What is the Facebook Conversions API

Government restrictions – Both the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) exemplify this shift towards protecting users’ privacy and giving them autonomy over their personal data. This threatens the existing world of data sharing and targeting advertisements.

Browser limitations – Internet browsers like Safari, Firefox, and now Chrome have already started blocking or phasing out third-party cookies.2 By 2022, browsers intend to limit the way in which websites share data with their ad service providers and digital analytics teams.

Advertisers face new challenges – The absence of cookie tracking will derail companies in their efforts to provide relevant ads targeted towards the right people and accurately measure their conversion rates.

Facebook ads direct users to the company’s website.

When a user completes an action, like making a purchase or filling out a form, the embedded pixel opens a tunnel of communication by sharing the cookie (the user’s identifier) with the ad server.

The server can then match the website’s cookie to the cookies from the advertisements themselves (in this case, Facebook ads) to connect conversions with ad clicks.

Companies can then use that information to develop effective ad campaigns, because they have an accurate understanding of the ad’s success rate.

Maintain control of your data – While the pixel automatically shares all events in real-time, the API lets you decide what data you share and when you share it. This is how you share important offline data that wouldn’t otherwise be captured and analyzed.

Apply it to a wide range of use cases – API’s flexibility opens up new possibilities for tracking vital events. Track in-app conversions, email open rates, in-store purchases, deferred conversion reporting, and beyond. While the API is limited in some ways, it can also measure and optimize for use cases that the pixel can’t.

Achieve full-funnel visibility – For now, using Conversions API and the pixel in tandem will give you a holistic view of your entire marketing funnel. You can more easily and effectively personalize ads, customize your intended audience, and optimize the outcomes with this influx of information.

Facebook Graph API is the simplest way for you to transfer data into and out of Facebook. You need a token to interact with Facebook’s Graph API which you can get after you enter your login. Graph API also acts as an intermediary between the rest of Facebook’s APIs. This HTTP-based interface allows you to query data, upload and publish images, posts, and stories, manage ads, and more.

Facebook Live Video API connects the various components of a live stream, including encoders, cameras, plus web and desktop apps, to broadcast, schedule live streams, and connect with audiences through chat, polls, and more.

Facebook Marketing API is a collection of data points from Graph API that enables you to make informed advertising decisions. Create ad templates, automate your process, build dashboards to compare advertising channels, and segment your audience into data-driven groups for targeting purposes.

Facebook Pages API allows you to connect apps to a Facebook Page in order to update content, create and access posts, change settings, and view important insights.

Instagram Graph API allows businesses and creators to use third-party apps to manage their social media presence. Users can publish content, manage comments, see their mentions and related hashtags, and compare metrics against other professional Instagram accounts.

WhatsApp Business API is a customer interface tool that allows businesses to create a professional profile and connect with customers over direct messaging from all across the world.

Understand what data you’re collecting – If you know exactly what data is coming in, you can make responsible choices about who to share it with, how to protect the highly personal information, and how to explain to your customers that sharing their data benefits them, too.

Understand how this data is being used – You can’t, in good conscience, outsource your data management and analytics to a third-party service provider without knowing what they’ll be doing, who else they might be sharing your data with, and how they similarly intend to safeguard your customer’s data privacy.

Only proceed with lawful permission – With the development of European and other privacy laws, you have a relatively high bar to reach when securing valid consent to collect someone’s data with cookies or other trackers. It must be:

1. Freely given – If the only way to access a site is by accepting cookies, then the user doesn’t have a genuine choice.
2. Specific and informed – The user understands who receives their data, for what reasons, and that their consent is revocable at any time.
3. Unambiguous and affirmative – The user must perform a positive action to indicate their willing consent, like checking an “I agree” box. If consent is assumed, rather than explicitly granted, it’s not considered valid.

Be aware of sensitive information – Extra precautions should always be taken when handling data that reveals key facts about the user like race, religion, and sexuality, as well as financial information, medical details, and genetic data. This information should only be collected and shared—securely, of course—when absolutely necessary.

Check that your Facebook pixel is properly set up on your website. You’ll want to use this same pixel for both browser and server events when implementing Conversions API.

Create a Business Manager if you don’t already have one. This lets you integrate all of your various marketing channels and campaigns.

Secure an access token, either through Facebook’s Events Manager or by using your own app.