How to read your Facebook insights
Find your typical post first — then everything else has meaning.
Posteriks finds posts that beat their own account baseline in your niche and helps you build your own version — not a copy. Check your own post free →
Facebook's dashboard throws a lot of numbers at you, and most creators fixate on the biggest ones. The useful way to read it is in two steps.
1. Establish your baseline. Look across your recent posts and find your typical engagement — the middle post, not the average (a couple of big hits inflate the average). That median is your yardstick.
2. Read everything against it. A few pointers on what each number means:
| Metric | What it really tells you |
|---|---|
| Reach | How many people saw it — distribution, not quality |
| Engagement | Reactions + comments + shares — how many cared |
| Shares | The strongest signal a post resonated |
| Follower total | Vanity — says nothing about which post worked |
The one question that matters: did this post beat my baseline, and by how much? Test any post against its median in the Baseline Beat Checker, or read what metrics actually matter. More in Answers.
FAQ
Should I use the average or the median of my posts?
The median — the middle post. A few big hits pull the average up so far it describes no real post, while the median reflects a typical one.
Is reach or engagement more important?
Reach shows how many saw a post; engagement shows how many cared. For judging whether content worked, engagement against your baseline is the honest signal.