If you are interested in collecting and analyzing data from Facebook pages we hereby provide a short how-to guide. You can only collect data from public pages so that means no automated collection of groups or personal profiles. You might experience some issues with posts that are not collected. Always check that the data you collect appears to be complete by going to the facebook page and comparing numbers of likes/comments/shares and posts. I you experience any issue, then try to collect smaller amounts of data in a shorter amount of time. You can always merge multiple data sets later on.
This guide requires Excel and a Facebook account.
- Find Facebook ID
- Go to the Facebook page that you want to collect data from via a web browser
- Copy the URL address
- Paste the address into the available space at https://lookup-id.com/
- Copy the number (Facebook ID) that you receive through this process.
- Collect data from Facebook pages via Netvizz
- Go to the app Netvizz via url: https://apps.facebook.com/107036545989762/
- Install and accept permission for the app. This is a university app developed by the University of Amsterdam, and your data is not stored on their servers.
- Press the link Page posts and insert the FB ID
- Choose date and other collection details. Leave the posts statistics only selected unless you are specifically interested in the content of comments
- Press posts by page only or posts by page and users
- Scroll down to the bottom bellow both graphs. This is tricky on a Mac, since you might not see the option or scrolling. Bellow the two graphs you will find the download link saying Download link as zip file. Press that link to download the file.
- Open in Excel
- Unpack the zip-file by double pressing it.
- Choose the file that is NOT called statsperday.
- Open the the file by right clicking and going to open with click and other.
- Select all programs rather than recommended programs and then find your Excel program.
- Click the Excel program and view the data via Excel.
You should now have an overview of the collected data via Excel sorted into columns and rows. If the data does not appear to be sorted into columns then select column A and press Data and then text to columns. Choose delimited and than select tab and press finish.
Watch two how to guides from the developer himself. The interface has changed a little since then, but overall it is very similar.