It’s no secret that Facebook gives priority to content that has been produced by family and friends but where does that leave businesses? How can businesses get their content seen amongst the noise of individual posts? It really only leaves one effective option – Facebook and/or Instagram advertising (Facebook and Instagram are one company). As soon as you consider this, the term Facebook Pixel will crop up but what actually is this mystical thing? Do you have one? Do you need one?
What is the Facebook Pixel?
The Facebook Pixel is a piece of code that’s unique to you. Once this code is installed on your website, it tracks what each website visitor does (what they click on, and which pages they view). In Facebook world, these actions are called ‘events’. So, in a real-life situation this could look like this:
Someone has searched for ‘take-away restaurants in Chelmsford on Google and has found your details. They click on your link and arrive on your website. Once they arrive, they place an online order and home delivery.
Your Facebook Pixel is tracking this visitor and everything they have just done. This means that you can add this visitor to future marketing campaigns that specifically target people that have already ordered from you, making them much more personal and effective.
Why is this important?
No matter who we are, we only have a certain amount of budget to allocate to Facebook ads so it is important this budget is used most effectively. Creating ads that specifically target people that take certain actions or reach a certain point in their user journey ensure the message in the ads are tailored to them, and therefore maximise the chance of the ad being effective.
Show me another scenario…
OK. I was flicking through my Instagram Stories this morning and I found an ad for a really cool hair moisturiser (the holy grail of beauty products – along with the perfect lip gloss which I’m still searching for). I swiped up. The moisturiser was £19.99 – quite a lot for a hair mask but I added it to my basket. Then I chickened out – I don’t need to spend that much. I left it in my basket.
This afternoon I had another look at my stories and what was the first thing that popped up? An ad for my hair moisturiser with a code for 15% off and a reminder that I’d left it in my basket! Cool! I gave in. I bought it.
That’s not all. I nipped over from Instagram to Facebook on my laptop. On the right hand side were ads for the same brand! They do a good detangler too – who knew?! I’m considering it.
What can I track?
There are seventeen standard events that you can track on your website with your Facebook Pixel and you can choose up to eight of these to track at any one time.
- Add Payment Info: Someone enters their payment information in the purchase process on your website.
- Add to Cart: Someone adds a product to their shopping basket on your site.
- Add to Wish List: Someone adds a product to a wish list on your site.
- Complete Registration: Someone completes a registration form on your site, such as a subscription form.
- Contact: Someone contacts your business.
- Customize Product: Someone selects a specific version of a product, such as choosing a certain colour.
- Donate: Someone makes a donation to your cause.
- Find Location: Someone searches for your business’s physical location.
- Initiate Checkout: Someone starts the checkout process to buy something from your site.
- Lead: Someone signs up for a trial or otherwise identifies themselves as a lead on your site.
- Purchase: Someone completes a purchase on your website.
- Schedule: Someone books an appointment at your business.
- Search: Someone uses the search function to look for something on your site.
- Start Trial: Someone signs up for a free trial of your product.
- Submit Application: Someone applies for your product, service, or program, such as a credit card.
- Subscribe: Someone subscribes to a paid product or service.
- View Content: Someone lands on a specific page on your website.
Where can I get a Facebook Pixel?
You can create your Facebook Pixel code in your Facebook account in Facebook Events Manager. Once this is done, you’ll need to install your Pixel in your website. We’d love to give you instructions but this really does depend on what platform your website is built on (WordPress/SquareSpace/Wix/BigCommerce/Shopify) etc.
Once you’re up and running, remember you’ll need to add a notification on your homepage, telling visitors that you’re using cookies and asking them to agree.
If you’d like to find out more about using Facebook Pixel, feel free to contact us. And you really didn’t need that hair moisturiser – you look fabulous as you are.
