Whether you have been in the internet marketing game for 5 minutes, 5 months or 5 years – at some point you’re going to hear the phrase Facebook Pixels. But, what the heck is a Facebook Pixel? Why do you need one? And, what can a Facebook Pixel do for you? We’re going to dive into all the things you should know about the importance of utilizing Facebook Pixels, right now.

So strap in, and get ready to have your mind blown. You’re welcome in advance.

What the heck is a Facebook Pixel?

Straight from the social horse’s mouth, “The Facebook pixel is an analytics tool that allows you to measure the effectiveness of your advertising by understanding the actions people take on your website. You can use pixel data to:

• Make sure your ads are being shown to the right people
• Build advertising audiences
• Unlock additional Facebook advertising tools”

A more user-friendly way of saying this is, a Facebook Pixel is a piece of code you add to your website that helps you determine what people are doing on your site once they get there.

By using the Facebook Pixel you can better measure the performance of your Facebook ads, and as a result glean knowledge of how to optimize future ads for more leads, and better sales conversions. With the data you collect via the Facebook Pixel you can find new potential customers, set up targeted ads, and even create “Lookalike Audiences” to reach people that mirror your ideal customers.

Monetize It Tip:

Retargeted ads allow you to capture the attention of someone who’ve viewed your website but left without buying. 

Have you ever visited a website, and suddenly it felt like that site was following you around Facebook? They show up in your feed, they’re hanging out on your sidebar, and they’re even creepin’ in between cat videos you’re secretly watching while you should be working.

You can thank Facebook Pixels for that. And, you’ve just stumbled upon a great tool you can use to stalk, er I mean follow, your target audience around on Facebook too.

Picture this: You’ve created an ad that sent people to your website. Heaps of people clicked on that ad, and then were directed to check out your killer offer. But, some of them didn’t pull the trigger and purchase anything once they landed on your page.

Maybe it was a mom who got distracted when her kid jumped off the back of the couch, or the phone rang, the timer for the microwave went off, someone was at the door or a dreaded homework meltdown.

Now what?

With the help of the Facebook Pixel you can retarget those people who didn’t buy anything, with customized ads that may just compel them to go back and buy after all.

Remarketing is an effective way of advertising, because you bring something new to someone who has already shown interest in this.

Now that person who was on the fence, or got distracted, has read something in your new retargeted ad that makes them realize they need your brilliant offer, and bam! Just like that, with hardly any additional effort, you closed another sale.

A mini-case study: Proof FB ads are working.

One of our clients needed proof her Facebook ads were working. We removed the cob webs on her data, and set up her pixels to optimize and track ad performance through her sales funnels.

She was amazed to learn that with the help of her Facebook Pixel she was able to track everything from whitepaper downloads, all the way to a purchase. The above screenshot was from the first two sales that came in during the her launch.

I explained to her that we can track anything as long as the pixels and values listed on them are correct (within a window of time).  We know that our clients want to see how their money is working every step of the way through their funnels, and Facebook pixels make it possible to deliver that data.

What all can you track with a Facebook Pixel?

There are 9 standard events you can track with a Facebook Pixel. These include:

• Lead: If someone signs up for a free trial, or somehow identifies themselves as a new lead on your website
• View page: Someone simply shows up as a visitor to your website
• Purchase: Just like it sounds – someone bought something on your website
• Search: If you have a search function on your website and someone uses it, Facebook will keep track of which searches are being done regularly
  • This is a good way to see which products on your website are frequently being searched for
  • Using this info you can also set up a page or section of your website featuring your most popularly searched products, gain insight as to whether or not a demand justifies a price increase, or something completely different
• Complete registration: If you are giving away a lead magnet, hosting a webinar, or hosting some other virtual event, this Pixel tracker lets you know when someone has successfully completed registration for it
• Add to cart: A person on your site adds a product to the shopping cart on your site
  • This is how you’ll sometimes be targeted with an advertisement that asks if you forgot to check out, or invites you to complete your purchase
• Add to wishlist: If you have a function that allows someone to add a product or service to a wishlist on your site, this Pixel tracker is perfect
  • Have you ever noticed how when you visit Amazon.com and add something to the Amazon wishlist, suddenly you see ads all over Facebook for that item? Well, this Pixel tracker is how that occurs
  • Some companies will take that wishlist item you’ve added, and create a retargeted Facebook ad offering you a discount that makes you feel like you simply can’t live without it now
• Initiate checkout: Again, if someone starts to checkout, but then abandons cart, this is how you can retarget them with an ad that says something like “finish your purchase”
• Add payment info: This Pixel tracker lets you know that someone has entered their payment information during the process of purchasing something on your site

What can a Facebook Pixel do for you?

Facebook is showing no signs of slowing down. It grows by leaps and bounds daily. If you’re not already advertising with Facebook, you should be. And, if you are advertising, but not seeing the returns you would like, it’s time to up your game.

The reality is that every age category is active on Facebook, and Facebook has already done a lot of the hard work for you by breaking their demographics way down. We’re talking to the point that you can even target just people who like superhero movies – can you say niched?

You can send an ad to only women, that are aged 65-79 years old, who live in New York, and like knitting and cruising if you want to. This would be perfect for a travel agent selling a cruise for knitting enthusiasts. Yes, those types of cruises actually exist.

Your ads can be extremely niched so you are only targeting the exact people you want to work with and/or sell to. Then, once you start playing the Facebook ad game like a professional, you need all the data you can get to tell you what’s working, and what isn’t. Therein lies precisely why you need a Facebook Pixel! To give you all the data and help your business make all the money.

Monetize It Tip:

Using your Facebook Pixel data you can get to know your target market better than you’ve ever known them before.

When you know your target market better, you can build a stronger bond, and a wonderful long-term relationship. Facebook gives you data that lets you know the ages, locations and demographic information of who is really resonating with your ads, and what you’re posting. This allows you to understand your audience in ways you might not have been able to prior to having that data at your fingertips.

Have you ever wondered how some businesses have loyal advocates that simply can’t help but tell everyone about that company or coach? It’s because that business has gotten to know their audience so well, and solved a unique problem just of them, they feel like the company or coach is listening and looking out for them.

Businesses can analyze their Facebook data and craft posts and ads that make it seem as though they are speaking directly to their audience. As a result, their audience eats it up and feels compelled to not only buy from them, but tell everyone and their brother about them.

How awesome would it be to have your own group of brand ambassadors shouting your praises for the virtual rooftops? Hello more testimonials, and client referrals! Using your Facebook Pixel the right way can help that become your reality.

Other benefits of using your Facebook Pixel:

• Only the people that are most likely to be interested in your ad will actually see it.
• Your ROI will be larger than with a generic ad – in fact, you might have a reduction in ad spend because you’re able to target down so much.
• Customers will feel like you are talking directly to them because you’re better able to speak to their exact needs and wants.
• If they aren’t ready to buy from you yet, you can follow them around Facebook for when they are ready to buy – or you can reword your retargeted ad in a way that makes them buy that much faster.
• You’ll receive data that justifies all your hard work, and gives you data to confirm that you should continue doing what you’re doing, or tells you to change course.
• Facebook does all the heavy lifting in terms of compiling this insightful data.
• The data you acquire could inspire new products or offerings for your business.
• You can also use them for your Facebook Groups….wait what?!?

Yep – Facebook Pixels can now help you gain insight to your Facebook Groups.

Facebook has a goal of getting more brands on board with their mission of delivering community-driven experiences. And, let’s be honest, they want more people that are on Facebook to stay on Facebook, and spend more time hanging out on the platform.

A spokesperson for Facebook said that Group Insights have been expended to allow Group admins to link their groups with their existing Facebook ads pixel, which will allow them to understand how members in their Group engage with their websites.

What this means in layman’s terms is you can now tell when people that are in your Facebook Group are visiting your website. This is a fabulous way to determine how your content within your group is impacting conversions and traffic on your business’s website.

What if you don’t have a website or Facebook Group?

Facebook Pixels can be used in WordPress, ClickFunnels and LeadPages. You can place your Pixel code in each of these to track traffic and conversions. Pixels are truly changing the face of online advertising…well at least on Facebook anyway. Time will tell if other social platforms realize the brilliance of Facebook Pixels, and try to find their own way of creating something like this.

Don’t stop here – Make Facebook Pixels work for you.

If you’re already going cross-eyed just thinking about all things Facebook, hire us and ditch the ad confusion with our done-for-you Facebook ads service. Click here to connect with us.

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