iOS14 Communication From Facebook: How Will It Affect Me?
Like many of our customers, you may have received a notice from Facebook stating that you will need to act urgently in response to the Apple changes in iOS14. These changes will affect how conversion events initiated by the user, such as “Likes” or “Searches”, are received and processed by tools such as the Facebook pixel - which uses online behaviour to build a profile of users to optimize ad performance. According to the notice, you will be asked to claim ownership of the pixels on your domain, and to ensure that new, complex guidelines are adhered to.
First, the good news: nothing will happen if nothing is done.
The implications of the new restrictions do not directly impact key features, such as audience creation, but they do, however, introduce new guidelines regarding what new Facebook best practices will soon look like. The most significant developments here include:
- The usage of standard events in the Facebook pixel
- Domains being verified by business managers who want to create conversion events based on pixel events
New Changes
To accommodate these new practices, Adfenix will introduce two ways in how the pixel will be operated:
- Adfenix will change the naming convention of our conversion events to fit the standard naming convention suggested by Facebook
- Adfenix will open up the ability to send events into your company’s pixel, which will then be shared with the Adfenix business manager
These steps will ensure that operational challenges with Facebook’s new guidelines are taken care of. More importantly, however, is addressing the impact that iOS14 will have and how it will change the landscape of digital advertising itself.
The Changing Face of Digital Advertising
For many years, we have seen increasing restrictions on how users can be tracked across the web.
- More and more browsers turn off third-party cookies by default
- More and more users turn off third-party cookies to prevent ad tracking
Because third-party cookies are the chief ingredient in the technology that has been used to identify users as they browse across different domains, it goes without saying that with the iOS14 update, we will see a huge leap towards third-party cookies becoming obsolete.
However, this is a good thing. Third-party cookies are of little benefit to users and small businesses alike, having been mainly a tool used by giant corporations to build data moats that few businesses can even hope to compete with.
Small businesses now face great opportunities. Although the level of advertising efficiency using your website data may take a hit for the next few months, there is space now for a more stable, privacy-oriented direction, where instead of building a ‘data moat’ that’s dependent on Google and Facebook, you’re now building it for your own business.
Because first-party data is data that you own for your own business, this transition is all about first-party data. It cannot leak away from your domain. Once you become a master at leveraging this powerful asset, you will continue to fortify your data moat ahead of the competition.
Lastly, it’s crucial we understand a few key concepts:
- You have first party data today in the form of contacts with an email
- You have first party data today in the form of users on your website
- You have the ability to leverage first party data in the Facebook advertising ecosystem, using audiences based on “customer lists” rather than “pixel events”
The challenge is that ticking the box on only two of these three things means that your advertising performance will dwindle. However, combining the power of all three means that you will thrive, without threat of any data leaks to Facebook or your competitors.
We hope this has been helpful. If there are any queries as to how you can wield the changes of the iOS14 update to your advantage, feel free to talk to Adfenix to learn more.
