What Does the iOS 14 Update Mean for Your Facebook Ads?

There has been a lot of discussion in the digital space about Apple’s iOS 14 update and how it relates to Facebook advertising in particular. I’ve read and heard rumors over the years that there would be legislation that would put an end to Facebook ads. These, of course, never happened or had a significant impact on the business, so Facebook advertising has trudged along over the years.

However, the threat appears to be more serious this time, as evidenced by Facebook’s reaction to the policy. In this article, I will:

• Explain in detail what the iOS update entails.
• Explain how this will impact your Facebook advertising.
• Assist you in planning and strategizing in response to the update.

So keep reading if you want to make the most of your marketing and advertising efforts on the Facebook platform.

What impact iOS 14 has on Facebook marketers

There are numerous resources outlining the situation with iOS 14, most notably from Facebook. To summarize, Apple announced changes in iOS 14 that will affect how Facebook receives and processes conversion events from tools such as the Facebook pixel. In essence, any company that advertises mobile apps, as well as those that optimize, target, and report on web conversion events, will be impacted. In short, Apple is requiring that all apps in the App Store display a prompt to iOS users, essentially asking for permission for the app to track them outside the platform in various ways: iOS 14 makes third-party data access available.

Unless people opt in to tracking on iOS 14 via this prompt, this new iOS 14 policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing. This may look or sound familiar because most websites that use cookie tracking rushed to implement prompts in response to GDPR requirements. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ve probably seen one of these on a news site or blog that you’ve visited.

If iOS users choose to opt-out of Facebook’s tracking, the following chain reactions will occur:

• If Facebook is unable to track user behavior, the tracking pixel’s effectiveness and all of its implications are severely limited. This leads to inaccurate conversion reporting, as well as ineffective remarketing efforts.
• The ability to target will be weakened. That means your ability to create hyper-personalized ads for audiences may be hindered greatly. (Here are some iOS 14 Facebook ad targeting tips.)
• Less targeting options means more wasted spending and less personalization of ad copy.

Facebook’s reaction to iOS 14

It’s clear from Facebook’s reaction to these updates that they’re concerned, and some might even say panicked. This update has the potential to severely harm their revenue. According to Statista.com, 79.9 percent of Facebook users only use the app on their mobile phones, while 1.7 percent only use it on desktop or laptop computers. The remaining 18.5% use it on both.

A significant portion of that 79.9 percent will be using an iOS device with the iOS 14 update. There will be a percentage of those users who will allow the app to track their data, but the number is unknown and unlikely to be a significant proportion of the total. With popular documentaries like “The Social Dilemma” and years of user data scandals, it’s safe to assume that the majority of iOS users will opt-out of Facebook’s tracking.

Facebook has responded by criticizing Apple’s decision, claiming that it will harm small businesses looking to advertise on their platform. This sentiment, like many others these days, is correct but somewhat misleading and manipulative. Large corporations benefit the most from advertising on Facebook, and while small businesses contribute to that revenue, they aren’t the primary players in Facebook’s advertising business model. When large corporations with millions of dollars to spend on advertising decide that it is no longer worthwhile to spend that money on Facebook and instead go elsewhere, panic ensues.

Having said that, these changes will have a complete impact on small businesses. In fact, it will have a significant impact on all businesses that advertise on the platform. Dan Levy, Facebook’s VP of Ads and Business Products, outlines his arguments against the iOS update in a post titled Speaking Up for Small Businesses. According to the article, Apple is requiring an update to encourage apps to include in-app payments and subscriptions (all of which they would profit from). He also discusses how the update reduces the ability of small businesses to target, which is very true. Small businesses have limited resources and require as many options for fine-tuning targeting as possible. Furthermore, Levy points out that Apple isn’t always following its own rules. That is because Apple’s own personalized ad platform is not subject to the new iOS 14 policy, Apple is not required to send you the prompt, but other applications are.

What impact does iOS 14 have on your Facebook ads?

This update will have an impact on your ads in a number of ways. Among those mentioned by Levy are:

Subscriptions and in-app payments will be forced on businesses.

This repercussion stems from Apple’s failure to “play by their own rules.” Simply put, they do not receive a cut of Facebook’s ad revenue or that of other apps with similar business models. However, when an app has in-app subscriptions or payments, they do.

Advertising that is inefficient and ineffective

As previously stated, this boils down to the ability to track events and behavior in the same way that you used to. If done correctly, all Facebook advertising strategies will include some form of remarketing, conversion tracking, or lookalike generation—all of which rely on the Facebook tracking pixel’s effectiveness. If a user opts out of tracking, the Facebook Pixel becomes ineffective for that user. If all users on Facebook’s properties on an iPhone opt-out of Facebook’s tracking, you will be unable to remarket to those individuals in the future on their mobile device.

Ads generate fewer website sales.

This claim is based on Facebook’s “studies” using their own data, so take it with a grain of salt. Having said that, the trend toward de-personalized ads will have an impact on those looking to increase sales through Facebook. A loss of personalization, in particular, could result in 60% fewer website sales from ads.

Ad revenue from Facebook app installs has decreased.

The loss of personalization could result in a 50% drop in revenue as a result of Facebook app install ads. This point is intended for those who create apps and promote them through Facebook ads. The point is similar to the one mentioned above, implying that the loss of remarketing and ad personalization will result in massive revenue reductions.

Small businesses have a more difficult time reaching their ideal audience, limiting their growth.

This refers to a small business’s ability to not only remarket to users who have previously visited their website, but also to use pixel data to create lookalike audiences.

How to Prepare for the iOS 14 Update

As previously stated, the main component of Facebook advertising that will be impacted by this is pixel tracking. This includes things like remarketing lists, conversion events, and so on. When you create a Facebook conversions campaign, the algorithm learns and optimizes to drive more of the desired action for you. Simple workarounds for the update in the near future include:

Exclude iOS devices from conversion-focused campaigns.

This isn’t a permanent solution for running paid advertising on Facebook in the future, but it may give you an idea of what to expect when the update goes live.

Create campaigns that are not related to the conversion goal.

This would imply running web visit campaigns or others and using your website’s internal tracking to determine if the ads resulted in a sale or conversion. Without relying entirely on Facebook’s tracking pixel, UTMs and a variety of other tactics can be used to determine which campaign, ad set, and ad a conversion occurred from. Lead ad campaigns can also be used. This strategy will not have an impact on retargeting audiences, but it will help you drive results from prospecting campaigns.

On your landing pages, add an extra layer or break down your conversion flow.

This means requiring users to provide information about themselves earlier in the conversion process. First and last names, as well as email addresses, can be uploaded back into Facebook to create custom audiences for retargeting purposes. This is a very roundabout approach to the problem, but it may allow you to rely on people who are willing to give you information rather than pixel fires from simple page views.

Facebook Ads in the Future

I don’t think this is the end of Facebook advertising, and I’m cautiously optimistic that it will have a smaller impact than expected. Facebook has nearly reached the point where it is considered a “too big to fail” company. I believe that several workarounds will emerge in the coming months to assist advertisers in weathering the storm. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to prepare for the changes and put your company in the best possible position to succeed in terms of advertising.

As previously stated, the first step is to begin testing and attempting to rely less on the Facebook pixel. You can also look into ways to get more out of other advertising channels such as Google, Bing, and Linkedin by building remarketing audiences on those platforms. If history has taught us anything, it is that humans, like tech corporations, are extremely adaptable. I believe that resolutions will be passed in 2021 to mitigate the effects of these updates.