Stay ahead of the curve with these tips to pivot your conversion strategy.
Data tracking is more widespread than ever before, making consumer data privacy and the right to use that data a hot topic.
As marketers, the equation is simple: the more data we have access to, the more targeted our ads can be and, therefore, the more effective our campaigns have the potential to be.
But not all end-users feel the same.
Global attention regarding individuals’ rights as it relates to data privacy spiked with the EU’s adoption (April 2016) and enforcement (May 2018) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In its simplest form, this European regulation is an opt-in measure that forces businesses to gain explicit consent to use an individual’s data rather than rely on a user opting out of sharing their data. This regulation has served as a model for other countries’ data laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Want to learn more about GDPR and its implications? You can read about our thoughts on it here.
Now, you might be wondering: what does GDPR have to do with iOS 14.5 impacts on Facebook advertising? Technically, nothing – they’re separate initiatives. But at the core, Apple’s updates put control back in the hands of the users, much like GDPR.
What iOS 14.5 Update Impacts Facebook Advertisers?
The largest iOS 14.5 impact on Facebook that most directly affects advertisers (who utilize web and app conversion tracking) is called App Tracking Transparency (ATT). By definition, “App Tracking Transparency will require apps to get the user’s permission before tracking their data across apps or websites owned by other companies” (Apple, 2021). This means all apps available in the Apple App Store (including Facebook) will proactively prompt users to consent to have their data shared when interacting beyond the original app. Historically, users would have to actively opt-out of such data sharing.
While this update affects all apps in the App Store, Facebook is one of the most widely impacted and most vocal about the potential implications. As seen by the full-page newspaper ads they placed in late 2020, Facebook contends that Apple’s update most adversely affects their millions of small business advertisers.
Facebook is a low barrier-to-entry advertising platform with a history of providing even the smallest advertising budgets with a holy grail of consumer data that enables them to deliver personalized campaigns. While the former will still be true post-iOS-14.5 enforcement, the latter is still to be determined.
How Does App Tracking Transparency Affect Facebook Advertisers Measuring Web Conversions?
Conversion-based advertising is most directly affected by ATT since it includes the tracking of users after they leave Facebook’s app. While not all aspects of Facebook advertising are impacted, conversion tracking is one of the key benefits its been able to provide.
- There will be fewer conversion data overall to optimize against.
The ATT prompt brings the decision of data consent to the forefront, which historically has not been the case. With this, many are anticipating that more users will not opt-in to sharing their data than have historically opted out of sharing their data. This means there will be fewer users whose data advertisers can track, decreasing data pools.
Further to the point of whose data is being tracked, we have to assume at present that the trackable iOS 14.5 audience is proportionally representative of the overall original audience pool and make optimization decisions based on such until data proves otherwise.
- Facebook had to make platform updates to be compliant with Apple’s standards.
To remain compliant with Apple’s requirements to stay in the App Store, Facebook had to make the following adjustments to its advertising platform:
- Conversion Event Configuration
For users who opt in to share their data with Facebook, only eight conversion events can be tracked for any given ad account and must be prioritized from most important to least.
For users who don’t opt into sharing their data with Facebook, only one conversion event can be tracked and is defaulted to the highest priority event.
TL;DR: Advertisers can’t track as many conversions as they used to, even if users opt into data sharing.
- Attribution Window Adjustments
Gone is the 28-day attribution period (view-through or click-through) for conversions. After iOS 14.5 enforcement, attribution windows will be limited to 7-days for click-through and 1-day for view-through.
TL;DR: Advertisers can’t track users for as long of a period as they used to.
- Domain Verification Requirement
Any domain tracking conversion events must be verified within Facebook by the advertiser. Though tracking conversions across multiple domains was always a challenge, this update makes it a moot point.
TL;DR: Advertisers can’t track conversions on domains they don’t own.
- Advertisers can expect a negative impact on cost and conversion metrics due to what’s being tracked.
Since these new limitations mean we’re able to track fewer users and, therefore, fewer conversions, we can anticipate a decrease in net (trackable) conversions and an increase in (trackable) cost per conversion. While these visible metrics will almost undoubtedly be impacted, there are likely untracked conversions still occurring that would have historically been attributed to Facebook.
Where Do iOS 14.5 Updates Leave Facebook Advertisers?
These updates illustrate why we as advertisers need to be at the forefront of what’s happening in our space. In this case, specifically, the enforcement date of iOS 14.5 hasn’t been shared – but there’s plenty that Facebook is instructing advertisers measuring web conversions to do proactively, including:
- Verify applicable domains
- Manage and prioritize conversion events
- Clean up conversion pixels
There’s only so much we can do in advance of a change – and that’s our responsibility as top-notch advertisers. Once all appropriate measures have been taken, it’s important to monitor performance, note differences compared to historical data, and evaluate new ways to close any new performance gaps. Advertising on Facebook will undoubtedly be different moving forward, and it will be up to us to determine its future value in every strategy’s paid media mix.
Not sure how to start adapting your campaigns for the iOS 14.5 update? Drop us a line – our paid media pros are ready to help get your campaigns set up for post-iOS-14.5 success.