If you own an Apple product, chances are you’re familiar with iOS updates. The iOS 14 update promises everything from a more compact user interface to secure password monitoring. Most important of all is, arguably, the launch of new Mememoji hairstyles and age ranges. (We’re only half kidding about that last part.)
Today we’re going to focus on what’s changing for Facebook ads with iOS 14 as 2021 gets underway. Once you understand the new ways Facebook and Apple work together to optimize, target, and promote ads, you can tailor your social media strategy to those updates. Staying updated now means an easier transition for your business with iOS 15, 16, 17, and beyond.
Opting “In” and “Out” of User Tracking
Apple’s new policy under the iOS 14 update will prohibit sharing and data collection unless people opt in to be “tracked” via a prompt. The more iOS 14 users that opt-out, the trickier it will be to personalize Facebook ads and report on performance for them. This update may require you to revamp how and with whom you share your ads. Luckily, Facebook has promised to provide updates and resources for navigating this change in the coming months.
Limited Ad Creation
Want to continue to deliver optimized ads through your business’s site? Then make sure you know about these changes:
- Keep those conversion events relevant! Under the iOS 14 update, your pixel can only optimize eight conversion events, max, for each domain. Facebook will automatically pick out eight for you based on your activity and business, but feel free to swap these out as you like. In other words, be picky, and put your best foot forward. Well, your best eight feet, if you will.
- Some pixel conversion events will no longer be available. Before that happens, determine what changes you need to make to your campaign and your measurement strategy. For example, you may be more concerned about landing page views or link clicks than other measures of success and want to shine the spotlight on those instead.
- If your business has an app, you will be limited to 9 campaigns with five ad sets of the same optimization type each. The Reach and Frequency options won’t be available, but the Auction one will still be there. With this in mind, it’s crucial to perfect those ad campaigns before you send them out on their way.
Limited Reporting
Remember when you used to have free reign to measure your Facebook ad performance? That won’t be the case with the iOS 14 update. Again, much with the user tracking changes, it’s a privacy thing. Let’s explore what we mean by that:
- Real-time reporting isn’t a thing anymore. Instead, you may need to wait up to 3 days to get your data back. The web conversion events will also be tallied based on how many conversions occur, rather than how many impressions.
- Demographic delivery and action breakdowns, such as age, gender, and region, won’t be supported on either web or app conversions.
- A new ad set level attribution will help measure conversions in the same way Facebook informs campaign optimization. In plain English, that means analyzing ad performance will be far more straightforward. More updates on this to come, but Apple promises to provide plenty of guidance as these attributions change.
Limited Dynamic Ads
Let’s face it, as more users update to iOS 14, your retargeting audience sizes are going to decrease. If you still want to deliver dynamic ads on your site, Facebook suggests following the steps below:
- Verify that website domains match with product URLs. This is crucial if you use multiple domains in your catalog, because your product URLs won’t redirect to a different domain.
- Remember those eight conversion events we mentioned earlier? Look after those in the Events Manager. If your ad sets optimize for a conversion event that’s no longer a priority, they will be paused once Facebook rolls out aggregated event management.
- Use just one pixel per catalog and domain. More than one can lead to inaccurate captures and optimization for conversion events, and we wouldn’t want that to happen to events you care most about. Review those eight conversion events and make sure each pixel has been installed in the domain and linked with the catalog. We know one pixel isn’t always possible, but aim for that whenever you can.
- Again, if your business has an app, some iOS 14 devices default to web browsers rather than the app itself. You’ll want to create a new campaign that optimizes for link clicks to keep this from occurring.
This New Update is Heavy on the “Limits,” But That Doesn’t Mean Your Marketing Strategy Has to Be
Look, the iOS 14 update is… a lot. We know that. A lot of technical language, a lot of preplanning, a lot of challenges that would be alleviated with a digital marketing team by your side. Contact us for the latest and greatest updates in social media marketing. iOS updates may come with a huge learning curve, but they’re also your chance to shine.