The changes in Facebook ads and marketing after iOS14 will become a fact in early 2021.
You may be wondering what the iOS update notice means Apple that appears at the start of Ads Manager.
Starting in early 2021, Apple will show Facebook and Instagram App users a pop-up message allowing them to opt out of data tracking “across Apps and websites owned by other companies”.
In this article, you will learn:
- How the Apple iOS 14 update will affect advertisers
- The biggest issues ahead
- Actions you can take now to prepare
- How to verify your domain ownership in Facebook
- Whether or not you should panic
A few warnings:
- There are still many unknowns, so part of this is speculation
- We do not know how many people will opt out when they see this prompt
- We do not know exactly when this will happen
What will happen after the update to ads on Facebook and Instagram?
The biggest effects of this change:
Tracking Facebook Pixel events.
This will affect every type of tracking, such as page views, product views, add to cart, purchases, etc.
If the user opts out, your Pixel will no longer record events.
Optimizing your ads for these actions will become unavailable. Since there will not be enough data coming in, the ads will probably not be optimized.
It will not be possible to create audiences for Dynamic Remarketing, Lookalike Audiences, App Users audiences, etc.
All of this applies to people who refuse tracking access on their Apple IOS14 device.
Data tracking will still work on Android and Desktop and for people who DO NOT opt out; in addition, Facebook is making some significant changes that I will discuss.
I should note that all other platforms will be affected too - Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snap Chat, Tik Tok, YouTube and Google.
You will still be able to generate actions and sales; the only difference is that the possibilities for optimizing ad campaigns will decrease significantly.
Goals that will be affected:
Traffic ads optimized for landing page views. If you optimize for link clicks, your ads will not be affected.
Conversion ads that are optimized for standard or custom events.
App installs when targeting iOS
Dynamic sales, Facebook & Instagram Shop will be trackable.
In short, every Facebook Pixel activity will be affected.
The biggest issues for advertisers
There are multiple changes in Facebook Ads and Apple iOS 14 that will happen at the same time.
Some are interconnected, while others are independent.
Of course, analytics data will be the main issue.
Everything will continue as before, without optimization and reporting capabilities
So your cost per action will increase, but by how much exactly
We will not be able to retarget content and build loyalty through personalized content.
The problem is especially serious for online stores, but as I mentioned, there are many unknowns.
Another issue: Facebook currently tracks up to a maximum of 8 events per domain (standard events such as purchase, as well as custom ones!!).
After the changes take effect, a maximum of 8 events will be trackable, and the option to include custom events will be removed.
All ad sets that use such events will be paused.
This may not affect people who have a simplified funnel with few steps, but for people with multiple products and personalized content it will be a problem!
The conversion tracking window is also being reduced.
So, if you have a longer sales cycle, you will see reported purchases decrease.
Facebook will only track windows that report:
- 1-day click
- 7-day click (default)
- 1-day click and
- 1-day view
- 7-day click and 1-day view
This issue actually does not depend on Apple, because Facebook is introducing the change for all ad campaigns.
Many of our clients focus on a shorter sales cycle and window, so this may not be such a big problem, but shorter windows can be used for reporting and then averaged to the desired size.
Those who optimize for mobile app installs will also be affected.
Marketing after iOS14: how to prepare?
Verify your domain.
I am not sure why Facebook considers this important now, but it is something they recommend.
Do this for every domain.
Prepare the available data and compare it with the data after the change; this will help you understand the average change in reporting.
Choose which conversion events you will use if you have more than 8.
Focus your advertising efforts on getting email addresses from customers so that you can rely less on Pixel optimization for retargeting. Lead generation campaigns will gain a significant advantage.
Should advertisers panic about the changes in Facebook Ads and Apple iOS 14?
What we definitely know is that conversion reporting WILL get worse, because there will definitely be people who opt out.
There are still MANY unknowns, so I do not think we should panic yet.
Many advertisers will be affected only minimally.
So, let's save the panic for later - after all, we made it to 2021 🙂
