Do not lose out on leads and money by not using it.
I am sure by now you have heard someone talk about the Facebook (FB) pixel. Whether it be from someone using it, someone asking about it, or various marketing experts talking about it. All of this attention is with good reason. The FB Pixel is, in my humble opinion, the most powerful ad tool that FB has in its arsenal. And unfortunately, it is also the most confusing topic for agents.
What an FB Pixel is and how to use it is easily the most asked question I get. So many agents do not understand what it is, let alone how to use it, so they never get a chance to experience the lead success it can create.
My focus in this article is to take a "101" approach so that at the end you will know two things:
- What the FB Pixel is
- How you could use it in a simple real estate scenario
That's it and nothing more. When building on any marketing tactic, you need to have a foundation, and that is what we will be building here. In later articles, we can get into more complex and advanced ways to use the pixel but first let's make sure we have a complete understanding of the basics.
What the heck is a pixel?
I am sure you have heard the term "pixel" in other areas that have no relation to FB or marketing. However, in this case, we aren't talking about the Google smartphone, the movie by Adam Sandler, or the quality of a digital camera. However, for us, our only focus is the world of FB marketing and how the pixel fits into it. So let's start with that.
A pixel is a "short snippet of code that you install on your website or landing page."
See how easy that was? That is all it is, just code. Ok, I know it really isn't that simple and if you are a visual learner like I am, you want to see exactly what it is. I have put a sample pixel code below so you can visually see what I am talking about.
Frazier's Facebook Pixel Code
< script >
! function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s )
{ if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod ?
n. callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments) };
I f(!f.fbq)f.fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0 ';
N .queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=! 0;
T .src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0 ];
s.p arentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'scri pt',
'h ttps://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.j s');
F bq('init', '46077402769346 1');
F bq('track', 'PageView ');
< noscript>![]()
End Frazier's Facebook Pixel Code
Now, this is when people's eyes either "bug out" or "glaze over", I get it. Don't let all the numbers, letters, and symbols mixed complicate it for you. You don't need to know what any of that means or does in order to use it. But I did want you to see what the code looks like in its default state. Now let's translate that same FB pixel code into plain English.
Frazier's Facebook Pixel Code IN ENGLISH
I am just going to Netflix and chill until someone visits my website.
Oh! Looks like John/Jane Doe just visited my website.
Let me see if John/Jane Doe has an FB account.
John/Jane Doe does have an FB account! Yay!
I better record and track this visit in Frazier's FB ad manager in case he wants to target John/Jane with some FB ads down the road.
End Frazier's Facebook Pixel Code IN ENGLISH
Does the code make more sense now? Hopefully, seeing that code from a human perspective will take the complexity out of what it does. Usually, when I teach agents about the pixel, this example hits home. However, If you are still a little-confused let's use an example that EVERY agent can relate to. An Open House.
Think of your website as your Open House.
Think of the FB Pixel a mandatory sign-in sheet.
Mindblown. Right? When someone visits your Open House, you have a sign-in sheet to record and track those people so you can market to them (and for other reasons). The beauty of the FB pixel, as opposed to the sign-in sheet, is that it all happens behind the scenes to EVERY visitor whether they want to sign-in or not. Pretty powerful and useful, right?
Now that we have learned what an FB Pixel is, let us look at a simple scenario on how you could use it. We will make a lot of assumptions in this scenario, but all of it based on real-life examples. We are only going to get into what you CAN do with the Pixel and will get into specifics on how to do it in later articles.
How the heck would I use it?
Scenario: Getting Seller Leads
So you want to get seller leads? Awesome. Here is how you could use the Pixel when using a Home Valuation lead magnet site. We will break down the process into two parts.
1) Track & Record
Set up a Home Valuation Landing Page (WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com). You would then install your FB Pixel on WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com. In the FB ads manager, you would tell the Pixel to record and track all the visitors to WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com. While still in the FB ads manager, you would create a "custom audience" for all of that visitor data to be dumped into.
2) Using the Data
Now that you have a custom audience in the FB ads manager, you can then run "retargeting/remarketing ads" to all those people who visited WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com. You do this if you didn't convert them when they first visited WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com.
That is it. The two parts of using the Pixel in simple terms. Now let's see this in action.
John/Jane Doe visits WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com because they are interested in possibly selling their home. They are on the website but decide to not enter their information to get their home valuation. The next day John/Jane are watching some tantalizing food videos on FB, and in their news feed, they see an ad from WhatIsMyHouseWorth.com saying "Most people make the mistake of not knowing what their house is worth before deciding to sell. Click here to see our FREE report on what your house is worth." John/Jane start thinking, "Well we don't want to make any mistakes, and we do want to look into selling, let's go ahead and see what our house is worth." Boom, you now have a converted them to a lead that you can then nurture to a listing.
The above scenario is just one example of the power in using the FB Pixel for retargeting/remarketing to convert visitors to leads. Without any tracking on your website, you are losing out on leads and by extension, money. With the FB Pixel, you can now keep in front of those visitors with ads to increase your conversion chances, not to mention brand recognition. The beauty of this is that this simple scenario is just scratching the surface of what you can do with the Pixel.
Jason Frazier & Chelsea Peitz are national speakers, thought leaders, social media evangelists, and marketing practitioners that have joined forces to create a "Next Level" coaching group called, The Agent Marketer. Their program focuses on the "Chemistry of Marketing" where the building blocks of a complex modern marketing plan are laid out taught to professionals in the Real Estate industry.
They have created high level, highly tactical marketing courses that are broken down in easy to follow steps so that beginners and advanced agents can both take advantage. This is the first of its kind coaching group teaching their "Periodic Table of Marketing" that includes: Landing Pages, Scripts, Technology, Social Selling, Lead Magnets, Email Marketing, Consumer Experience, and much much more.
Find and follow Chelsea Peitz here;
Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube
Instagram: @chelsea.peitz
Snapchat: @chelsea.peitz
Find and follow Jason Frazier
Facebook
Instagram: @TheAgentMarketer
Twitter: @AgentMarketerIO
