In this article
Have you heard the terms ‘tracking pixel’, ‘social media pixel’, or ‘Facebook Pixel’ and wondered what they mean? If you’re advertising on social media, or plan to in the future, then pixels are a handy tool for ensuring you’re getting the most out of your campaigns and budgets – something that’s particularly crucial in the creative and cultural sector, where budgets are often tight and you’re looking to make the most of every penny.
Picture the scene, you’re scrolling through Facebook and see an ad in your feed for a theatre production that you’ve just been looking at online. How does the theatre know you’re interested in that particular show? This is called retargeting and it’s the work of a tracking pixel. The intended purpose of this marketing activity is to remind you to come back to the site and buy tickets.
One of the great things about pixels is that, when used correctly, they can elevate your paid social media activity from generic one-size-fits all advertising to a nicely tailored user journey.
So, what is a social media pixel? How do they work? How can they support and improve your paid advertising? And are there any drawbacks you need to be aware of? Let’s take a closer look.
Social media tracking pixels are small pieces of code that you can add to your website. Once the pixel is embedded, it can track the actions users take on your website and attribute them to the ads you’re running on different social media channels. Essentially, this code will tell the social media platform what the user who clicked on your ad does when they visit your website. You can then use this information to measure the effectiveness of your social media campaigns, improve your adverts and user journey, and to identify audiences you want to target with future ads.
The good news, on top of all that, is that it’s free – both to set up and to use.
Pixels and cookies are similar in that they track users’ behaviour and activities on websites. However, cookies save information in the user’s browser and are specific to a particular website, whereas pixels can track a user’s actions across multiple websites and devices.
The best-known pixel is the Meta Pixel (formerly known as the Facebook Pixel) which covers Facebook and Instagram, as well as Meta’s other platforms Threads and WhatsApp. However, most other social media platforms have their own pixels. This includes TikTok, LinkedIn’s Insight Tag, X, Pinterest, Snapchat and Reddit.
These pixels work independently of each other. However, you won’t need to set them all up – only those for the platforms where you’re going to be doing advertising.
Here are five things that marketers in the creative and cultural sector can do with social media tracking pixels:
Tracking user behaviour on your website can help you to measure the effectiveness of your social media campaigns. You can identify which social media channels, placements, and ads are driving the most traffic to your website and leading to the most conversions. For example, you might find that while your X ads were great for getting people to your site, they didn’t go on to purchase tickets. This information can be used to optimise future social media campaigns and improve overall performance.
By tracking what users do on your website, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s behaviour. You can identify which pages are most popular, which content is most engaging, and how users are interacting with your website. This can even boil down to which buttons they’re clicking on the page. This information can be used to tailor future content and improve the overall user experience.
Social media tracking pixels allow you to build custom audiences for ad campaigns. This may be an audience of users who have taken a specific action on your website – for example, watching your videos or buying tickets to an exhibition at your museum.
With some pixels, you can also create ‘lookalike’ or similar audiences who match your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviours. This allows you to reach people who have never heard of you or interacted with you before but may like your content. Targeting lookalike users can help to expand your reach on social media and ultimately your customer base.
By tracking user behaviour on your website, you can identify users who have engaged with a particular type of content and retarget them with relevant ads in the future. This is a powerful tool for driving conversions and sales. For example, you could retarget users who looked at but didn’t purchase a specific product in your online shop. Or you could create a campaign specifically for users who previously booked tickets to an exhibition.
Tracking user behaviour on your website and attributing it to social media channels can help you to properly measure the revenue generated from your campaigns. This information can be used to optimise future campaigns and improve overall ROI.
Even if you aren’t doing paid advertising yet, it’s a good idea to install pixels from the platforms that you intend to use so that they can begin collecting data from your website.
Each pixel has set ‘events’ or actions that you can track. Depending on the platform these can include, but aren’t limited to:
If you’ve investigated setting up a social media pixel, you may have come across the terms “conversions API” or “server-side event tracking”.
While a social media pixel tracks what people do on your website by running in their web browser, a conversions API sends that same information directly from your server to the advertising platform without relying on the user’s browser.
In recent years, changes to data and privacy laws like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the use of ad-blocking software have made it harder for social media pixels to track data and events or actions. Plus, Apple’s iOS14.5 update introduced a privacy change that requires apps to ask users for permission before tracking their activity. Because many people chose not to opt in, tools like social media pixels became less accurate with fewer actions being tracked and reported.
To counteract this, most social media platforms have introduced options for server-side tracking. Because a conversions API doesn’t rely on cookies or information from browsers, the tracking won’t be impacted by ad blockers or users opting out of tracking. This can enhance the accuracy of your campaign measurement and targeting and fill in the data gaps left by pixels.
With conversions API, you can also send customer data from systems like your CRM, including qualified leads and offline conversions. It can be integrated using platforms such as SalesForce, Shopify, and HubSpot, usually via built‑in integrations or server‑side setups.
Setting up conversions API is more complicated than installing a pixel and there will be a cost for hosting the servers. You can find out more about server-side tracking in this article from Stape.
Critics of pixel tracking argue that it can collect detailed user data through the browser without users fully understanding it, raising privacy concerns, leading to several legal challenges. Supporters of conversions API point out that, because it is server‑based and allows businesses to control exactly what data is shared rather than automatically collecting it via cookies, it can be easier to align with GDPR requirements when implemented correctly.
Ultimately, neither pixels or conversions API are inherently compliant or non-compliant with GDPR, but it’s up to your organisation to comply with data privacy laws – this responsibility doesn’t lie with the social media platform. As stated in Meta’s terms and conditions: “Each company is responsible for ensuring their own compliance with the GDPR, just as they are responsible for compliance with the laws that apply to them today.”
The way to do this is to make sure you obtain the appropriate consent for data usage; tell visitors to your website that you’re collecting their data through the use of a specific pixel before it tracks them, offer them the option to opt-out of having their data tracked or to withdraw their consent, and only collect the information you actually need. This may mean updating your website’s cookie consent notification and adding to the information on your website about how you’re storing and using data. Although they can’t provide legal guidance on compliance with regulations and policies, Meta does have a cookie consent resource that you can refer to.
For more information on how the changing landscape around data privacy has impacted advertising and online tracking, watch our webinar: Online privacy and the impact on advertising.
Most platforms have a step-by-step guide for setting up your pixel so you can do it yourself. Or, if this feels out of your comfort zone, you can ask a developer to support you, but there may be a cost involved with this.
You’ll either need to select the option to add the pixel code to your website or set it up with a partner using an integration tool designed for your site. For example, if your website runs on WordPress, then you can select the WordPress option and the set up will walk you through the steps designed for your site. Once you’ve set up your pixel, you’ll also need to set up the events or actions that you want to track.
Some organisations use Google Tag Manager to set up their pixels and event tracking, as this often means that they don’t have to edit their website code and can manage all their website tags in one place.
You can find out more about social media pixels, setting them up and privacy in this webinar: Once upon a pixel: The magic behind digital tracking.
Or, you can find out more about setting up social media pixels from the platforms:
Social media tracking pixels are a powerful tool for marketers working in the arts and culture sector. By tracking user behaviour on your website, you’ll be able to measure the effectiveness of your social media campaigns, understand your audience’s behaviour, retarget users with relevant content, and improve your ROI.
The Meta pixel: What it is and how to use it (facebook.com)
What is the Meta Pixel, and how do you make the most of it? (hootsuite.com)
About Conversions API (facebook.com)
The Digital Culture Network is here to support you and your organisation. Our Tech Champions can provide free one-to-one support to all arts and cultural organisations and individuals who are in receipt of, or eligible for, Arts Council England funding. If you need help or would like to chat with us about any of the advice we have covered above, please get in touch and sign up to our newsletter below for the latest updates.
Beginner Reaching your audience: Making your Meta Ads more effective
This article will explain how to make your Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads more effective by using a marketing funnel and key tools like Meta Pixels and Audiences. You’ll learn how to move users from the awareness stage all the way to taking action on your website.
Beginner What you need to set up Meta ads
If you’re planning on creating ads on Facebook and Instagram then there are a few things you’ll need to do first. Here’s a checklist for the creative and cultural sector, to ensure that you’ve got everything you need to create a Meta ad campaign.
Beginner Webinar recording – Once upon a pixel: The magic behind digital tracking
This free webinar will guide you through the magical world of marketing pixels and help you transform your digital marketing.
