iOS 15 is here as of the 20th and it’s causing us media buyers heck. Apple is cornering the ad market in the name of user privacy and the results have shown. We have a downloadable PDF from Facebook on their response to iOS 14+ if you want to jump to it here. Whether you are a media buyer or business owner, you have likely seen big changes to your Facebook data with these OS updates. Before we dive into what iOS 15 is causing issues further, we must first go back to April; the month Facebook ads changed for the worse.
April 2021 was a significant year for Facebook ads. Apple, Google and Facebook have always had a feud over media space and as of April, the iPhone giant drew a massive line in the sand claiming that users have a right to their data. Don’t get it twisted. We believe in user privacy as much as the next marketing agency, but this has drawbacks.
First, users are still going to receive ads; they just won’t be as personalized. So you can say all you want about ads annoyances, but this is just going to get worse over time at this rate. Second, our agency is predicting that Apple will eventually come out with its own ad platform as an extremely large revenue opportunity. Although this may be a stretch, it seems possible.
Fast forward to September, and now iOS is being released to the general public. This update, along with the previous OS is going to cause even more harm to Facebook ads. Below is a list of things you can do to help improve your Facebook ads in this turbulent time:
- Use broad targeting
Facebook’s algorithms are still inherently data packed. They can still find people, just not as efficiently as in the past. We have found that opening up targeting at the top funnel has yielded great results - Use on-Facebook actions as much as possible
This includes link clicks, video views, on-Facebook lead forms, etc. Although Facebook is limiting data across different platforms, on-Facebook actions will help you retain as much data as possible. - Integrate your CRM and utilize value-based conversions
Added earlier this summer, Facebook allows optimizing for people who are most likely to convert on your ad. - Make less manual changes
The article below goes more in depth on this subject, but it ties into point number one. Facebook’s algorithm will work with time if as it collects data. - Get your creatives on point
We had a call with our Facebook representative recently and they stated how creative is more important now than ever. One bad ad in a campaign will hurt your conversion rate. As much of a pain Facebook support can be, they have been super helpful in pointing out these issues. With these five points, your skillset, and the knowledge that costs and attribution are getting worse, we believe that it can work.
We have a document directly from Facebook that we found super beneficial below:
Despite this hurting brands more than benefitting, this is a great time to explore other marketing efforts, especially if you have the budget to do so. As a full-stack marketing agency, we have experience with all other platforms. While this update ultimately will affect most of the major platforms, Facebook will take the biggest hit, but we still have confidence in its ability to continually get conversions. If you have seen your analytics take a turn for the worse, we would be happy to review your structures and get you pointed in the right direction.
Feel free to reach out to advertising@findenmarketing.com to receive a free consultation.
