Marketers, Facebook Analytics will be no more on June 30, 2021

Ah, Facebook.

It doesn't matter if you're looking to see who peaked in high school, wanting to shill some aggressively patterned (and priced) leggings, or trying to drive new leads and customers for your business – the blue-based social giant has something for everyone.

But if you're a digital marketer who does anything on Facebook, I have some significant social media marketing news for you, so you may want to sit down.

Facebook Analytics: 'It's not me, it's you'

Facebook Analytics is the one-stop-shop standalone app for analyzing and optimizing your customer's journey across all their interactions with your brand on Facebook (e.g., business page, messenger, Instagram) or online spaces where you've integrated the Meta Pixel (e.g., your website). 

Or, it was, anyway.

Yes, I'm sorry to say, it's not them, it's you. Facebook Analytics is dumping all of us and is going away permanently on June 30.

If you've been relying upon the app to help you track your growth, engagement, and audience monetization efforts on Facebook, I know this is quite the gut punch. And you likely have a lot of questions:

• Why is Facebook Analytics going away? (Is it a personal attack?)
• What do you do without it for your analytics needs?

Let's dive into each question individually.

Why is Facebook Analytics going away?

Unfortunately, beyond this statement:

“Facebook Analytics will no longer be available after June 30, 2021. Until then, you will still be able to access reports, export charts and tables, and explore insights. To export data into a CSV file from Facebook Analytics on your desktop, click the arrow in the top-right corner of each chart or table.”

...Facebook did not provide any reason as to why this move was being made. They only made the announcement that it was, indeed, happening.

🎓 Free IMPACT+ course: Fundamentals of social media marketing for brands

What do you without Facebook Analytics?

Although they did not give any indication as to why the change was happening, the Facebook team did offer the following alternatives for those feeling adrift without Facebook Analytics as part of their future:

• Facebook Business Suite, the single point of entry for businesses managing their Instagram and Facebook business presences. Yes, it gives you insights into trends, audience, and content performance, however, it is not available to everyone.
• Ads manager, which is just what the name implies – this is your command center for all things Facebook and Instagram advertising.
• Events manager, again, is your command center for your branded events, whether they take place through your website, in an app, another virtual environment, or in-person.

Although it's not ideal, you should still be able to approximate the experience of Facebook Analytics across those three Facebook for Business tools. 

🔎 Related Facebook for business resources:

• How to maximize lead generation from Facebook posts and ads
• Facebook launches e-learning program for community managers
• Facebook removes 1,000+ ad targeting options for brands

Keep in mind, however, that it doesn't matter how many tools Facebook does or does not provide for you as a company. If you don't nail the fundamentals of Facebook advertising, online community management, and social media marketing best practices, your results potential will always be stunted.