The Facebook Pixel is without a doubt one of the most powerful tools in the social media marketer’s tool case. If you don’t have a pixel set up for your page, it’s time to get on the train! In this blog post, I’ll show you just how easy it is to set up your pixel and how you can use it to improve your social media ROI.
What can I do with the pixel installed?
With the Facebook Pixel installed, you’ll be able to reach the right people with your ads. The pixel fires every time someone visits your website or performs an action on your website, which allows you to create custom Retargeting audiences. You’re also able to create audiences that resemble the people visiting your website (also referred to as Lookalike audiences), which is an awesome tool for reaching potential new customers.
The pixel also allows you to track actions (called events) on your website, such as a purchase or a sign-up, and you can even optimize your ads for a desired action. And finally, with the pixel installed, you’re able to measure what happens on your website as a direct response to your ads, allowing you to properly measure your social media ROI (Return on Investment).
But isn’t it super difficult to set up the pixel?
Not necessarily. The Facebook Pixel is basically a piece of code that you apply to your website in order to track your visitors. If you’ve never dealt with coding of any kind, you should probably consider having someone help you. But a lot of websites actually have super cool integrations that allow you to set up your pixel in very few clicks. Check out this list to see if your website platform is on it.
So, where do I start?
You start by creating your pixel. This is done in Facebook’s Business Manager suite under the Pixels section (duh). The pixel cannot be deleted from the Business Manager afterward, so if you don’t want any duplicates, make sure you’re in the right ad account. Then just click the button Add New Data Source and choose Facebook Pixel.
You’ll then see a popup window where you can change the name of the pixel and enter the URL of the website you’re going to have the pixel installed (optional). When you’re done just hit Create.
The pixel is created… now what?
Now it’s time to install the piece of code on your website. If you’re not automatically taken there, click on the Set Up button in the top right corner and hit Install Pixel. You’ll then see a popup window where you’ll have three options. You can choose to install your pixel by (1) Connecting a Partner Platform – provided your website platform is on the list I referred to in the above. Or, if you’re fond of coding, you can (2) Manually Install the Pixel Code Yourself. And finally, if you have a team of developers that you work with, you can simply (3) E-mail the Instructions to a Developer and they’ll be able to set up your pixel for you.
How do I start tracking people?
First, you need to make sure the pixel is set up properly. Go to the pixel section in Business Manager and check the status. If your pixel is active, you’re good to go!
What that means is you’re actually tracking your visitors already. But you can do way more than just that with the pixel. Facebook has a number of standard events that you can track using the pixel. You read about those here: Best Practices for Standard Event Setup
But, one of the latest features from Facebook allows you to track certain events on your website without doing any coding at all. It’s really cool and super easy to set up!
Click on Set Up in the top right corner and choose Set Up Events. A popup window will appear and you’ll have the option of Using Facebook’s Event Setup Tool or Manually Installing the Event Code.
You’re going to use Facebook’s Event Setup Tool for this. In the next screen you’ll see a field for typing your website URL. It is important that the URL you type here is the same URL that has your Facebook Pixel installed. Type the URL and hit Open Website.
Now you’re taken to your website where you’ll see a quick guide on how to use the Event Setup Tool. Scroll through it in the slider here. And when you hit Get Started, the Facebook Event Setup Tool will open directly on your website.
In the example below, I want to set up an event that tracks people who click on the Book a demo button on our website. As you can see, the Event Setup Tool allows me to Track a button, so I’m going to click on that.
What happens then is that all buttons on our website are highlighted, and the Event Setup Tool encourages me to select the button I want to track. So, I click on Book a demo.
What happens then, is Facebook asks me to define what type of event this particular button click is. In this case, I’m going to go with Lead.
And that’s it! You’ll notice there is now a green sort of funnel icon on our page next to the Book a demo button, indicating that there is an event setup for it. When I’m happy with the event, I simply hit Finish Setup and I’m done.
What about e-commerce? How can I use the Facebook Pixel?
Good question. Provided you’ve set up your product catalog, the Facebook Pixel is your new best friend. Using the pixel, you’re able to set up Dynamic Product Ads that automatically “follow” your customers and potential customers around on Facebook/Instagram (and other parts of the web if you’re using Audience Network). This is something every e-commerce needs to have set up if they’re going to be successful.
Imagine someone visits your shop, adds a product to his or her shopping basket, continues to scroll through your site, and then they are disturbed for some reason or are not sure they want to purchase the product anyway. With the Facebook pixel, you are able to set up Dynamic Ads that target people who added products to their basket but for whatever reason didn’t finish the purchase. This is a huge opportunity for turning those people, who otherwise might have completely forgotten about you and your products, into customers, by making sure that you stay top of mind with them until they purchase the product.
So, is that all you can do with the pixel?
Absolutely not. There are literally endless possibilities in terms of which events you can track. You can set up your pixel to track specific parts of your website, specific actions performed on your website, time spent on your website. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. Some of these events might require some coding knowledge, but really, only your imagination is a barrier for what’s possible.
If you’re not using the Facebook Pixel yet, you are really missing out on a golden opportunity that’s literally right in front of you. So, what are you waiting for?