Your Business’ Social Media Data Is Right There — Here’s How to Use It
This month, I’m taking a break from my usual social media marketing tips, tricks, and yes… soapbox rants… to share something a little more hands-on for your business. A question I hear a lot, especially from people just starting out with social media marketing, is: “How do I know it’s really working?” And honestly, that’s a great question. After all, you’re putting time, energy, and money into your posts, and it’s important to know that it’s making an impact.
While we at Chair 8 use Sprout Social to analyze data for our clients, we know that not everyone has access to fancy software. That’s why we’re grateful to offer it to our clients. But here’s the thing: data is a crucial part of any social strategy, and you don’t need special software to access it.
So, I’ve put together this handy guide to show you how to tap into the data directly on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Let’s dive in!
Instagram provides performance data from the past 90 days, including post analytics, audience insights, and more. These insights are essential for understanding your audience, how Instagram’s algorithm interacts with your content, and the overall success of your strategy.
To access data from your business account, use Instagram Insights within the mobile app.
Note: Instagram Insights is only available for business accounts. Not sure if yours is set up as a business account? Here’s how to check:
Open Instagram and go to your profile.
Tap the menu (☰) in the top-right corner.
Select Settings and privacy.
Scroll down and tap Account type and tools.
If you see the option to Switch to personal account or Switch to creator account, you already have a business account. If you only see Switch to business account, your account is currently set to personal or creator mode.
To access Instagram Insights in the mobile app, follow these steps:
Open Instagram and go to your profile.
Tap the menu (☰) in the top-right corner.
Select Insights from the menu.
Alternatively, you can also access insights directly from individual posts by opening a post and tapping “View Insights” below it.
Some accounts may have a Professional Dashboard near the top of their page, which will take you directly to Insights, as well.
From the main Insights menu, you can explore various data categories, including Views, Interactions, New Followers, and Content You Shared. Tap the > symbol next to any category to dive deeper into detailed analytics for that specific area.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track through Instagram Insights:
Accounts Reached: Shows the percentage of followers to non-followers who viewed your account.
Profile Activity: See how many people clicked on links in your profile.
Accounts Engaged: Shows the number of followers and non-followers who engaged with your content and the types of content they engaged with most.
Total Followers: See your followers and unfollows over the past seven to 90 days.
Content You’ve Shared: View recent posts and analyze performance to identify top-performing content based on engagement.
Engagement Rate Per Post: Measures how well individual pieces of content resonate with your audience. It calculates the percentage of engaged users—those who like, comment, save, or share—relative to the total number of accounts that viewed the post.
Audience Demographics: Understand the gender and age ranges of your followers.
Facebook’s data gives you a comprehensive look back at up to two years of performance, offering many of the same key insights we’ve covered for Instagram, so you can get a full picture of how your content is performing.
To access data from your business account, use Meta Business Suite on desktop or mobile.
Note: Facebook Insights is only available for business pages. Not sure if yours is set up as a business page? Here’s how to check:
Open Facebook and go to your Page.
Tap Settings in the left-hand menu (on desktop) or from the menu (☰) on mobile.
Look for Page Roles or Page Access—if you have access as an admin, you are managing a business page. If not, your profile may be set up as a personal account instead.
To access Facebook Insights, follow these steps:
Open Meta Business Suite:
On desktop, go to business.facebook.com and log in.
On mobile, open the Meta Business Suite app.
Select Your Page:
If you manage multiple pages, click the profile icon in the top-left corner (desktop) or tap the menu (☰) in the bottom-right corner (mobile).
Choose the correct Page from the dropdown list.
Access Insights:
On desktop, click Insights in the left-hand menu.
On mobile, tap Insights from the dashboard or find it under the Tools section.
Alternatively, you can access insights directly from individual posts by clicking View Insights below a post.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track through Facebook Insights:
Reach: Shows the number of people who have seen your content, broken down by followers and non-followers.
Post Engagements: Tracks likes, comments, shares, and other interactions on posts.
Page Visits: See how many people visited your page and what actions they took.
New Followers: Monitor your follower growth over time.
Content Performance: View recent posts and analyze engagement to identify top-performing content.
Engagement Rate Per Post: Measures the percentage of people who interacted with a post compared to how many saw it.
Audience Demographics: Understand your audience's gender, age, and location to refine your content strategy.
LinkedIn provides performance data for various timeframes by content type: articles track for 730 days, videos for 180 days, and other content types (like single-image posts) track for 1,000 days. These analytics help you understand your audience, how LinkedIn’s algorithm interacts with your content, and the overall effectiveness of your strategy.
To access data from your LinkedIn Company Page, use LinkedIn Analytics via desktop or the mobile app.
Note: LinkedIn Analytics is only available for company pages, not personal profiles. Not sure if you have a company page? Here’s how to check:
Open LinkedIn and go to your profile.
Click Me (profile picture) in the top-right corner.
Under Manage, look for any Company Pages you have admin access to.
If you don’t see a page, you may need to create one or request admin access.
To access LinkedIn Analytics, follow these steps:
Open LinkedIn:
On desktop, go to business.facebook.com and log in.
On mobile, open the Meta Business Suite app.
Select Your Company Page:
Click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
Under Manage, select the Company Page you want to analyze.
Access LinkedIn Analytics:
On desktop, click Analytics in the left-hand menu.
On mobile, tap the Admin Tools dropdown, then select Analytics.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track in LinkedIn Analytics:
Visitors: See how many people have visited your company page and where they came from.
Follower Insights: Monitor new and total followers, including job titles, industries, and locations.
Post Engagements:Track likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates for your content.
Impressions & Reach: Understand how many people saw your posts and how often they appeared in feeds.
Content Performance: Identify top-performing posts based on engagement and visibility.
Competitor Analytics: Compare your company’s performance with similar brands on LinkedIn.
Using Metrics to Inform Your Social Media Strategy
Tracking analytics is only the first step—what you do with the data is what really drives success. Use these insights to refine your social media strategy and optimize future content:
Identify What’s Working (and What’s Not): Analyze your top-performing posts to spot patterns in content type, format, or timing. Replicate what works and refine what doesn’t.
Tailor Content to Audience Demographics: Review audience demographics to create content that resonates (i.e. moms, dads, college students, women vs. men, etc.)
Adjust Based on Engagement Rate, Not Just Reach: If reach is high but engagement is low, your content may not be resonating. Focus on driving meaningful interactions like comments, shares, and saves.
Set Data-Driven Goals: Use past performance to set realistic benchmarks