Facebook Public Data

Facebook Public Data lets you automatically export statistics from your public Facebook Pages and posts to Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or AI destinations like Claude and ChatGPT. Pull page engagement metrics and post performance data on a schedule without writing any code.

Why connect to Coupler.io?

• Automate reporting — Pull page and post statistics on a schedule instead of manually checking Meta Business Suite

• Centralize your data — Combine Facebook data with other sources using Join or Append transformations

• Send to your tools — Export directly to Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or AI platforms like Claude and Gemini

• No code required — Set up your data flow in minutes with an intuitive interface

Prerequisites

• A Facebook account with access to a public page you want to report on

• The page must have its "Followers and Public Content" settings visible to the public

• A destination to send the data (Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, or an AI destination)

Quick start

Connecting Facebook Public Data is fast — you'll authorize with Facebook via OAuth and select your report type and pages. Most users complete setup in under 5 minutes.

How to connect

1

Click "Create data flow" and search for "Facebook Public Data". Select it from the list and choose your destination (Google Sheets, Excel, BigQuery, Looker Studio, Claude, ChatGPT, or another AI platform).

2

Sign in with Facebook. You'll be redirected to Facebook to authorize Coupler.io to access your public page data. Click "Allow" to proceed.

3

Select your report type. Choose either "Public pages statistics" (overall page performance) or "Public posts statistics" (individual post metrics).

4

Enter your page ID or public alias. You can find your page ID in your page URL (e.g., facebook.com/yourpagename — use yourpagename or the numeric ID like 123456789). If you have multiple pages, enter one ID per line.

5

Set date range (posts only). If you selected "Public posts statistics", use the date pickers to set the "Published after" and "Published before" dates. For page statistics, Facebook returns all available data automatically.

6

Configure your destination and run the data flow. Review your settings, map any required columns in your destination, then click "Run" to complete your first import. After a successful run, you can schedule future refreshes.

Facebook Public Data data overview

Facebook Public Data gives you two report types: page-level statistics and post-level statistics. Both pull data from public Facebook Pages only — you cannot import data from personal profiles using this source.

Report types

Report Type	What it shows	Best for
Public pages statistics	Aggregated metrics for your entire page (followers, engagement, reach)	Tracking overall page health and trends
Public posts statistics	Performance of individual posts published to your page	Analyzing which content performs best

Page statistics metrics

Engagement

• Page likes

• New followers (daily)

• Page views (daily)

• Post views (daily)

• Follower demographics (age, gender, location, language)

Visibility & reach

• Page reach

• Impressions

• Website clicks

• Call button clicks

• Direction request clicks

Post statistics metrics

Performance

• Post reach

• Post impressions

• Engagements (total interactions)

• Shares

• Comments

• Reactions (likes, love, haha, wow, sad, angry)

• Clicks (external links, CTAs)

Content details

• Post type (status, photo, video, link)

• Post creation date

• Post text/caption

• Permalink to the post

Common analysis patterns

Track post performance over time — Use "Public posts statistics" to identify your best-performing content by reach, engagement, or specific reaction types. Filter by date range to analyze seasonal trends.

Compare multiple pages — Enter multiple page IDs (one per line) to pull statistics from all your pages in a single data flow. Use an Append transformation if you want to combine them into one table, or keep them separate for side-by-side comparison.

Join post data with external sources — Combine post statistics with your marketing data in Google Sheets or BigQuery using a Join transformation. For example, match posts with paid campaign data by date to see organic vs. paid impact.

Use cases by role

Social media managers

Pull weekly or daily post performance reports to see which content resonates with your audience. Use "Public posts statistics" to identify top-performing posts by engagement and reach, then replicate that content style. Export to Google Sheets for easy sharing with the team.

Marketing teams

Combine Facebook data with ad spend data from other sources using a Join transformation. Export page statistics to Google Sheets or Looker Studio to build dashboards tracking follower growth, reach, and engagement over time. Use this to justify social media investment.

Business analysts

Aggregate post data across multiple pages and time periods in BigQuery. Create custom calculations (engagement rate, reach per post, etc.) and build dashboards in Looker Studio. Use Append transformations to centralize data from all your pages for company-wide reporting.

AI & content insights

Send post data and captions to Claude or ChatGPT via Coupler.io's AI destinations to auto-generate content insights, identify themes in top-performing posts, or get recommendations for future content. Send page statistics to Gemini or Perplexity for competitive analysis.

Platform-specific notes

• Page IDs vs. usernames — You must use either your page's numeric ID (e.g., 123456789) or its public alias (e.g., yourpagename). Do not use the full URL or page name. If unsure, visit your page, look at the URL, and extract the ID or name.

• Public pages only — This source works only for pages with public content. Personal profiles cannot be imported, even if the profile is set to public.

• No custom date ranges for page stats — "Public pages statistics" returns all available historical data from Facebook. You cannot filter by a specific date range for overall page metrics.

• Post data requires date range — "Public posts statistics" requires you to set both "Published after" and "Published before" dates. Posts outside this range will not be returned.

• Data freshness — Facebook typically updates public page data within a few hours. Scheduled refreshes work best on a daily or weekly basis.

Facebook Public Data common issues

Connection issues

"Objects with IDs don't exist, cannot be loaded due to missing permissions" error

This error occurs when the page ID or alias you entered doesn't exist or isn't accessible. Common causes:

• Using page name instead of ID — Make sure you're entering the page's numeric ID (e.g., 123456789) or public alias (e.g., yourpagename), not the full Facebook URL or the page's display name.

• Page is not public — The page must have its "Followers and Public Content" settings visible to the public. Go to your page settings and ensure all content is set to public.

• Typo in page ID — Double-check the ID or alias for spelling errors.

• Facebook API access — Rarely, Facebook's API may temporarily block access to a page due to security flags or account issues.

Fix: Verify your page ID is correct, ensure your page settings are public, and try again. If the error persists, wait a few minutes and try once more — Facebook's API may need time to process permissions.

"Facebook API has failed" error

This is a temporary API communication issue between Coupler.io and Facebook.

Fix: Wait a few minutes and run the data flow again. If the error persists after multiple attempts, contact Coupler.io support with your data flow URL and a screenshot of the error.

"Unexpected error" when running the data flow

This can occur due to API timeouts, temporary Facebook service issues, or authentication problems.

Fix: Try running the data flow again. If the problem continues, check that your Facebook authorization is still valid by disconnecting and re-authorizing the Facebook source. If you're still seeing the error, contact support — this may be a known issue being addressed by our team.

Missing data

No data returned for posts in my date range

Facebook's API only returns posts that were published within your specified date range. If you're not seeing any data, verify:

• Date range is correct — Make sure your "Published after" and "Published before" dates are set correctly and that the page actually has posts in that period.

• Page ID is correct — Confirm you entered the right page ID; you may have selected the wrong page.

Fix: Double-check your date range and page ID, then run the data flow again.

Page statistics show no data or partial data

Facebook returns all available page statistics automatically, but data may be limited if:

• Page is very new — Pages less than a few days old may have minimal data.

• Page is inactive — If no posts or engagement exist, metrics may be zero or empty.

Fix: This is expected behavior. If your page has activity but data is still missing, check that your page settings are fully public.

Can't find my page in the dropdown or data flow

The Facebook Public Data source requires you to manually enter page IDs or aliases — there is no dropdown picker to select pages. This is by design to allow flexibility for multiple pages and avoiding selection errors.

Fix: Instead, find your page ID and enter it in the "Pages" field. You can find it by visiting your page and extracting the numeric ID from the URL or by using Facebook's Page ID lookup tool.

Permission errors

Authorization fails or "Permission denied" message

This occurs when your Facebook account doesn't have sufficient permissions to access the page.

Fix:

1. Ensure you're logged into the correct Facebook account that has admin or editor access to the page.

2. If you're an admin, try signing out and signing back in.

3. If the page is managed by another account, have the page admin re-authorize in Coupler.io.

4. Ensure your Facebook account hasn't had its permissions restricted by Facebook for security reasons.

"Followers and Public Content" settings are required but data still won't load

Even with public settings enabled, there's a delay for Facebook to process and expose data through the API.

Fix: Wait 30 minutes to 1 hour after making page settings public, then try again. If still failing, disconnect and re-authorize your Facebook account in Coupler.io.

Data discrepancies

Metrics in Coupler.io don't match Meta Business Suite

Minor discrepancies are normal and can occur due to:

• Different calculation times — Meta Business Suite and the Facebook API may calculate metrics at slightly different times, causing variations in reaching, impressions, or engagement.

• Rounding differences — Coupler.io and Meta may round numbers differently.

• API delays — The Facebook API may return slightly stale data compared to the real-time Meta Business Suite dashboard.

Fix: This is expected behavior. For business-critical analysis, use Meta Business Suite as the source of truth. Coupler.io is best used for automation and integration with other tools.

Post reaction counts are lower than expected

Facebook's API includes only certain reaction types and may not count all historical data for very old posts.

Fix: This is a limitation of the Facebook API. If you need comprehensive reaction data, check Meta Business Suite directly, which may show more detailed breakdowns.

Rate limits

"Rate limit exceeded" or request throttling errors

Facebook enforces rate limits on API requests. If you're running multiple data flows or refreshing very frequently, you may hit these limits.

Fix: Space out your data flow runs. Instead of running multiple flows at once, schedule them for different times. For example, refresh page stats every 24 hours rather than every hour.

Facebook Public Data FAQ

What's the difference between a page ID and a public alias?

A page ID is a unique numeric identifier (e.g., 123456789), while a public alias is a custom name (e.g., yourpagename). Both work in Coupler.io — use whichever is easier for you. To find your page ID, visit your page and extract the number from the URL. To find your public alias, look at the URL after facebook.com/ (e.g., facebook.com/yourpagename → use yourpagename).

Can I import data from a personal Facebook profile?

No, the Facebook Public Data source works only with public Pages, not personal profiles. Even if a profile is set to public, the API does not expose profile post data. If you need data from a profile, that person would need to convert it to a Page, or you can manually download their content from their profile.

How far back does historical data go?

For "Public pages statistics", Facebook returns all available data from when the page was created (sometimes back several years). For "Public posts statistics", the API returns data for all posts in your specified date range, but very old posts (more than a few years) may have limited metrics available.

Why am I seeing "Objects with IDs 'Birthdays' don't exist" error?

This error occurs when you accidentally enter a page name or ID that doesn't correspond to a real page. Common mistakes include entering:

• The page's display name (e.g., "My Business Page") instead of the alias or ID

• A misspelled page alias or ID

• A username instead of a page ID

Verify your page ID is correct and try again. Use the Facebook page URL to confirm the exact alias or numeric ID.

Can I set a custom date range for page statistics?

No — "Public pages statistics" returns all available historical data automatically without a date filter. Facebook's API does not support date ranges for page-level metrics. If you only want recent data, you can filter it manually after export or use a formula in your spreadsheet.

However, "Public posts statistics" does require a date range — you must set both "Published after" and "Published before" dates.

How often should I schedule data flow refreshes?

Facebook's API typically updates data within 1–3 hours. Scheduling refreshes every 24 hours (daily) or every 7 days (weekly) is recommended. Refreshing more frequently (e.g., hourly) wastes quota and will return the same data. See our best practices guide for more scheduling tips.

Why are my metrics different from Meta Business Suite?

Minor discrepancies are normal due to different calculation times and rounding. The Facebook API may return slightly delayed data compared to Meta Business Suite's real-time dashboard. For business-critical analysis, use Meta Business Suite as the source of truth. Coupler.io is best for automation and integration with other tools.

See the Data Discrepancies section in Common Issues for more details.

Can I combine data from multiple pages into one report?

Yes — enter multiple page IDs or aliases (one per line) in the "Pages" field. All pages will be imported into the same data flow. If you want to stack them into a single table, use an Append transformation. If you prefer to keep them separate for comparison, export them as separate sheets or tables.

Can I join Facebook data with other sources like Google Ads or email data?

Yes — use Coupler.io's Join transformation to combine Facebook data with other sources by matching on date, campaign, or other common fields. For example, match posts by date with ad spend data to see organic vs. paid impact. This works best with destinations like Google Sheets or BigQuery.

What should I do if a data flow keeps failing with "Unexpected error"?

Temporary API issues or authentication problems can cause unexpected errors. First, try running the data flow again. If it continues to fail:

1. Disconnect the Facebook source from your data flow.

2. Re-authorize your Facebook account by connecting it again.

3. Run the data flow once more.

If the error persists, contact Coupler.io support with your data flow URL and a screenshot — there may be a known issue being addressed by our team.

See the Connection Issues section for more troubleshooting steps.

Can I send Facebook data to an AI destination like Claude or ChatGPT?

Yes — Coupler.io supports AI destinations including Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Perplexity, and OpenClaw. You can export your page or post statistics directly to an AI platform for analysis, insights, or content recommendations. For example, send post captions and engagement data to Claude to identify themes in your top-performing content.