primarily meant for tracking events such as clicks, hovers and scrolls using the Facebook Pixel and Conversion API. To use Pixel, you’ll have to paste a piece of code in your website’s header to get started. After this, the Events Manager lets you access metrics like conversions and views via an interactive dashboard. Capturing such intricate details make it easy to incorporate retargeting. It’s important because you can show paid ads to visitors
While Google Analytics has a reputation for being a tool that requires a considerable amount of training, it’s a phenomenal marketing tool. Traffic sources, demographics, user retention are all helpful insights that have made it a preferred tool for millions of marketers. Google specializes in mapping the customer’s journey. This means you get to know the entry and exit pages, time spent in each section of the page and bounce rate. Such metrics help you create a better funnel.
The shuttering of Facebook Analytics doesn’t spell doom. There are numerous platforms with similar analysis capabilities, visualizations and interface. With the right training, you can easily move to another platform without derailing your operations.
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