How to create a successful funnel strategy in Facebook Ads with Pixel

Before we dig into what a marketing funnel is, let’s go through why Facebook is such an amazing tool for advertising.

Why Facebook Ads?

Facebook advertising has been a hot topic for businesses for a while now. But why? Well, we live in a world where around 80% of mobile phone users have their phones near them at all times. According to CNN, in 2013, people visited their Facebook account 14 times a day.

Another mind-boggling fact is that Facebook had over 2.7 billion active users monthly in the second quarter of 2020.

There is no doubt that the platform has become one of the most influential and visited sites across all devices. This makes Facebook a great advertising opportunity for companies that want to reach out to potential customers.

Here are some benefits of Facebook as an advertisement tool:

• Share your message with a wide reach of people.
• Meet your audience based on personal data and targeting (demographics, geography, behavior, and interests).
• We can integrate our CRM email lists and choose to only show the ads to these people.
• By adding Facebook’s Pixel code to your website, you can retarget earlier visitors.
• Content engagement.
• Campaign management in Facebook Ads Manager.
• Only pay for those who are interested in your product.
• Track your data and reach your goals.

Marketing Funnels

A marketing funnel is primarily your customer’s journey through the whole experience from the first time he is aware of your service or product, to the moment he/she becomes a loyal customer. BTW, some people also call this a purchase funnel, conversion funnel or sales funnel.

We use the word “funnel” because the whole process looks like a “funnel” (see below).

Facebook Pixel

Facebook pixel is a code that you place on your website. It collects data that helps you track conversions from Facebook ads, optimize ads, build targeted audiences for future ads, and remarket to people who have already taken some kind of action on your website. Since most people use Facebook on all their devices, Facebook probably gets the best cross-device tracking of all platforms. Here is a guide on how you can install your Facebook Pixel code to your website.

Retargeting: Facebook Pixel ́s best feature

The biggest benefit of Facebook Pixel for you is the opportunity for retargeting ads. With retargeting ads, you can show your ads to those who have visited your website. You can also choose to show the ad to people who have specifically visited a page on your website, for example, for a specific product.

So how do you create a successful marketing funnel strategy?

1. Know your customer/audience by creating customer personas

A persona is a good way to find out who you are writing to. A customer persona is a fictional person who represents a regular customer of the company, possibly a customer you want. This fictional person provides good insight into what is going on inside the head of the people in your target group and allows you to customize and streamline your marketing.

Personas help to create better customer experiences and thus generate more leads. However, not all companies have noticed this. Did you know that only 44% of B2B marketers use personas? In other words: There are opportunities here. When writing a persona, the description should contain information such as:

• Name
• Age
• Marital status
• Kids
• Occupation
• Interests
• Obstacles
• Dreams

2. Map out the customer journey, from the start to the “end” (there is no definite end because you will be nurturing your end customers)

Simply explained, a customer journey is a chronological and visual representation of a customer's actions and experiences in contact with a service, product (digital or physical), or a brand, over a specific period of time or course, across channels. The tool is used to gain a greater understanding of a customer's needs and challenges.

I recommend using a tool for this step, such as Aiava. What I really like about Aiava, is that it makes the whole process easy, smart, and personal - you can add images, details, users etc. to every action you map out. Check out this journey I created in Aiava below:

By having a complete overview of customer journeys, you will understand and adapt to all different customer journeys. This way, no potential customer is left behind. By using a visual journey map, you avoid problems in your funnel strategy.

Another thing that makes Aiava ideal for me is that the whole team can collaborate and see the journeys at any time - this makes the internal communication clear, and everyone can stay on the same track.

To get started with Aiava, you can use this template.

3. Get your creatives ready

Choose an image (or several images) or a video to make the ad visually appealing. Also, choose a text that captures the attention of the reader.

4. Create a landing page the ad leads the visitor to

You might think “hmm why a landing page when I can just use my own website?”. Well, that might work in some cases. In digital marketing, a landing page is a standalone web page, which is specially designed for an ad campaign. A landing page is where a visitor reaches after they click on a link through an email, an ad, or other alike pages. Contrary, to a web page, which usually has several goals, and motivates exploration, landing pages are made solely with a specific focal point or objective, which we refer to as CTA (call to action). It’s this center of attention that makes landing pages the leading choice for growing the conversion rates of your campaigns and reducing the price of gaining a lead.

I recommend using something like GetResponse, Unbounce, or Mailchimp for this.

They all have templates that make this step very easy. Do your research, there are many similar tools on the market. Then find out which one suits your needs the most.

They all have Facebook Pixel integration. Once you connect your accounts, this integration automatically generates and places a Facebook pixel on your landing page(s). The pixel tracks visitors entering your site through a Facebook ad so you can target them based on their actions.

5. Set up your ad

Now you can set up your ad like normal, and you’re done!

6. Publish!