What are the best third-party tools for advanced Facebook analytics? It’s a question I’m asked fairly often so I thought I’d do a round-up of options that are worth checking out.
It is fair to say that Facebook is getting better at providing this data itself; the latest version of Facebook Insights offers a wider range of information than ever before. But many still find it lacking so a number of companies have stepped in to try to fulfill this need.
In this post I’m purposely leaving out comprehensive suites like Radian6 or Lithium and focusing on solutions that are specifically (or at least mostly) geared towards Facebook analytics.
I’ve also left out the feature and pricing information as this frequently changes.
With that in mind here are some Facebook analytics tools to experiment with:
PageLever
PageLever may be the most frequently suggested third-party tool, having positioned itself as Facebook Insights on steroids. The functionality is good and the price is reasonable, and they offer a 14-day free trial.
Simply Measured
Simply Measured’s Facebook Fan Page Analytics gets a gold star for clear, simple data visualization. They roll up the analysis into a series of graphs and charts that can be viewed online or exported to Excel or PowerPoint. It is also easy for agencies to white label the reports.
EdgeRank Checker
EdgeRank Checker offers a good way to dig deeper into the specific actions that aid in Facebook newsfeed optimization. The Pro version is reasonably priced and worth the upgrade.
Buddy Media
Buddy Media doesn’t technically belong on this list because they’re now positioning themselves as a comprehensive suite. But in the past they focused primarily on Facebook Page creation and management so I’ve included them. Their Analytics offering provides advanced data for Page owners, and they recently partnered with ComScore to provide additional data and analysis.
Socialbakers
Socialbakers is also now branching out into Twitter, Google+ and others but Facebook is still the major focus. Their Engagement Analytics Pro offers performance monitoring and competitive analysis for Facebook.
Unilyzer
Unilyzer has a Facebook Analytics Dashboard that tracks 20+ different metrics. There are three pricing levels and all of them are reasonable.
SEOmoz Pro
While SEOmoz Pro is primarily a suite of SEO tools, they recently added a Social Analytics section that provides a range of data on Facebook pages and activity.
Webtrends
Webtrends has a Facebook add-on that pulls in data on Facebook pages and apps into their analytics suite. The catch is you need to be using Webtrends, so this is not an option for those on Omniture or Google Analytics.
Clickable
Clickable is a good solution for advertisers. Their Facebook Advertising Suite offers both deep analysis and effective management for Facebook Ads.
So that’s a good group to get you started.
Had positive or negative experiences with any of these tools? What else are you using?
Please let me know.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You missed off Raven Tools. It’s pretty awesome as a complete package.
Thanks Danny. I didn’t realize they had a Facebook component now.
@Adam, have a look on http://www.buzzref.com
a most valuable tool for facebook analytics.
Also its free to use.
You may soon add http://www.wisemetrics.com to your list!
A solution dedicated to Brands & Agencies
Cheers
Thanks Preetam and Steve, I’ll check those out.
Although this very detailed information, I still find Insights very good and most reliable tool for Facebook analytics.
Though I still lack the understanding of effects towards main website.
You should also check out our brand new Facebook Module for GA Data Grabber (a popular report automation tool for Google Analytics, AdWords and MS adCenter in Excel): http://www.GADataGrabberTool.com
Our tool is aimed at companies managing many fan pages and/or apps, to make it fast & easy to keep track of performance.
Thanks Mikael, I’ll check that out.