6 min Read

Facebook Ads & iOS 14: What you should know

So… You’re Here To Learn About Facebook Ads & Apple Ios 14

If You’re A Business That Uses Facebook Ads To Generate Leads Or Sales, Then This Is For You.

#Throwback for a second…

Last year, Apple announced the roll out of their brand new iOS 14; a brand-spanking-new design that gave people the chance to radically customise and change their homescreens. We welcomed widgets, updates Memoji’s and the App Library, which automatically sorts apps together allowing you to only have the apps you want on your homescreen. Bye bye endless scrolls to find that app you only use once a month

Along with this, we got compact calls, Picture in Picture and a revolutionary automation-creation; Shortcuts. With the likeness of Android and a step in the right direction for those custom-crazy techies, iOS 14 was embraced and revered by the wide majority of Apple lovers.

Then at the end of 2020, businesses and agencies were hit with the news that there are going to be big changes to Facebook Ads thanks to an incoming update by Apple; iOS 14.4. With no definite date and still so much unknown (even to us), it can be hard to understand exactly what it is that we should be preparing for.

We haven’t got all the answers, and the extent of the impact on businesses is something we can only wait for, but we’re going to share with you everything we know so far…

You may have seen this notification appear recently in Facebook Ads Manager:

Sometime in the coming months (you know Apple loves their mysteries), Apple will be implementing a pop up message to every user after updating their iOS device, that’s all compatible iPhones, iPods & iPads, to iOS 14.4, allowing them to opt out of data tracking “across Apps and Websites owned by other companies”.

So is it time to panic yet…?

How many people will be opting out of sharing their private data…?

Why is Apple doing this? And what do they have up their sleeves…?

…Well, 1. We’re not panicking, 2. the extent really does depend on your business, and 3. who knows what Apple has up their sleeves… like ever?

Take a breath, we’re here to help you with this for now:

How Apple iOS 14 will affect Facebook and Instagram Ads
What these changes will look like for agencies and businesses
How you can prepare for the changes and set up your Facebook Ads Manager

So… You’re Here To Learn About Facebook Ads & Apple Ios 14

In accordance with new protocol for web attribution called Private Click Measurement (PCM), the update will restrict data that can be shared across platforms. Traffic campaigns that rely on landing page views and Conversions campaigns that rely on activity from custom conversions and standard events, so app-to-web and cross-domain measurement, is most at risk.

This will change what can be tracked via your Facebook Pixels.

Facebook Pixels as we’re sure you already know, are used to track users when they fill out forms, add items to a cart, make a purchase or take any action on your site through custom conversions. Opting out of tracking means users on an iOS device cannot be seen by the Facebook Pixel, and you won’t be able to see anyone taking these actions.

But what about Retargeting Audiences?

Well, retargeting will definitely change. Because your pixel isn’t gaining insights from these users, it means it isn’t learning their actions and feeding the AI. Creating a retargeting audience from anyone who takes actions on your site is still going to be possible, however the results of which can be assumed to be different due to under-reporting.

…Or building Audiences at all?

This is still a little fuzzy, but from what we can assume, users who visit your site from an iOS device with tracking permissions turned off, will not automatically go into your retargeting or Lookalike audiences.

So basically in short terms, this update is going to limit your ability to;

Effectively target audiences of users based on engagement with your business.
Measure and report on conversions.
Ensure that the most relevant people are seeing your ads
Predict and optimise cost per action and efficiently allocate budgets.

What will these changes really mean for advertisers?

(And digital marketing agencies like us?)

As an agency that deals with Facebook Ads day in and day out, it’s definitely shocking at this stage to think of what we have in our midst. We have clients who run both long term and agile campaigns that require hands on managing and optimising. One thing we have to remember is that change happens all the time, and we’re well practiced in the world of technology

We will still receive leads, we will still receive sales, but our weekly Work In Progress (WIP) calls that are so complex thanks to our extensive reporting methods, may just be a little duller.

We won’t be able to see with 100% confidence that sales are coming from us (even though WE know they are), as reporting within Ads Manager is going to be different. There may be a few teething problems for a bit between agencies and clients, as maintaining the confidence through extensive reporting, while seeing (possibly) lower number, is a learning process for everyone.

So how can we prepare our Facebook Ads for the Apple iOS 14 Update?

Simple steps to Apple-Proof your Business

1. Verify your domain (or your clients domains).

The first and easiest step is to verify your domain in the Facebook Business Manager. Under Facebook Business Settings in Ads Manager, select ‘Brand Safety’, ‘Domains’, select a domain and follow the appropriate steps. You can verify a domain in Facebook by adding a DNS TXT file to your domain name, you can upload a HTML file to your root directory, or implement a Meta-Tag into the section of your website.

2. Define 8 key conversion events to track.

Once this update rolls out entirely, you’ll only be able to associate 8 conversion events for each Facebook Pixel. Identify the most important conversion events in your funnel, then reduce them down to 8 prior to the update. Don’t forget that these will have to be for Top-of-Funnel & Bottom-of-Funnel Campaigns.

3. Leverage Email.

Focus on gaining leads with email addresses so that you no longer rely solely on your Facebook Pixel for retargeting. You could try and delve into the world of Email Marketing (if you haven’t already), if you’re looking for a head start, see how we can help you create the perfect Email Marketing Campaigns– we’re experts!

4. Use Breakdown reports to see how many events are currently from iOS devices.

This will help you understand how you may be impacted. You can easily see these reports in Google Analytics under Audience > Mobile > Device.

5. Get into the habit of adding UTM’s to all Facebook Ads.

The new update has been said to push marketers back to relying on the last click model for first time acquisition, making it more important than ever to accurately and consistently assign UTMs to your Facebook Ads.

6. Post purchase surveys.

You can get a sense of what platforms are driving your customers if you put in place an effective post-purchase survey. Though it may not be the most accurate way, it can definitely give you an extra leg up on where the most front-of-mind advertising is, or where users are really noticing your ads.

So…

At Sydney Digital Marketing, we are an expert team of on-it techies, and have been in the passenger seat as Facebook and Apple drop more and more updates, and bring us closer to the Facebook and Apple apocalypse, honestly, the war of the century. We’re here with one hand in the bucket of popcorn, and the other on our trackpads constantly searching and following the goss.

The one thing we can be sure of is that as apps update, adapt, change, and leverage themselves, new technologies emerge and even newer processes come out of it.

In 2021 it really will be a test on how agile and tactical agencies and businesses can be to stay on top of the change, and rein above the market.

As always, if you’re wishing to speak to an agency that can help you with and beyond Facebook Ads, give us a call on 2 3813 8354 or email us at sayhello@sydneydigitalmarketing.com.au

Resources:

Some great articles for more information:

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