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Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Bloomreach's Conversions API Allows for Peak Facebook Ads Performance

By Martin Simo

07/14/2021


Advertising with Facebook Ads has long been the lifeblood of marketing efforts from businesses small and large across the globe.

But as privacy laws have clamped down on how businesses can legally use or acquire customer data, and data breach fines skyrocket, companies have many points to consider on this topic. 

While individual businesses must craft their own strategy for advertising with Facebook, Bloomreach offers a marketing automation solution that can help bridge the gap.

Bloomreach’s Facebook Conversions API (FB CAPI) integration offers the possibility of sending important events, such as purchases or leads, to Facebook Ads. That in-turn allows for better optimization of Facebook Ad campaigns.

The FB CAPI solution directly responds to the decreased reliability of the Facebook pixel (more on that later) and offers more control over what data is being sent to Facebook. The API allows you to send events to Facebook Ads’ platform directly without having to rely on browser pixel tracking.

It’s also a step in the direction towards more equal partnership between brands and Facebook when it comes to customer data. With FB CAPI, brands are in total control of what data they choose to share with Facebook.

FB CAPI is the key to avoiding lackluster campaign performance with your company’s Facebook Ads. Let’s dive deeper to learn more about Facebook Ads and why this tool is so useful.

Facebook Pixel Tracking

Facebook Pixel tracking has been the standard way of tracking Facebook Ads Campaigns for many years. Users just simply plug a line of javascript into the website and it’s done.

If you want to track specific events, e.g. add to cart, lead form submissions, or purchases, it’s another line of code for each. Doing this allows you to see everything in Facebook Ads interface and optimize campaigns accordingly.

However, did you know that page views and events aren’t everything Facebook is tracking with these scripts?

The basic Facebook Pixel actually tracks everything visitors do on your website. Every click, every element they hovered over, including buttons they clicked. Companies should keep this in consideration when developing a strategy. 

The Crumbling of Third-Party Cookies

The changes to third-party tracking makes owning your customer relationships and data more important than ever. 

Without browser cookies, your website loses the ability to recognize repeat visitors. This amnesia results in your company treating all customers like you’re seeing them for the first time.

Certain campaign cookies in certain browsers are now limited to a 24-hour life span, which is much less than any advertiser would like. Others in different browsers can last up to seven days.

Another strong force that is pushing against the use of cookies in tracking is legislation.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came out in 2018 in the European Union. Since then, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Brazil’s LGPD legislation have also come into effect.

These laws are quickly becoming more than just scary four letter combinations. GDPR fines have skyrocketed in the past 18 months, catching the attention of business powers worldwide.

What does all of this mean? The feedback loop between Facebook Ads and the behavior of customers on your website is being broken. Facebook Ads can no longer track conversions reliably if your customers make a purchase 25 hours after they clicked on your ad.

This means Facebook Ads has much less data to optimize your campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. And that means worse performance for the campaigns.

Brands Need to Own Customer Interaction Data

Fortunately, there is a new way to collect data about customers and their interactions with your website. Owning the customer data, whether that’s first party or even zero-party data is something all companies need to move towards. Not only because it respects customers’ right to privacy, but also because it’s in the brand’s financial interest.

Arguably the most appealing benefit of investing in a first-party data strategy is the performance lift. According to a Boston Consulting Group study commissioned by Google, marketers that use all of the first-party data available to them can generate double the incremental revenue from a single ad placement, communication, or outreach.

Tracking with Facebook Conversions API

Facebook has come up with a way to help brands track the performance of their campaigns that doesn’t require cookies and the tracking pixel.

Facebook has also owned up to privacy shortcomings and designed a way that gives control over what data is sent back to brands and their customers.

This is a huge step for privacy and Bloomreach is excited to help our clients get on board.

With the FB CAPI integration, all conversion events are sent from the back end. The customers are identified by Bloomreach’s single customer view and the data is then sent to Facebook Ads via a scenario node.

Not only does the Conversions API allow you to bridge the gap created by the changes to third-party tracking, but it also unlocks new use cases for your ad campaigns. Since you have the freedom of choosing when to send a conversion, you can optimize your campaigns in ways that were previously impossible.

Impact on Brand and Customer Privacy

The most important part of the new integration is that the brands are in full control of what data gets sent to Facebook. With Conversions API, Facebook only receives data you are explicitly sending. Nothing more. Ever.

And since customer privacy is something Bloomreach values so highly, we’ve made it mandatory to select a relevant consent policy when sending customer data to Facebook. This means not only do brands get to control what data they send to Facebook, but customers also get the control.

Fortunately for companies, consent management is a well-developed feature inside Bloomreach. Brands using it will likely already have the consents necessary to fully utilize the Facebook Conversions API.

All in all, moving from pixel tracking to Conversions API is a great step towards privacy and data security for both brands and their customers.

Ease your Privacy Concerns with Bloomreach

Bloomreach is leading the market when it comes to data security and customer privacy. The Facebook Conversions API integration is just one of the privacy tools Bloomreach has that allows your company to be worry free when it comes to data.

Bloomreach is the teammate you want in your corner helping your company with data privacy concerns. In addition to a full suite of data privacy tools, Bloomreach Engagement provides a single customer view that makes producing elite customer service experiences second nature.

Bloomreach gives you all the tools you need to transform your customer data into magical marketing campaigns. Schedule a personalized demo today with Bloomreach to see how you can take the next step in organizing and collecting your data in a way that allows you to retain your new customers and take your brand to the next level.

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Martin Simo

Product Marketing Manager

Martin Simo is a product marketing manager who has a deep understanding of marketing technologies. He has experience from various marketing roles including Head of Marketing for a €2M annual revenue e-commerce brand. He's obsessed with asking the right questions that lead to achieving objectives.

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