We’re sure everyone has seen at least one article about the upcoming changes to ios 14 & the impact they will have across the digital marketing space, so we decided to go a bit deeper into what going on and the impact it will have.
But what is actually happening?
Simply put Apple will start displaying an App Tracking Transparency prompt (ATT) to users, which will be a pop-up upon launching an app allowing a user to block the sharing of data with other parties, similar to the location tracking pop up that was introduced on IOS 13 (which you might have seen already).
These changes will affect the ability to track, and granularly target users across the digital space. With iPhone use higher in Australia than in other markets it is anticipated that we will see changes to any digital activity running.
While we don’t know exactly when this will be pushed out to devices we can be pretty sure that the date is definitely edging closer, as it has been seen in the beta testing for the next round of updates for iOS 14.
Facebook Changes
As one of the most vocal platforms around the changes, Facebook has already implemented a series of changes to their ads platform & more to come once Apple releases ATT.
For example, as of the 19th of January, the 28-day attribution window is no longer used for campaigns, instead, the default is now either 7-day or 1-day settings. This means that you’ll see fewer conversions reported within Facebook Business Manager (but it doesn’t mean that the sales haven’t occurred, just that Facebook is no longer saying that it’s ad led to the sale).
The second major change is a limit of 8 events to be used within an ad account, and ranking these in terms of overall goals for Facebook advertising. Depending on the level of tracking a user has opted-in only the highest placed action that they take will be recorded by the pixel, not every single fire of each event as occurs now.
Other changes will include the removal of demographic reporting on website event results, as well as the events reporting being delayed & aggregated for enhanced privacy.
Another important step Facebook has introduced is Domain Verification. Recently Facebook has made this process even easier by introducing Meta-tag Domain Verification, which is a snippet of code inserted into the HTML of your website, much the same as installing a Facebook Pixel, confirming that you own the URL that you’re linking ads to.
While these changes sound scary, it’s always good to remember that they are going to affect everyone – from global corporations to the start-up side hustle. In fact, that’s one of the most exciting things about digital marketing – it’s always changing and keeping you on your toes!
What do I need to do?
The main action you can take at the moment is to ensure your domain is verified with a Facebook tracking code (different from the pixel). Its just a snippet of code to go on your site which will verify the domain so you can continue advertising.