Extracting Hard Data from Facebook Campaigns

And if you choose to advertise through Facebook, even more data options are available to you. The ad platform allows you to buy cost-per-click and cost-per-impression ads. According to Levy, the analytics for these features include:

• Current bid
• Number of impressions
• Number of clicks
• Click-through rate
• Average cost-per-click or cost-per-impression
• Reports detailing advertising performance, responder demographics, and responder profiles
• Your total spend on the ad

These features are comparable to what Google ads offer, but allow you to target a more specific group of consumers. Not too shabby for a social network.

What's more, the data you gather on Facebook can be used to benefit other areas of your marketing program. For the June issue of Healthcare Marketing Advisor I spoke to Michelle Davis, director of marketing operations and community development at Lowell (MA) General Hospital, about the organization's new mommy blog. One of the reasons Davis decided to launch a site for local mothers is that she used Facebook Insight to determine that 67% of their fans were women and that the majority of women fans were between 18 and 44 years old.

It's not enough to simply create a Facebook page any more—you've got to cultivate a community and analyze that community's demographics and habits and use that information to create more effective campaigns.

Now there's a strategy that will make your CEO's eyes focus.