How will Apple’s iOS 14.5 release impact digital marketing?

What marketers need to know right now

There has long been some concerns about how Apple’s iOS 14.5 update will impact digital marketing, specifically advertising, and what digital marketers need to do to adapt moving forward. If you’re looking for a deep dive into this topic, look no further. But before we dive into the really technical stuff, here’s the high-level overview.

1. Apple’s iOS 14.5 update limits what behaviors online marketers can track and will give consumers the option to opt in or opt out of data sharing. For example, ads served on Facebook won’t know about the shoes someone left in their online shopping cart.
2. The way digital marketers create and track campaigns will change, including the need to ensure a business’ Facebook page and website are talking to each other.
3. There are easy steps every business can take right now to keep their digital ads at the top of their game. So, if you’re not a digital advertising pro, be sure to share this blog with the person on your team who obsesses over technical details and all things digital so they can implement these changes now.

What marketers should know about iOS 14.5

Facebook users will be greeted with a pop-up on their app/desktop asking them to accept cookies. If they do not opt in, marketers will no longer be able to see cross-platform data. That means Facebook will no longer know that you were googling “Trips to Alaska,” and Google won’t know what you’re engaging with on Facebook and so on. Now, Facebook can only target people by consumer behavior on their own site, for example if a person likes/engages with a similar page or has chosen to list related information in their bio. It can no longer target online behaviors outside of its own platform.

Conversion tracking will be limited. If your accounts are set up to track consumer behaviors after they have landed on your page, that is likely changing. However, marketers and advertisers will still be able to follow eight actions, only on domains you own.

What marketers should do moving forward

Businesses need to claim their domains. Once your domain (website) is claimed through Facebook Business Manager, your website and Facebook can speak to each other. This is important for any businesses who use social media, not just advertisers. This allows you to do things like alter the appearance of your web links on your Facebook page (for example changing the thumbnail you choose to display or creating a more attractive URL). And if you choose to run digital advertising campaigns, claiming your domain will help track ad performance across both platforms.

The most important thing to know about claiming your domain is that only one business can claim a domain. Once a domain is claimed, that’s it. For that reason, we recommend businesses claim their own domains ASAP, even if they don’t think their accounts need to be able to speak to each other. Should you get hacked and someone else claims your domain, there is no way to get ownership back and you will not be able to do anything with your own URL on your own Facebook page. For example, if another company claimed ThompsonPR.com and then you went to search for us – their Facebook page would appear in search instead of ours. Facebook has provided step-by-step instructions to make claiming your domain easy.

Gathering first-party data is more important than ever. Emails are where it’s at. Due to limited behavior tracking, the easiest way to reach the consumers who are most likely to take action with your business will be with retargeting. If you have an email list, you can input it into the back end of ad campaigns to reach people who have already expressed interest in your business. It’s a subtle nudge and a great way to target people who may just need a small push to take an action.

As marketers across the country work to understand this new update and what it means for the future of marketing and consumer privacy, we will continue to stay on top of the latest news and updates. At Thompson & Co., one of our key tenets and convictions is, “We are consistently on the cutting edge of technology and PR practices.” Our team will continue to research and provide each and every one of our clients with the best solutions for their campaigns.

Learn more about our comprehensive digital marketing services or schedule a consultation.

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