Export your Advanced Analytics data

Export CSV files of your Advanced Analytics data to a dedicated Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) folder. You can then pull your social data in a safe and secure way to utilize it with third-party business intelligence tools like Tableau or Power BI.

Get set up to export your data

Make sure the accounts you want to export data from are Advanced Analytics accounts. You'll need to contact your customer account manager to request your dedicated SFTP directory and access.

1. Exports only include data from Advanced Analytics accounts - so make sure the accounts you want to export data from are Advanced Analytics accounts (see Manage your Advanced Analytics accounts).
2. Contact your customer account manager to request data export via SFTP. Once we receive your request, it can take up to two weeks to process it, set up your dedicated Hootsuite-hosted SFTP directory, and provide your access credentials. Once processed, you'll receive an email from our Advanced Analytics team with credentials to access your dedicated SFTP directory.

Download and install an FTP client

Once you receive your SFTP credentials, you'll need to install an FTP client. We recommend you work with your IT team to help you install your FTP client and extract your files.

Download and install an FTP client like FileZilla, which can be downloaded from filezilla-project.org. During installation, you'll be asked to enter the following information:

• Host - sftp://s-4847307e654242858.server.transfer.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/
• Username and Password - These are the credentials our Advanced Analytics team sent you via email.
• Port - 22.

Access your data export files

Open your FTP application to access the Advanced Analytics files in your dedicated Hootsuite-hosted SFTP directory. Each daily export folder contains a single dated folder (yyyy_mm_dd) containing 30+ CSV files. Each folder is typically around 4-8 MB in size. Your SFTP directory will retain files for up to 90 days - files older than that are deleted.

The following image shows an example of a file in an SFTP directory in FileZilla.

Locate your files and download them using the instructions specific to your FTP application. Downloaded files can be opened using any application that supports CSV (for example, Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets). We recommend you work with your IT team or third-party tool provider to use the files to enable reporting in their tools.

Tip: For best results, download your data for the previous day.

Understand the data in your export

Each folder contains daily Page-level and post-level data, web analytics metrics for your connected accounts, and tag information included in your posts. No personally identifiable information, personal data relating to actions taken by a specific individual, information on Pages or posts not directly owned by you, or data from accounts you own that are not connected to Hootsuite is included. For example, you may see that your post received ten new likes yesterday or that your post received five new comments. But you won't be able to identify the ten people who liked the post, the five people who commented, or what the comments contained. For additional information, download the following resources:

• Data export schema and metric definitions
• ZIP file of sample files

We support exporting data from the following social account types:

• Facebook Pages
• Instagram Business
• Facebook and Instagram ads
• X
  
  Note: X restricts exports of X organic data to the post ID and Hootsuite tags. X engagement metrics such as likes, reposts, and replies are not included.
• X ads
• TikTok
• YouTube
• Pinterest

We cannot export data from Threads, LinkedIn Profiles, LinkedIn Pages, or LinkedIn ads.

About the metric files in your export

Your export includes both daily and lifetime metric files. Note the following information about each file type:

• Files with daily Page-level metrics (for example, Page likes, Page views, and Page shares) include _daily in the file name. For example, facebook_metrics_daily.csv. Tables in these files include a Date column that shows the daily values for the Page. For example, yesterday your Page had two likes, today it had three likes, the total likes so far would be five.
• Files with lifetime post-level metrics (for example, Post reach, Post views, and Post likes) include _content in the file name. For example, facebook_content.csv. These files show total values for the lifetime posts published on a specific social network, and they update each day. For example, if your post had ten likes yesterday, and two more today, you'd see twelve likes for today (10+2).

Metrics included in your export

For detailed information about the metrics included in your export, see the Data export schema and metric definitions.

Things to note when looking at metrics:

• New metrics - As new metrics are added, they'll be included in a new column at the end of the table. For example, if a new Facebook Page followers metric was added, a new column would be added to end of the facebook_metrics_daily.csv table.
• Deprecated metrics - If a social network removes a metric, the column containing that metric will remain, but the values from the time the metric was deprecated will be blank (the column will be empty).
• Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics metrics - These metrics will start with ga: or aa:. Because these are metrics you customize, they're added to a new column at the end of any affected tables.

FAQ

Does the Hootsuite SFTP server have a static IP? Not at this time.

What kind of credentials do I need to access the SFTP server? Your customer account manager will provide the endpoint, username, and password to access your dedicated SFTP server.

When will I start receiving data? Once the export is configured, data will be available the following day.

How often will I receive new data? New files are added daily.

How many files are included in my export? This depends on the Advanced Analytics accounts you have connected to Hootsuite. Check the Data export schema and metric definitions for detailed information about the data in the export.

How long will it take from the time I connect an account to Advanced Analytics to include data from that account in my export? The data will be available the following day.

Why aren't there any files in my SFTP directory? Make sure you have connected your accounts to Advanced Analytics (see Manage your Advanced Analytics accounts). Exports only include data from Advanced Analytics accounts.

How do I find my exported data? Open your FTP application to access the Advanced Analytics files in your dedicated Hootsuite-hosted SFTP directory. Each daily export folder contains a single dated folder (yyyy_mm_dd) containing 30+ CSV daily and lifetime metrics files. Use the following to distinguish between file types:

• Files with daily Page-level metrics (for example, Page likes) include _daily in the file name.
• Files with lifetime post-level metrics (for example, Post likes) include _content in the file name.

Once I connect an account to Advanced Analytics, what past data is available for that account? All of the data available for that account in Hootsuite is included. That means, if you had data for that account in 2021, the export will include that data.

Do the most recent export files only include one day of data? No, your export files include all the historical data plus the data from the previous day. In case any issues appear, you can reference the files from the previous day.

What kind of metrics are available in the export? Page-level and post-level metrics for both organic and paid data are included. Web analytics metrics are included for integrated accounts.

Can I customize the data or add other metrics? Not at this time.

How often are metrics added or deprecated? Metrics can be added or removed by social networks at any time. We are committed to giving you a minimum of three weeks notice before adding any new metrics, so you can manage any changes. New and deprecated metrics are handled as follows in your exports:

• As new metrics are added, they'll be included in a new column at the end of the table. For example, if a new Facebook Page followers metric was added, a new column would be added to end of the facebook_metrics_daily.csv table.
• If a social network removes a metric, the column containing that metric will remain, but the values from the time the metric was deprecated will be blank (the column will be empty).

What are the names and content in each of the export files? Check the Data export schema and metric definitions for detailed information about the data in the export.

Can I look at a sample of an export so I can better understand what's included? Yes! Download a ZIP of sample files here.

Can Hootsuite provide export files for my accounts without setting up the SFTP server? No, unfortunately this is not possible. If you want to review a sample of data export files, you can download a ZIP of sample files here.