All posts by : wp-admin

In business, the ability to see direct results from advertising efforts matters a lot. That might seem simple in theory, but many lack the tools and knowledge to track those results and be able to tie them to specific marketing and advertising campaigns. This guide will help you understand the different ways to measure results and track conversions on Facebook through a powerful tool called the Facebook Pixel.

Understanding the Facebook Pixel

Facebook is a powerful marketing platform that can bring much success to your business if used correctly. In the last few years, Facebook has developed its tracking tools to provide marketers with the ability to get the most accurate data. And the one tool at the centre of all tracking efforts is the Facebook pixel.

This snippet of HTML code (which can be generated from every advertiser’s Business Manager account) is added on the backend of your site and tracks information about the people who interact with your ads. The Facebook pixel follows those people when they visit your website, tracking their interactions with it, the pages they visit, and down to the actions they take such as filling out a form or purchasing an item. From the moment a visitor enters your site, the Facebook pixel will track them and continue to gather information about them, such as their age, gender, location, interests, etc.

Keep reading this article to find out how to set up your Facebook pixel and conversion tracking events.

Setting up your Facebook Pixel

Setting up your Facebook pixel is simple and takes under ten minutes. Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to ‘Event Manager’ on your Business Manager page
• Click the green ‘plus’ connect data sources button and select ‘web’
• Select ‘Facebook pixel’ and click ‘connect’
• Add your pixel name
• Enter your website URL to check for easy setup options
• Click ‘continue’
• Then copy the pixel and paste it in the header section of your website, just above the closing head tag and save.

Tracking conversions with the Facebook Pixel

Now that your Facebook pixel has been set up, it’s time to set up conversion tracking. There are a few ways you can track Facebook conversions using the Facebook pixel. Depending on the type of conversion you are looking to track, some might be more appropriate than others.

a) Basic tracking with the Facebook pixel

By setting up your Facebook pixel, Facebook will automatically set up basic traffic tracking for you.
Go to ‘Event Manager’ on your Business Manager page. There you should see a graph and data resembling this:

The graph gives you a visual representation of the traffic directed to your site, while the event ‘Pageviews’ gives you the exact number of visitors your site is getting.

b) Tracking direct purchases with a Custom Conversion event

The easiest way to track direct purchase conversions on an e-commerce site is to set up a Custom Conversion event on your Business Manager page. All you need is a custom URL (such as a Thank You URL). By setting up a unique Thank You URL and automatically redirecting everyone who has made a purchase to that URL, Facebook will be able to know that the person who visited that specific URL is a conversion.

How to set it up:

• Create a custom URL such as www.yourbrand.com/thank-you-purchase-abcd/
• Make sure traffic that purchases something gets redirected to that URL and that your Facebook pixel has been set up correctly on your site and tracks traffic on ALL pages
• Go to ‘Events Manager’ on your Business Manager page and then to ‘Custom Conversion’
• Name your Custom Conversion tracker, select your data source and set your ‘Rules’ as ‘URL’ ‘Contains,’ and the URL you set up. DO NOT set it up as equals, as the URL will assign a unique number to each customer and thus won’t be the exact URL you set up.
• Click on the blue ‘Create’ button and let Facebook work its magic.

Tracking conversions without the Facebook Pixel

If you are looking for a quick way to know if investing in Facebook advertising is worth it and will get you ROI, here’s what you need to do:

• Run a Lead Generation ad (ad where Facebook users fill out a form directly on your ad without leaving Facebook) and see how many leads you generate and convert. Lead Gen ads give you live data on whether or not your advertising efforts work and are worthwhile on Facebook.
• Set up a discount code specific for Facebook and run a traffic ad (ad with a button leading to an external page such as your website or a landing page). By using a discount code specific to the Facebook/Instagram platform, you can easily track conversions and know your ROI.

Now you know the ins and outs of the Facebook pixel and how to track conversions. If, despite this guide, you are still lost and need help, reach out to our team at contact@curvecommunications.com.

Without a doubt, social media has changed the way we live in the world. It has become a tool for us to meet new people, access information and demand political change in this day and age.

Did you know that social media platforms are used by one-in-three people in the world and by more than two-thirds of all internet users? That’s a lot of active users!

Social media’s influence amongst the world’s internet users is undeniable. So yes – while it’s true that social media may rule the internet and our social lives, our question is, is social media is king when it comes to online marketing for businesses?

Not quite. While social media is still an undeniable part of the modern marketing mix, it’s important to understand that it isn’t the whole picture.

So, use social smart but don’t get caught up in the hype! Here are 3 reasons why social media will never rule the internet marketing game.

1. Believe It or Not, Your Ideal Audience May Not Even Be on Social

Just like no two businesses are a carbon copy of one another, no two audiences are, either. So before investing your time and money into social media, it’s important to take a look at who your target audience really is and where they spend their time online. That way, you can allocate your resources in a way that makes the most sense to you and your business.

Because even though one-in-three people are on social media, what those other two people?! The truth is, while social media has become a popular place to be over the years, the social media landscape has become much more complex than it was 5 years ago. Sure, your target audience may be on social, but on what channels? What are the predominant demographics and psychographics that make up those channels? And most importantly, how do these people prefer to engage with brands on those channels?

For example, Reddit is a common place to find young, educated men discussing things that matter most to them. But do these people like to be engaged with by brands on Reddit? Not at all! Reddit is a notoriously difficult place for brands to engage with others, to the point of declaring outright that Reddit hates marketing. On the other hand, for overall level of brand engagement, you can’t beat Instagram – is the number one place to be!

What if the target audience is on the older and wealthier side? Then advertising in newspapers, magazines or even television may get you better results than anything social media could offer! And if you have the budget for it, then a 360 marketing campaign (which incorporates traditional and digital channels) may be the way to go!

The bottom line is that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. Study your audience, know where they live online and develop a marketing strategy that’s right for your business and audience.

2. Being Conversational & Relatable Takes Precedence Above Selling

While it’s true that some businesses have found success with selling their products on social media via social selling, the fact of the matter is that for most businesses, finding buyers on social can be a hard sell.

Though this comes with good reasoning. For one, people’s motivations around why they use social media rarely have to do with wanting to seek out products or services to buy. More often than not, people go on social to discover something novel or interesting. They may want to catch up with people who are in their close network, learn something new or may just want to have a fun conversation!

When brands understand this key point, the name of the social media game often shifts away from direct response to more brand awareness-based efforts. Above all, businesses who use social media as a way to showcase their brand and its voice, values and personality have a much better chance at making a positive lasting impression (as opposed to someone who punched right and went for the hard sell).

via GIPHY

This doesn’t mean that you can’t find successful conversions from traffic generated from social. The key is that, again, it isn’t the whole picture. When you warm up your audience with your brand personality, post after post, they get to know you a little better. And once they get to know you a little better, they are in a much better position to hear your pitch (and take out their wallets). But of course, a foundation of trust should be a key component of your social media strategy, and a big part of that trust-building is having a clearly defined brand so that your business comes off as much more personable, conversational and relatable.

3. You’ve Got Your Audience’s Attention! Now What?

There is a 3-second window that marketers have in order to get their message across to their audience – 3 seconds! We’re all desperately fighting for the same thing, and statistically speaking, one of us will eventually break through the noise and captivate our audience’s attention (hurrah!)

But then… what happens next? People click aaaand – is your website optimized for mobile? Is it optimized for conversions? Do you have an engaging offer? Are you picking up the conversation where it left off? Are you telling an engaging story?

The truth is, we’re all so desperate for our audience’s attention that once we finally get it, it can be easy to overlook the obvious like how to sustain the interest and engineer an experience that inspires people to take the right type of action.

Ultimately, with so many moving parts that go into successful social media use for businesses, a key take away is that social media should be a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. Social media is not a business model, it’s one important part of an overall marketing mix you have at your disposal as a business owner. Sure, it may be an important pillar within your overall business strategy, but if organic social media is the only type of online marketing you’re doing, then you may need to step back and take another look at your strategy.  

Pro tip! Having your social media followers subscribe to your email list, via your newsletter or content offer, gives you the most control over your social media following as a business owner – take control of your destiny!

Social Media May Rule Our Lives, but It Doesn’t Rule the Online Marketing Game!

If you’re not pulling out your phones and checking your account to scroll through your feed on the daily, then you are very much a minority. Most of us are entangled in the social media world whether we like it or not. Whether it’s for discovering news, trends or finding the latest meme, there’s no denying the power social has in our lives – online and off.

But when it comes to social media for businesses and how much weight you should give this tool when it comes to your overall marketing strategy, it’s important to put things into perspective. Social is not the be all end all like some people believe it is. It should always be seen as a means to an end when it comes to your business and not an end in and of itself. Considering how you’ll supplement your social strategy and seeing how it fits into the overall big picture of your business will be critical for your success if you want to get the most out of this very powerful tool.

Needing guidance on how to get the most out of social? Curve is here to help! We’re always looking for ways to make your life easier as a business owner or marketing manager. If you’re wanting to get the most out of your social media marketing but don’t have time to join the conversation, Curve can help you build your brand and tell your story. Call us today for a 30-minute discovery call!