Each week, I reflect on what conversations I have had that are blog-worthy. What questions did I get asked that everyone should have the answer to? This week, it’s all about how to measure ROI on Facebook – or rather, how to measure success on Facebook. This platform is still one of the leading social media options when it comes to the online success of brands, whether they be business or personal. Those who use the platform (should be) investing time into creating content and building a community. With all that effort and energy going into the platform, it is essential that we can define and quantify success in a meaningful way.

One thing you’re measuring that doesn’t indicate success on Facebook.

I’ve never come across anyone using Facebook that doesn’t measure follower growth. Many obsess over it thinking that’s how they know their presence is a success. Don’t be fooled – yes it’s an indicator of popularity and potential reach and is a positive sign things are moving in the right direction. However, that’s all it’s telling you. If you really want to know you’re successful, you need to look much deeper than that!

I’m not saying don’t measure this at all; checking this once a quarter will give you a good understanding of whether the strategies you are using are on track. Just remember there are tons of influencer accounts out there with millions of followers that can’t sell a £1.50 product or struggle to get more than a handful of people to see a post.

Here’s how to measure success on Facebook

Before diving in, make sure you’ve defined your goals and objectives. These are what will help you nail what success means to you on Facebook. Is it increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, increasing sales, or generating leads? Your goals determine the metrics you need to focus on.

1. Engagement Metrics

If no one is engaging – you’re stuffed. Engagement is a fundamental measure of success on Facebook. These metrics help you gauge how well your content is resonating with your audience:

• Likes ( and all Reactions), Comments, and Shares: The number of likes, comments, and shares your posts receive indicates audience engagement. These interactions are a clear sign that your content works for your audience. The more of this you get – the more your content will be served to your active audience, and the more that active audience will increase.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR measures the percentage of people who click on a link you’ve shared, which is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of your content in driving traffic. Yes, Facebook would prefer posts without links; however, if your goal is to drive traffic, you need to post them!

2. Reach and Impressions

You can have all the followers in the world – understanding how many of them actually see your content is vital. These are figures you should be measuring weekly and allow you to quickly course-correct when things are not going the way you want them to! Here are the two key metrics that will help you measure this:

• Reach: Reach tells you how many unique users have seen your content. Measuring this allows you to understand how visible you are.
• Impressions: Impressions are the total number of times your content has been displayed in feed, including multiple views by the same user. It’s a measure of exposure.

3. Conversion Metrics

Success on any social media platform will always come down to your ability to convert business whether it be sales, sign-ups, inbound leads, phone calls or DMs. These are things to measure on a monthly basis for most businesses as a minimum.

• Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who took a specific action after interacting with your Facebook content, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
• Return on Investment (ROI): ROI helps you measure the profitability of your Facebook marketing efforts by comparing the costs to the revenue generated. This is a more difficult metric to measure for service-based businesses so consider your data points when working this one out!

Use Facebook Insights To Measure Success On Facebook

Facebook provides a robust analytics tool called Facebook Insights. It offers detailed data on your page’s performance, audience demographics, and engagement metrics. Regularly review these insights to tweak your strategy. You should always be measuring, tweaking and repeating!

Facebook, is ever-evolving as a platform. From changes in the algorithm to social media trends impacting what works and what doesn’t to the introduction (or removal) of features. Never be afraid to experiment with different content types, posting schedules, and advertising strategies. At the same time, never be afraid to go back and implement things that worked in the past! The key to success is the ability to adapt to changing trends and the preferences of your audience.

Success on Facebook is multifaceted and will vary depending on your specific goals and what kind of business you’re in. Define your objectives, monitor key metrics, and tweak your strategy based on your insights. Success on Facebook is never guaranteed and is definitely an ultra-marathon rather than a sprint. The key to staying ahead and getting results is continuous improvement.