Facebook Pixel
What you need to know
Haven’t heard of Facebook Pixel? Not surprising as it’s not exactly “advertised” but if you’re running advertisements on Facebook, using Facebook Pixel is a no-brainer.
What is Facebook Pixel?
Facebook Pixel is a piece of tracking code which is embedded into your website header that tracks users activity as they interact with your ads through the sales funnel to your website and then how they interact with your site.
Why use Facebook Pixel?
For anyone advertising on Facebook who has a website, this is a certainly a valuable feature to have, but there’s more. Utilising Facebook Pixel can help you to optimise future ads so your ad dollars are well spent and it an also be used to see how you might need to improve your website. Then Facebook Pixel also provides the opportunity to target website visitors with conversion ads. For businesses that sell products or services online, this is definitely a must have.
What does Facebook Pixel track?
Facebook Pixel assists with three key functions:
- Tracking conversions
- Optimising your ads, and
- Creating audiences to re-target with different ads.
So, what makes these three functions so interesting?
It’s about finding the most cost-effective way to advertise, or to get the most “bang for your buck”.
#1 Track conversions:
‘Conversion tracking can help your business measure the return on investment of Facebook Ads by reporting on the actions people take after your ads are viewed.’
A “conversion” is a completed action that you would like to see on your website. This includes subscribing to an emailing list, completing an online purchase, or filling out a contact form. These completed actions load to a webpage, such as a “thank you” screen. Each completed conversion (i.e. signed up for the email, purchased an item) has a different thank you screen. So how would this work in practice?
Let’s say you sell widgets for a living, and you charge $25 for each widget.
You spend $200 on advertising each month on Facebook, and this generates 100 clicks to the website (so your cost per click is $2). At the same time you’re also getting 60 clicks per month from Google searches. That month you made 5 widget sales.
Problem: How do you know which of those clicks are converting to sales?
This is where the Facebook pixel comes in. By tracking how many people have completed a conversion compared to the amount of people who have clicked the links, Pixel can track the “cost per conversion” per advert. From the above scenario, the direct cost of the conversion would be $50 (with a net loss of -$25 per sale). With Pixel tracking, it shows that you’re spending more money for people to buy your services than you are receiving in return!
#2 Optimise ads for conversions:
The conversion information that Facebook Pixel captures demographic details of those who have completed that action when clicking through from Facebook. This allows us as advertisers to use the bidding option of ‘Optimise for Website Conversions’. Facebook will then show our adverts to those people who are most likely to convert.
With the demographics data, Facebook can advertise on their website to those who are more likely to be interested in your product than the general public. For instance, a man between the age of 25 and 30 who is in a long-term relationship (ah, so that’s why they want that information!) is much more likely to buy an engagement ring than a 50-year-old married man with three children.
#3 Create retargeting ads:
This is a form of marketing in which those who have already interacted with your website, but haven’t converted, can be re-targeted. This is perfect for businesses who have a product or service that traditionally has a higher path to purchase, or where a purchase decision isn’t immediate. Think new home builders, cosmetic dentistry, financial planners, airlines and the like. It can also be used to covert one purchase into another through suggested and related products.
So how does it work? In simple terms: A potential customer visits your website, they leave without purchasing a widget. Your widget ad is served to them the next time they’re on Facebook, hopefully drawing them back to your website so they can buy a widget (or two!).
If you’ve looked at flights or accommodation recently, you’ll have probably then noticed their ads ‘following’ you around Facebook. This is retargeting. An example from Air BnB:
Retargeting has been proven to increase the likelihood of purchasing. These re-targeted customers – or “low hanging fruit” – have a higher click through rate and on average spend more.
How can I create my own Facebook Pixel?
To create your Facebook pixel:
- Log into your Facebook Advertising account
- Click Events Manager in the top left
- Select ‘All Tools’
- Under the Assets column, select ‘Pixels’
- Follow the prompts, accept the terms and conditions, and voila!
How do I set up the Pixel?
In an ideal world, this is where you should rely on your trusty web designer to help. Facebook Pixel needs to be placed in the code of your website, which may require a certain level of expertise. For example, a conversion may be someone clicking to call on your website, purchasing a product or completing your contact form, so it might be best leave this one to your developer if unsure how to successfully install and test the code.
If you have a WordPress website, there are several plugins to make the process much easier to implement by just entering the Pixel ID when prompted. Other CMS platforms also have implemented easy to follow tracking integrations.
To ensure your ads are utilising the correct Pixel, you should see the same Pixel ID number as the one you’re using on the website and a green light next to it indicating that the code is being seen and tracking correctly.
One of the biggest bonuses of Pixel is that it derives statistics that are a marketer’s dream: quantifiable data about the effectiveness of advertising. This helps with the age old comment: “50% of my marketing is working, I just don’t know which 50%!”
For assistance with creating a pixel for your ad account, you can book some social media coaching with us, book into our Social Media Advertising training course, or have a chat with us over coffee to discuss managing your Facebook advertising with Digital Marketing AOK.