Pixel
Quick Definition
A small piece of code that tracks what visitors do on your website after seeing your social media ads. It helps you know if your ads are working and lets you show better ads to the right people.
Examples
- 1Facebook Pixel shows you when someone buys your product after clicking your Facebook ad, helping you calculate your return on ad spend.
- 2TikTok Pixel helps you create audiences of people who visited your website but didn't purchase, so you can show them reminder ads.
- 3Pinterest Tag tracks when someone signs up for your newsletter after seeing your pin, helping you measure conversion rates.
- 4LinkedIn Insight Tag reveals which job roles engage most with your content, allowing you to refine your targeting.
- 5Twitter Pixel helps you see which tweets drive the most website traffic and conversions, improving your content strategy.
Pro Tips
Test Your Knowledge
Take this quick quiz to see how well you understand pixel.
Question 1 of 5
What is the main purpose of a pixel in social media marketing?
In-Depth Definition
A pixel is a small piece of JavaScript code that you add to your website. Despite its name, it's not actually a visible pixel - it's invisible tracking code that collects data about what users do on your website.
When someone visits your site, the pixel loads and tracks their actions - pages they view, buttons they click, forms they complete, and purchases they make. This data is sent back to the social media platform that created the pixel.
In social media marketing, pixels are crucial tools that connect your website activity to your ad campaigns. Each major platform offers its own pixel: Facebook Pixel, TikTok Pixel, Pinterest Tag, Twitter Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag.
These pixels serve multiple essential functions in SMM. They track conversions so you can measure ROI and optimize campaigns based on actual results. They enable retargeting, allowing you to show ads to people who've already visited your site. They help build custom and lookalike audiences to find new customers similar to your existing ones. And they provide cross-device tracking to understand the customer journey across mobile and desktop.
With recent privacy changes like iOS updates and cookie restrictions, marketers are increasingly using server-side tracking and conversion APIs alongside traditional pixels to maintain accurate measurement while respecting user privacy preferences.
Related Terms
Conversion
A desired action taken by a user, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
Retargeting
A strategy that targets ads to users who have previously interacted with your brand or website.
ROI
Return on Investment - a measure of the profitability of your marketing campaigns.
KPI
Key Performance Indicator - metrics used to evaluate the success of marketing activities.
Want to learn more?
Explore our blog for in-depth articles about social media advertising and other SMM topics.