Unlike other platforms, Facebook does not support keyword searching through its API. This means it is technically impossible for any tool or platform, not just Mentionlytics, to search across the entire Facebook platform for a specific phrase or keyword the way you might in a search bar.
Even if you search manually as a user, Facebook's native search returns very limited results, typically filtered to content from your friends or friends of friends. This is a Facebook restriction, not a limitation of Mentionlytics or any other monitoring system.
What the Facebook API does allow is fetching posts from specific, predefined pages, but only those pages, and only when you have identified them in advance.
How Mentionlytics Handles Facebook Monitoring
Because of this limitation, Facebook monitoring in Mentionlytics works through monitored page lists rather than keyword searches. There are two layers:
1. Mentionlytics' own monitored list
We maintain an internal list of hundreds of popular public Facebook pages that we monitor continuously. Whenever a post on any of those pages contains your tracked keywords, it gets captured and delivered as a mention.
This list is regularly updated and covers a wide range of popular pages.
2. Your own Monitored FB Pages (Advanced plans and above)
In Settings → Monitored FB Pages, you can add specific Facebook pages you want us to monitor for your keywords.
This is particularly useful for niche or industry-specific pages that may not be on our default list. Any public page you add here will be scanned for posts containing your keywords.
⚠️ Note: Adding a Facebook page as a Social Profile (requiring Facebook Page authorization) allows us to fetch all posts from that page. Adding it as a Monitored FB Page captures only posts that contain your keywords.
Why You Should Add Facebook Pages Proactively
Since there is no automatic way to discover relevant mentions across Facebook, the quality of your Facebook monitoring depends directly on how many relevant pages are included in the monitored list.
We recommend thinking ahead. If there are Facebook pages related to your industry, competitors, media outlets, or topic areas where your brand might be discussed in the future, it's worth adding them now rather than waiting for a mention to appear.
For example, if you operate in banking or financial services, pages related to the banking sector, consumer rights, or financial news would be worth adding proactively, even before any relevant discussion arises.
How to Add a Monitored Facebook Page
Go to Settings in your Mentionlytics account.
Select Monitored FB Pages.
Add the URL or name of the Facebook page you want to monitor.
Save — we will begin scanning that page for posts containing your keywords.
💡 If there are specific pages you'd like us to add on our end, reach out to your account manager or our support team, and we'll get them added to our monitoring list.