Facebook Ads 2021: Major Changes and How to deal with it

Be aware that starting in early 2021, Apple will be showing a prompt on IOS users of Facebook and Instagram which allows them to opt-out of data tracking across “Apps and Websites owned by other companies”. This feature is also referred to as App Tracking Transparency (ATT)

App Tracking Transparency will limit the accessibility of IOS 14 device user’s data which can be used for ad targeting and remarketing. IOS Users will be prompted to opt-in or opt-out on the ATT. We predict that a lot of people will opt-out of the ATT since a huge chunk of people are cautious about their data privacy.

So how does the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) affect your Facebook & Instagram Ads?

Here are the things that we think will have a major impact.

• Custom Conversion and Events – Events like Leads, Add to Cart, Purchases and even custom conversions will now show smaller results due to people opting-out of ATT. Facebook also stated that they will only allow 8 custom conversions / events per domain which can be really limiting for a planned out business strategy. The optimization of your ads will also be affected because of this.
• Web Events – Facebook will introduce Aggregated Event Measurement (AET)  to support the measurement of web events from iOS 14 users once Apple requires the ATT prompt. We are unsure what this specific feature does, but Facebook has stated that it is designed to help measure campaign performance in a way that is consistent with consumers’ decisions about their data.
• Retargeting / remarketing ads – Still unclear, but when you create your retargeting audience, anyone who visited your website while using an iOS 14 device won’t be able to see your retargeted ad if they opt-out of App Tracking Transparency (ATT) but we will have to see it ourselves once the update is live by early 2021.
• Creating audiences – Since you will likely have fewer data of who visited your site using an iOS 14 device, remarketing or lookalike audiences can drastically decrease its size once more people opt-out on the App Tracking Transparency (ATT).
• App Installs Ads –  If you’re running app installs, Facebook sadly won’t be able to optimize around this or any app-related conversions for iOS 14  devices.

Though these changes might sound alarming, one thing is for sure that only IOS 14 devices will only be affected. Devices like Windows desktops, Android phones, and tablets aren’t affected.

Moving Forward for Facebook Ads

Facebook is known to roll out sudden big and small changes but we think this is only just the beginning. For every change, there is always a testing period. Only time will tell if Facebook will stick to these changes or tweak the updates to be more advertiser-friendly given that Facebook’s primary source of income is from ads.

More Difficult Ad Management

As stated above, factors like Ad optimizations, Custom Conversion / Events, and Audiences are taking a big hit from this update. Sadly, these components are really essential for ad optimizations.

The Attribution window (also known as Conversion Window) will no longer be able to track longer periods of time. Facebook will now only track 1 day click, 7 day click, 1 day click & 1 day view and 7 day click & 1 day view.

If you wish to see the official Facebook statement for the IOS 14 update, You can find it here on this link.

So how do you deal with it?

• Verify your domain – Since a domain will only be allowed to use 8 conversion actions / events. It is a great idea to verify your domain by connecting it to a single Facebook Pixel. Most domains have multiple pixels installed on them and this might result in exceeding the 8 conversion actions / events limit.
• Plan your conversion actions / events carefully – As mentioned above, if you have more than 8 conversion actions then it’s going to be a problem. These conversion actions include the following: Add to Cart, Purchase, Lead, Complete Registration, and any custom conversions you may have set up.
• Analyze your existing data from IOS devices – This way you can see and understand clearly how your reports might be impacted by the iOS 14 Update. You should also consider that Facebook might remove the data you collected from IOS 14 devices once the update rolls out so make sure to analyze them while it’s still available
• Notify your clients or colleagues regarding the update – Communication is the key to success and being aware of the situation is the best prep work for these kinds of changes.

Facebook also shared how to prepare for the update. Here’s everything you need right here on this link.