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A simple guide for SME owners and creators who just want to know what’s working

Let’s face it—Facebook Insights is a goldmine of data... wrapped in a blanket of confusion. If you’ve ever opened your Page Insights tab, blinked twice, and said “I’ll check it later,” you’re not alone.

But here’s the truth: the numbers in there can help you stop wasting time, save ad budget, and double your content engagementif you know where to look.

In this post, we’ll break it down into bite-sized, no-jargon tips you can actually use.

 

Where to Start: Overview Tab

When you first land on Facebook Insights (via Meta Business Suite), the Overview tab shows performance from the past 7 or 28 days.

What to focus on:

  • Reach – How many unique users saw your content. If this is dropping, it means your content isn’t getting seen.

  • Engagement – Total likes, comments, shares, and clicks. A key indicator of content quality.

  • New Page Likes/Followers – A useful growth metric, but don’t obsess over it.

Tip: Compare this week’s performance to last week’s using the default comparison at the top. Small changes mean a lot.

 

Content Performance: What’s Actually Working?

Head to Posts > All Posts Published or Content > Posts in Business Suite.

Key columns to read:

  • Reach – See which posts got the widest visibility.

  • Engagement Rate (%) – High engagement = content your audience loves.

  • Type – Video, photo, link, etc. Notice which formats work best.

Look For Patterns:
Are videos always performing better than photos? Is your audience responding more to product tips than promotions?

 

When Are Your Fans Online?

Go to Insights > Posts > When Your Fans Are Online.

This heatmap shows peak days and times your audience is active. Posting during these windows can instantly boost reach.

Best Practice:
Schedule posts 30–60 minutes before peak activity times. That gives Facebook time to start distributing your post.

 

Who's Engaging With You?

Use the Audience tab to understand your followers:

  • Top cities and countries – Are you attracting your target region?

  • Age & gender breakdown – Useful for ad targeting and tone of voice.

For Malaysian SMEs: If you're getting tons of reach from outside Malaysia but your business only sells locally, tweak your post targeting or content language.

 

Insights That Actually Help You Grow

Here’s how to turn Facebook Insights into real business decisions:

Insight You See

What It Means What You Can Do
High reach, low engagement People see your posts but scroll past Improve hook/headline or visuals
High engagement, low reach Great content, but not enough eyes Boost or repost at better times
Video performs better than image Your audience prefers motion Use more videos and reels
Steady drop in reach weekly Algorithm fatigue Re-evaluate content mix or post less frequently

 

TL;DR: If You Only Look at 3 Things...

  1. Top 5 performing posts – Figure out what to replicate.

  2. Engagement rate trends – See if you're improving or getting stale.

  3. Peak posting times – Post smarter, not harder.

 

cropped-cropped-cropped-Untitled-design-55Pro Tip from Futura Metrics

If this still feels like too much, Futura Metrics auto-pulls your Top Posts, Platform Comparison, and Audience Trends—all in one dashboard. No tabs. No headaches.

 

Post by Brian Chin
Jun 3, 2025 1:45:00 PM