The key to any digital marketing strategy involves testing, tracking and refining based on the data.
When it comes to Facebook and Instagram ads, you must incorporate the free-to-use Facebook Pixel to obtain the best data tied to your campaign performance.
The Facebook Pixel is essentially a piece of code that you input onto your website. Once installed, it collects data that enables you to track conversions from your Facebook or Instagram ads, optimize those ads, create target audiences and retarget those who’ve already performed an action of some kind on your website.
To accomplish this, the Facebook Pixel places and triggers cookies to track website visitors as they interact with your website.
For example, a user could add a product of yours to the shopping cart but then leave your website before purchasing. Your Facebook Pixel can then make it possible for you to serve related ads about that product to that user while they’re browsing Instagram Stories. This reflects its retargeting capabilities.
It’s a must-use tool.
In fact, about 5.3 million websites use the Facebook Pixel. And they use it not just because of its tracking features, but also because using it helps the overall return on investment (ROI) of their Facebook ad campaigns. It’s all about increased efficiency.
And you can easily install it yourself if you have access to your website’s code. If not, you can contact your website developer. If your website is powered by an eCommerce platform (such as Shopify), Facebook has partnerships that make the installation process easy, as well as the creation of a product catalog and the ability to run related ads.
You can find your Facebook Pixel (and functionality) in the Data Sources interface of your Facebook Events Manager.
The following are five tips to help you best use the Facebook Pixel for your digital marketing efforts.
Understand what the Facebook Pixel can track
The Facebook Pixel offers tracking for 17 standard “events” (aka actions that occur on your website):
- Lead, when a visitor submits their information in any way on your website
- Complete Registration, when a visitor completes a registration form on your website
- Start Trial, when a visitor signs up for a free trial on your website
- Customize Product, when a user selects a specific version of a product (by choosing a color, for example)
- Add To Cart, when a visitor adds a product to his or her shopping cart on your website
- Add Payment Information, when a visitor enters his or her payment information during the purchase process on your website
- Initiate Checkout, when a visitor begins the checkout process to buy something on your website
- Purchase, when a visitor makes a purchase of any kind on your website
- Schedule, when a visitor books an appointment for your business on your website
- Submit Application, when a visitor applies for your product, service or program (a credit card application, for example)
- Subscribe, when a visitor subscribes to a paid product or service on your website
- Donate, when a visitor makes a donation on your website
- Add To Wishlist, when a visitor adds a product to a wishlist on your website
- Search, when a visitor uses the search function on your website
- Find Location, when a visitor searches for your business’s physical location on your website
- View Content, when a visitor lands on a specific page of your website
- Contact, when a visitor contact your business through the website
Use parameters to add details to your tracking
You can go beyond the standard events that the Facebook Pixel can track by adding details. This can be done through extra pieces of code called parameters.
You can narrow in on such factors as:
- Content type
- Currency
- How much a conversion event is worth
- Predicted long-term value
This means that you can use the Facebook Pixel to track a specific area or category of your website. For example, a salon website can separate those interested in hair services from those interested in nail services based on which sections of the website were viewed.98\
Be aware of newer iOS tracking limits
While there’s nothing you can do about it, it is worthwhile to understand that due to third-party tracking changes beginning in iOS 14.5, some Facebook Pixel functionality is disabled in updated Apple devices.
This can feel disheartening in your targeting efforts, but know that only about 15 percent of mobile Facebook users access the platform using iOS devices.
Nonetheless, one consequence of this change is that advertisers can only set up a maximum of eight standard events and custom conversions for tracking.
Think about the full picture
Ultimately, your strategy and how you want to use the Facebook Pixel are up to you. That being said, it’s recommended to place the Pixel base code on every page of your website.
Doing so ensures that you:
- Won’t miss any conversion events.
- Have complete control over how and what you decide to track.
Consider the logic of what you want to track to best identify the events you choose. Think about your customer’s journey on your website and what matters most to your business.
What are your company’s goals? What are the goals of your advertising campaign? If you’re not sure, check out our seven expert tips to set achievable marketing goals.
A few suggested strategies:
- Retarget visitors with true interest by targeting anyone who stayed on your website for at least 45 seconds.
- Use Advanced Matching features that help match your website visitors with their Facebook profiles when turned on. This improves conversion attribution and helps you reach more people.
- Segment your audience by browsing behavior based on the products or website sections they engaged with. (You then could target them with specific ads containing related coupon codes, for example.)
- Create Lookalike Audiences with your data to target users (who haven’t yet visited your website) with similar demographics and behavior as those who have visited your website.
- Determine your audience’s intent through their URL activity as long as you have smart, clear URL structures.
Just know that you don’t have to wait to install your Facebook Pixel. Do so right away so that you can begin gathering insights as soon as possible.
Monitor the performance of your Facebook Pixel
Obviously, the Facebook Pixel offers you a wealth of information.
You can track your Facebook ad conversions across platforms and devices to better understand your customers’ journey and behavior, for example, and then use this information to refine your strategy as needed.
Just make sure to compare you’re comparing your ad clicks to actual traffic data. Not all clicks convert into a true landing page view. One reason for this is any loading speed issues your website might have.
Keeping an eye on your ad campaign performance and the insights it yields over time will help you pivot your overall strategy as needed.
See our seven tips to better target your Facebook ads.
Looking to level up your digital marketing process beyond the Facebook Pixel? Schedule your free demo of DailyStory today.
