One shall not necessarily use standard tools to obtain data on brand promotion on social media. Often alternative services help to understand company reputation better. We explain how to choose the best service.
Facebook Analytics’ closure in July 2021 signaled that Facebook Corporation (now Meta) is trying to create universal marketing tools. The idea is clear: to offer users a single account to control all Internet marketing, not only on the social network Facebook but also on Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
However, for companies actively promoting through social media, the natural limitations of the Facebook Business Suite — the new analytics cabinet — are unacceptable. Large companies and marketing agencies will get the most excellent benefits from introducing a third-party service for Facebook analytics. The standard Facebook Business Suite is an absolutely free service, and the capabilities of this service may be enough for small businesses.
Remember, when choosing a service for Facebook analytics, you need to perfectly understand what kind of results marketers expect from implementing the tool. Some services are optimized for content development, scheduled posting, and obtaining core data on user engagement. Other features are relevant for studying the audience in-depth and getting advanced data on competitor activity.
Let us consider popular paid and free analogs of Facebook Analytics, which will help build effective communication with the audience in 2022.
Onlypult posts to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, VKontakte, and many other platforms. It has a user-friendly post editor and allows collaboration.
Facebook Business Suite
Facebook Business Suite is a single tool for SMM on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Two undoubted advantages are the simplicity of the interface and the absence of a fee for use. Facebook Analytics ‘in-house’ alternative allows you to work with both a single platform and all of them at once, but running a business page on Facebook, in any case, remains a prerequisite.
Compared to previous products, Facebook Business Suite can be the simplest solution. If the company has a small marketing department or the entire SMM is managed by a founder/CEO specialist, they can quickly get used to the interface. The toolbar on the left contains all the necessary blocks for posting, launching, ads, and analytics of Facebook-related accounts.
Basic functionality:
- Calendar of scheduled posting (posts and stories);
- Launching ad campaigns;
- Analytics for all Facebook accounts;
- Combined section for communication with users from social networks;
- Settings Panel Facebook Shop.
Using Facebook Business Suite is completely free. It is logical because business owners pay for ads on all Facebook channels.
Buffer
Founded in: 2018
Buffer is a paid service that allows you to post and get analytics for posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. In the app, you can work with feed posts and paid campaigns.
Working with Instagram and Instagram Stories is convenient. The account provides many helpful features — for example, the capability of publishing the first comment of the feed post. It lets you publish all necessary hashtags in the comment section — not in the post description.
Two advantages of Buffer are a simple division into paid options and a helpful, absolutely free tariff plan with access to all social media. A 14-day trial is for testing the paid version.
Basic functionality:
- Convenient publication of deferred posts;
- Landing Page Constructor;
- Optional access to extensive analytics data.
Cost per month for activating one account: US$6.
The cost per month for activating one account when paying for a year is US$5.
Keyhole
Founded in: 2013
Keyhole is a comprehensive Facebook analytics tool focusing on large businesses. The web application provides a wide range of data necessary for successful brand promotion on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Key statistics consist of reports on audience engagement and follower number growth, analysis, and comparison of brand promotion in social media vs. competitors. In addition, the application provides a summary report on user engagement, depending on their country and language of communication.
According to official data, Keyhole is used by companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Alibaba. The Keyhole website does not contain data on the cost of the product. New users have an option to request a free trial.
Basic functionality:
- Detailed analysis of user engagement on social media;
- Competitor analysis;
- Tracking brand mentions.
Iconosquare
Founded in: 2011
Iconosquare is similar to Keyhole in its functionality. It is also a professional Facebook analytics tool necessary for large agencies and popular brands. A crucial difference is the addition of TikTok. However, Iconosquare also works with Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
The Iconosquare website provides case studies of many clients. Gymshark and Sephora are among the brands using the service for analytics and posting services for Facebook and other social media.
Iconosquare offers detailed reports on user engagement, hashtags, and mentions, and it also provides analytics on competitors. There are paid tariffs only, but there is a 14-day trial for new customers. The service also provides the capability to comment the Instagram posts.
Basic functionality:
- Detailed analysis of user engagement on social media;
- Competitor analysis;
- Tracking brand mentions.
Cost per month: US$59 (Pro), US$99 (Advanced).
Cost per month when paying for a year: US$49 (Pro), US$79 (Advanced).
Socialbakers
Founded in: 2008
Socialbakers is one of the oldest and most popular Facebook analytics services. The key advantage of the platform is that it actively uses AI. This allows to level up the analytics processes. For example, Socialbakers analyzes the brand audience and can determine influencers who can become brand ambassadors.
The Socialbakers system contains not only posting tools but also functions for planning a social media promotion budget and analyzing competitor strategies. The popularity of Socialbakers is proved by the reviews of experts from such well-known brands as Estée Lauder Companies and Discovery Inc.
Socialbakers focuses on large companies — so free versions or cheap plans are unavailable.
Basic functionality:
- AI-powered social media solution;
- Facebook Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest Advanced analytics;
- Integration of communication channels on social networks with a chatbot.
Cost per month for 10 profiles: US$240.
Cost per month for 10 profiles when paying for a year: US$200.
GRYTICS
Founded in: 2014
The GRYTICS analytics platform provides unique Facebook group analytics data —with it, you can manage groups in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Daily reports are generated based on the results of working with groups.
GRYTICS-generated statistics contain data on new subscribers, the activity of the group followers, detailed reports on user engagement, and the analysis of comments to comments. Some tools determine influencers and keyword scanning.
GRYTICS users can administer 10 or 30 Facebook groups depending on the subscription. New users can get access to a free trial.
Basic functionality:
- Analysis of subscribers’ activity;
- Facebook Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest Advanced analytics;
- Integration of communication channels on social networks with a chatbot.
Cost per month: €99 (Standart), €199 (Advanced).
Сost when paying for the year: €999 (Standart), €1999 (Advanced).
quintly
Founded in: 2010
The quintly platform provides detailed analytics on Facebook posting and audience actions. The quintly web service generates a detailed report on Facebook page fans: where they came from, their age, and gender. User engagement reflects how the audience reacts to posts on the page and how they act after viewing.
The quintly functionality allows analyzing a large amount of data. As follows from the feedback of Benefit Cosmetics published on the website, the introduction of quintly allowed to increase the efficiency of 100+ social media channels in 36 markets.
As of 2022, quintly provides analytics on Instagram Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok. The subscription price is set individually, depending on the client’s request. New clients have trial access.
Basic functionality:
- Data on 400 metrics;
- Generation of automatic reports;
- Compilation of KPIs.
Sotrender
Founded in: 2010
The Facebook analytics service Sotrender provides AI-driven data acquisition. According to the developers, machine learning tools have analyzed 367 million posts that guarantee a representative picture of brand positioning in social media.
Using Sotrender, you can not only analyze the brand audience activity but also use logos and set the required tone of voice for visual and text posts. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are compatible with Sotrender.
The Facebook analytics service is optimized for use by large brands or advertising agencies. The list of disclosed users includes Nestle Global and Deloitte. New users can get a 14-day trial.
Basic functionality:
- AI-powered social media solution;
- Competitor Analytics;
- Optional access to historical data up to 2 years.
Cost per month: US$70 (Lite), US$100 (Standard), US$190 (Pro), US$350 (Enterprise).
The monthly cost when paying for a year: US$56 (Lite), US$80 (Standard), US$152 (Pro), US$280 (Enterprise).
PowerAdSpy
Founded in: 2017
When the main goal is to create advertising campaigns at minimal costs, opt for PowerAdSpy. The service provides analytical data on advertising campaigns run by competitors. It explains also the name of the service.
PowerAdSpy is convenient for small businesses that do not have the necessary professional resources to build a complex marketing strategy for social media. The user-friendly simplicity of the service is another advantage. Even an employee of the company who is not responsible for paid promotion on social networks will quickly sort out how to work with the ads and analytics accounts. Google, Instagram, YouTube, GDN, NATIVE, Reddit, Quora ads analysis is a bonus to Facebook advertising campaigns.
Another advantage for small businesses is an absolutely free 10-day trial. The cost of paid packages depends on the number of social networks you need to analyze.
Basic functionality:
Search and selection of keywords; Analysis of millions of advertising posts; Analysis of the details of advertising messages.
Cost per month: US$49 (Basic), US$99 (Standard), US$149 (Premium), US$249 (Platinum), UIS$299 (Titanium), US$349 (Palladium).
Free multiple link features specially for you.
Buying a specific Facebook analytics service is the right decision for the companies aiming not just to increase their online presence but to get the most out of interacting with the audience. The implementation of data analysis reduces the number of misunderstandings between the message delivered by the brand and the audience. In today’s diverse world, it is worth considering the mood of different audience groups. Generalized analytics data allows you to customize the tone of the brand voice better.
It is advisable to test several applications to select a service that suits your needs best. It will allow you to compare the results of the analyses available to users in specific programs.
