Read More

Facebook, one of the world’s largest social media brands, has recently announced that it will be closing its Facebook Analytics service at the end of June 2021. Online marketers use Facebook Analytics to look at a wide range of factors, most importantly how many people see a Facebook post and then go on to visit your website or buy something from you. The news that this valuable source of information to track marketing effectiveness is to disappear with short notice is worrying for many marketers.

Facebook give marketers have until the end of June to access their analytics portal through the Facebook site and download past data onto their computer. After the service is withdrawn, users will no longer have access to their information.

No reason has been given as to why Facebook are withdrawing their Analytics service, and although they redirect users to other services and packages which offer data analysis, none is a direct match for the tools available. After the end of June, Facebook suggests that users switch to using one of the following services:

• Facebook Business Suite – this package allows users to manage their business pages on both Instagram and Facebook. It has lots of information about trends, content and audience, but is not available to all users.
• Ads Manager – this tool is Facebook-specific, and will allow users to look at the effectiveness of their Facebook adverts and campaigns only.
• Events Manager – Users can set up business tools allowing them to track conversions from Facebook, and look at other actions on their website.

Using a combination of these three options might allow marketing staff to get the same information as they are currently getting through Facebook Analytics.

One of the main issues which marketing staff will face with the new regime at Facebook is the opt in and opt out choice consumers have to make. Facebook Analytics, when all data is connected together on a customer’s phone or tablet, can track the path right through from a customer seeing a post on social media and making a purchase, even if that is done away from the social media site.

This is becoming increasingly more difficult because of recent updates to the iOS software, which asks users of Apple devices whether they want to be tracked by apps on their phone. Unsurprisingly, many users say that they would rather not be tracked – not just by Facebook, but other similar apps. If users decline tracking, then you’re not going to get the data which was previously available through Analytics. Although the timing of the Facebook announcement of withdrawing Analytics coincides with the latest iOS update, there is no evidence that the two are linked.

In the longer term, Facebook’s overall goal is to allow businesses to manage all of their activity on Facebook, Messenger or Instagram through the Business Suite package. The only issue with this is that Business Suite is only available for small businesses, not the larger organisation. It seems likely however that Facebook will have to open up Business Suite to more customers if Analytics is to be withdrawn.