How Your Facebook Ads Will Be (Negatively) Affected by Apple’s Updated Privacy Laws & What You Can Do About It

There has been quite a bit of chatter over the last few months with the two big-name tech companies going head-to-head.

With big advertising changes comes big responsibility (and potentially big budget adjustments).

We’re here to keep you in the loop, tell you why you should care, and what you must know about the new advertising changes to ensure your campaigns stay on track.

Let’s catch you up to speed.

What the Heck Is Happening?

For those of you who may have missed the headlines, here’s a quick overview of what’s happening in the world of big tech.

Facebook and Apple are in a feud, butting heads over what, you may ask?

User privacy.

This fight, while escalating by the moment, isn’t actually anything new as Apple has had tight control over its user privacy settings ever since it released its first iPhone.

Capping cookie duration (which is what advertisers use to find out useful information about users who have visited your site) was just one of the major features that Apple controlled on its devices, essentially making Apple users harder to target.

However, the new changes that will be imposed on iOS14.5 and Mac iOS11 are far more drastic than ever before, leaving many wondering what will happen to digital advertising.

What are Apple’s New Protocols?

Apple’s Tracking Transparency (ATT) is now stating that there should be no linkage between a user and an ad click event, meaning that ad platforms (like Facebook) will have no insights to identify the specific user.

To break it down further, the advertiser will only be able to report on campaign level metrics like clicks and conversions, leaving the more granular details out, like:

• Demographic conversions
• User attribute conversions
• Broad spectrum event tracking
• Specific ad conversions

Here’s why it matters: You will be able to see conversions, but you’ll be kept in the dark as to who exactly liked your product and what advertisement worked best in resonating with your audience.

While Apple is pushing the angle of user privacy, Facebook snapped back, implying these new protocols would destroy small businesses’ reach.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

The good news: These changes haven’t gone live yet, so there is still time to formulate strategies.

Here is a look at some of the things that could be changing in early spring due to this Facebook – Apple feud:

• Limited event tracking (aka less data about user interaction): Advertisers will report only 8 types of conversion events. (e.g. Add to cart, purchase, lead, etc.).
• Limited attribution windows (aka harder to attribute ad spend to sales): Campaign data will only be stored on Apple devices for 7 days.

• Slower campaign reporting (aka reduced ability to respond quickly): Reporting will be delayed between 24-48 hours, so ad platforms can’t maneuver around protocols. Facebook might even add an additional 24 hrs for data processing, which means analyzing your campaign report will become painfully slow.

• Reporting reduced to ad set/ad group level only (aka less insight about ad performance): We will only get reports on campaign level conversions and they will be much less detailed than before.

• Fewer user attribute breakdowns (aka less info about users): Demographics, interests, regions, and other categories will no longer be featured in the campaign reporting.

Here’s the bottom line: 

Less data on the marketing end means it will be harder to target your ideal buyer.

But we’ve got a silver lining for you.

3 Ways You Can Evolve Your Ad Strategy to Adapt to Apple’s Privacy Changes

Here are a few strategic ways you can create a hedge of protection against Apple’s new privacy changes following the Facebook – Apple feud.

1. Diversify Your Ad Spend

No platform is getting off of the hook from these new Apple limitations – Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, you name it. You might as well start experimenting with other social platforms!

Real estate does particularly well on Pinterest with low costs per click and high-intent of home design/purchasing. In addition, according to a Pew Research study, the majority of Pinterest users make over $75K in annual income.

E-commerce brands, on the other hand, see explosive sales via the viral platform TikTok. With over 2.6 billion downloads, a TikTok strategy can be a lucrative new channel to build your audience.

2. Get Creative… & Maybe Even Edgy

Half of the work is pushing out ads, but the other half is creating the content that will engage users long enough to interact with it (and if it’s really good) share it.

Edgy brand, Mudwtr, gained traction with their coffee alternative, when they launched the campaign “Fuck Your Coffee”, generating millions in sales with wording that stopped the user in their tracks. While this approach isn’t for every brand, it shows what off-the-cusp campaigns can achieve.

Investing in high-quality creative can go a long way when it comes to conversions. Pushing the envelope and being forward-thinking with your messaging can drive users to engage with and share your content with their friends.

3. Actually Educate Your User (Go Beyond SEO to User Buy-In)

The same can be said for content that educates the consumer.

When you provide an experience that the user walks away feeling as though they didn’t waste time but rather gained knowledge, they will positively associate that with your brand and be more likely to share it with a friend.

Also, consumers might simply not be aware of all the benefits that your product offers or different ways it can be used.

Here’s a great example.

Supplement brand, Ancient Nutrition, does a stellar job of educating its consumers on FAQs regarding health on its social media platforms. Using graphics and evidence-based research, they teach their consumers something new every day and their content has a massive organic reach through shares and tags.

The key takeaway here is that educational content is extremely compelling for user buy-in – making your business less reliant on paid ads.

With All That Being Said, Lean (Gracefully) Into Change With Strong Digital

This big change following this Facebook – Apple Feud has yet to happen, and while it’s unclear what the immediate future will hold for digital marketing, it’s good to stay informed and create some backup plans!

If this does happen, we will see a big wave of companies begin to move their KPI benchmarks away from return on ad spend (ROAS). At the same time, Facebook has some of the fanciest tools for their marketers, and have the ability to even complete the conversion.

If you need help formulating a digital strategy that leans into this new wave, contact our digital experts at Chatter Buzz for a free digital audit.