The New Facebook Conversion Pixel (FCP) Makes It Easier to Target Qualified Leads: Here’s What Small Businesses and Nonprofits Need to Know

Want to send advertisements directly to people who visited your website but didn’t join your mailing list? Want to see everyone who visited your latest (and greatest) blog post, but didn’t download your awesome offer of free and informative content? Only want people to see advertisements who joined your mailing list within the last month? These wishes may seem like magic, but they aren’t with the new Facebook conversion pixel. We’re calling it the FCP for short.

With the new FCP, you can target advertisements on Facebook and Instagram to people who are already interacting with your content. But how do you optimize this new pixel for small businesses and nonprofit organizations? Point Taken, a marketing and public relations firm specializing in small business and nonprofit communications, explains how you can use the new FCP for more targeted marketing.

What is the Facebook Conversion Pixel (FCP)?

While we know it seems complicated, the FCP is actually pretty simple. The FCP is a pixel, a small digital image that is processed by your computer screen or mobile device. When you view a website containing a pixel, you may not even know it, and you might be tracked without realizing it. For marketers, the pixel acts as a tracking device, allowing us to see who is visiting a website, which pages they are viewing and how long they are interacting with each piece of content on the website.

How does the Facebook Conversion Pixel (FCP) work?

When you add the FCP to the header of your website, it sends information to Facebook explaining how people are interacting with your website. Are people viewing your thank you page because they purchased a product or donated to your cause? Are they visiting pages that encourage them to take action but opting out? While YOU might not know who is taking those actions but not converting into a buyer or donor with the FCP, Facebook does and can help you create advertising campaigns to target people who have already shown interest in your organization.

How do I add the Facebook Conversion Pixel (FCP) to my website?

Adding the FCP is easy. In your Facebook Ads Manager, Power Editor or Business Manager, click on pixels in the upper left drop-down menu.

Facebook will they take you through a step-by-step tutorial to help you create your pixel. There is only one pixel per advertising account, but don’t worry if you are operating multiple domains. It will be easy to differentiate between sites when you start creating audiences and ads.

Add the pixel code to the header of your website. Point Taken recommends small businesses and nonprofit organizations add the FCP to all pages of their websites and use custom conversions to define the actions users take on pages. If you are using WordPress, try the Pixel Your Site plugin to add the FCP to all pages of your website. You’ll need to verify you pixel before you can use it (Facebook explains how here).

Facebook is phasing out the old pixel, so if you have the old Facebook pixel installed on your site, remove it.

What are website conversions?

Once you’ve installed the FCP, you can track how well your Facebook ads are working through data the FCP send back to Facebook. You can measure many things including registrations, purchases, visits to certain pages of your site and leads.

What are standard events, what are custom conversion and do I need them?

It might seem a little confusing, but standard events and custom conversions accomplish pretty much the same task. Both help you better define your targets and the ways they interact with your website. Standard events are a predefined set of parameters by which you can measure actions people take on your website. In order to use standard events, you’ll either need to add some code to your FCP (as explained by Facebook here) in the header of each page you’d like to track or utilize a plugin like Pixel Your Site. Facebook offers nine standard events, but you can track even more actions custom conversions.

In order to make it simple for small business owners and nonprofit executives, Point Taken recommends using custom conversions until you understand exactly how the FCP works. You may never need complex tracking, so using custom conversions might provide all the data you need. Use standard events and custom conversions to target ads to website visitors who are (or aren’t) opting in to your email list, purchasing products or donating to your cause.

How do I create a custom audience?

Use custom audiences to direct Facebook ads at people who are already familiar with your brand. Perhaps your want to target someone who has visited your website in the past 30 days or visited your pricing page within the last week. If you have the FCP installed on your website, you can use the data the pixel collects to create a custom audience of people based on their behaviors on your website.

Does the pixel work with e-commerce websites?

Yes, if you are operating an e-commerce website, you are in luck. The Facebook Conversion Pixel works on e-commerce websites, so you can easily target people who looked at your coolest pair of jeans but didn’t buy them.

While the FCP might seem a bit overwhelming at first, it is a powerful piece of code that can help you better target leads who are interested in your brand and more likely to purchase or donate. Still confused about the FCP? Contact Point Taken today!

Point Taken Communications is a Jacksonville, Fla.-based company specializing in public relations, marketing and web design for corporations, medium-sized businesses, small businesses, firms and nonprofit agencies across the country. We increase the return on your investment by managing your brand and messaging across all channels to ensure clarity and consistency. We are a full-service agency built to help businesses and nonprofits promote their products, services and mission to drive more dollars and donations. At Point Taken, you only work with senior-level professionals with a wealth of marketing, PR and web design knowledge who can maximize your budget, guide your marketing efforts and get the job done right the first time.