Consumer privacy and third-party data tracking and cookies have become hot-button issues in the digital marketing world, as major browsers and underlying operating systems have begun to block third-party tracking cookies and ask users to consent to tracking for each app they use. For marketeers and companies that rely on third-party data to deliver targeted ads, personalized content and understand their digital marketing performance, this shifts the entire landscape.
One of the most reliable digital marketing tools has been Facebook advertising, and with the latest iOS changes, a number of changes are inevitably coming to how these ads work, how effective they are, and how much data they will supply for reporting. Let’s take some time to discuss exactly what the iOS update is, what is changing, what the changes mean specifically for Facebook advertising and tracking, and how to get prepared for the changes to ensure that Facebook remains a viable marketing channel.
What is the iOS 14 update?
If we boil down what the Apple iOS 14.5 update does, it allows users to actively opt out of being tracked when downloading and using apps from the App Store. Great for privacy, not so great for the millions of businesses that count on user data to engage more meaningfully, directly and specifically with users.
The iOS update will require that apps in the App Store using any form of “tracking” display a prompt and opt-in option to iOS 14 users. This change is in line with Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency framework, which specifies that companies/apps must secure the user’s permission to track them across apps. Likewise, app developers/app owners will have to supply the App Store with information about the app’s data collection practices.
Apple’s policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless users explicitly consent to tracking on iOS 14 devices via the prompt.
How will the iOS update affect Facebook advertisers?
We can all do the math: as more users opt out of tracking on iOS 14 devices, ad personalization and performance reporting will grow more limited for both app and web conversion events. It’s a big deal for people doing marketing with Facebook.
As Facebook itself has shared, iOS 14 changes affect how Facebook itself receives and processes conversion events from tools like the Facebook pixel. Any business relying on these tools to advertise mobile apps or to optimize, target, and report on web conversion events from any Facebook business will see the kinds of changes described: diminishing returns on usable data, such as viewed content, items added to cart, checkout, purchase and other events. All will be under-reported if users opt-out of tracking. Some of the biggest changes Facebook advertising customers will notice are:
- Less granular, detailed reporting in measurement and attribution: Lots of previously available information is going away. No more 28-day click-through, 28-day view-through, and 7-day view-through attribution windows, no more breakdowns by age, gender, and placement. Now there will be a 7-day default click-through window for non-iOS conversions and the SKAdNetwork window for iOS conversions, which is an API that helps advertisers measure campaign success without user-specific data.
- Less specific reporting: With less specific third-party user data, it’s impossible to offer much more than statistical modeling and algorithm-based hypotheses.
- Less ability to target advertising: According to Facebook, app developers and publishers will experience lower CPMs on Audience Network and likely other ad networks on iOS because data for retargeting and personalizing is now unavailable.
While the iOS change will affect all apps that collect user information, some will be more adversely affected than others. Looking at the big picture, upwards of 80% of Facebook users are on mobile, and half of them use iOS. It seems likely, and Facebook agrees, that most of these users will opt-out of tracking, which changes the face of Facebook marketing and advertising completely.
How to prepare your Facebook advertising strategy for iOS 14 changes
Naturally, considerable confusion and uncertainty followed the announcement of iOS 14’s data privacy measures, although the wind has been blowing in this direction for some time. Apple launched Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) with their Safari browser some time ago. Other major browsers followed suit. ITP effectively allowed for full tracking-cookie blocking. It was only a matter of time until these privacy measures extended to the App Store vis-à-vis social media networks as well.
What Facebook is doing
Facebook’s response is to introduce new statistical modeling as part of their Aggregated Event Measurement (AEM) protocol for measuring web events. Facebook will process pixel conversion events from iOS 14 devices to help strike a workable balance between user privacy and continuing to enable businesses to run effective and productive campaigns. AEM lets advertisers rank their conversion events in order of importance, and Facebook can use these ranking priorities to decide how to track conversions from people who have opted out of activity tracking. It’s been described elsewhere as shifting tracking from the user to the ad itself. This helps but isn’t a panacea: AEM has its limits and requires some configuration and verification steps for conversion tracking.
What you can do: Take action
Advertisers with Facebook should take a number of actions to make sure that the iOS 14 changes are the least disruptive as they can be. Here are our recommendations:
Specifically for your Facebook activities:
- Verify your website domains with Facebook
- Select and configure the top eight conversion events for tracking per domain in Events Manager (AEM only allows for eight)
More broadly:
- Re-evaluate and revise your whole digital marketing and channel strategy, which — let’s face it — in a situation like this seems timely, relevant, and necessary
- Identify viable alternatives to cookie-based tracking
- Look directly to your customers or prospects to feed you data themselves, incentivize data sharing
What will your Facebook ads and overall digital marketing strategy look like?
Whether you soldier on with Facebook ads and make the appropriate changes to your digital marketing strategies accordingly, or you want to shift focus to other channels, it is time to take a look at your Facebook ads strategy and overall digital marketing and channel strategy to evaluate:
- What iOS 14 means for your digital marketing on Facebook and more generally – now and in the future
- What your digital marketing strategy and resulting activities should look like as privacy becomes more important to consumers, and tech companies are responding with more privacy-oriented protections
We can help guide you through the changes and strategize for the new face of Facebook advertising as well as discuss other channels for marketing success and visibility.
Get in touch to discuss how we can strengthen your post iOS 14 digital marketing strategy.
