iOS 14 Could Potentially Destroy Your Facebook Marketing Efforts!

Nicholas D'hondt

Yes, you heard that quite right. iOS 14 will be coming beginning of 2021 and it’s bringing a goddamn Warhammer.

The new Apple iOS update will kill cookie tracking, add new privacy rules and build a privacy wall even Trump couldn’t dream of. It is one of Apple’s biggest updates to date, introducing Home screen design changes, major new features, updates for existing apps, Siri improvements, and many other tweaks that streamline the iOS interface.

What does this mean for your marketing and in specific Facebook marketing?

With iOS 14, Apple goes to war against the biggest ad platforms as we know, with Facebook being one of them. By protecting user data, they’re positioning themselves as the new image for privacy security on your phone. For business managers and marketers this does mean that we won’t be able to track anymore if the user wishes. From then on, a privacy wall will appear which blocks most data.

Apple’s proposed changes limit your ability as an advertiser to effectively reach, understand and engage with people on mobile devices and the Internet. They impact your ability to understand performance, manage who sees your ads and make informed decisions regarding your ad budgets. Over time, as these changes take effect, you may see an overall decrease in terms of ad performance and personalization and an increase in cost per action.

Does this mean that we can’t advertise on iOS anymore?

No, it does mean that the world of marketing as we know will change and you’ll need to be prepared! The new update will push online websites and apps to use other back-end tracking methods like logins and subscriptions which then are captured in data warehouses.

Alright, is there also any good news?

Well .. no, the new update will change how business managers and marketeers design strategies. IOS will completely kill cookie-based tracking if the user wishes. But this might be the time for you to redesign your social media strategy because, as we know, Facebook doesn’t use cookie tracking. As long as the user is logged in Facebook, it will track if your potential customer was on your website or application.

How to prepare for these changes and keep operating your advertisements smoothly:

Verify Yourself

This is very easy and not unique to the iOS14 update, Facebook is just now highlighting this step to counter iOS14 changes and to keep everything operating smoothly. More info about verifying your Facebook business manager can be found here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/domain-verification/verifying-your-domain

Select your website’s or app’s 8 major events!

Facebook will be adapting their events to effectively measure on pixel data and aggregated data. This means that from then on, you can only measure 8 events (as well as custom events). Define what these 8 crucial events are throughout the customer journey and track them accordingly. Focus on priority events that will influence your OMTM (One Metric That Matters) the most.
Tip : Facebook will view these events as a priority list so place your highest priority event at the top (number 1) while placing the lowest priority event at the bottom (number 8)

Make sure you add UTM’s to all Facebook Ads

Facebook Marketers will be able to collect less data and will also be limited to a shorter data storage window. That’s why it’s important to add UTM tags to your Facebook ads to still collect enough data to keep it running properly. Do you need some help? Download our free Upthrust UTM Building Template in the link below.

Inform your stakeholders on how these changes will impact performance

At Upthrust, transparency is an important value, so we inform our customers well in advance about these changes and the impact they may have on their business and budget.

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