Preparing for the Apple iOS 14.5 Update
From April 2021, Apple will have launched their iOS 14.5 update. For iPhone and iPad users, the most obvious change will be a redesigned interface, which allows users to add widgets to their home screen.
On the surface, this update will offer users a more personalised experience, but behind the scenes a much greater change will be taking place, with huge consequences for small to medium businesses.
Apple will now provide users with an opt-in or opt-out prompt on each app they use or download, enabling users to choose whether third-party sites like Facebook can track their data. Understandably, many users will opt-out, in a bid to protect their privacy.
This may sound like a benevolent move by Apple, but in reality the iOS 14.5 update bolsters Apple’s own in-ad revenue and subscription services, while reducing the efficiency of paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook.
In Facebook’s own words, the update will only end up “hurting small businesses and publishers who are already struggling in a pandemic” by curtailing their ability to draw upon user data to tailor their ad campaigns.
In particular, we can expect to see four changes to social media marketing in response to the update:
1. The iOS 14.5 will either restrict, aggregate, or delay data for Facebook advertisers.
2. Apple has created the PCM (Private Click Measurement) protocol for web attribution, which will affect mobile web advertising. This protocol will restrict the data that businesses and platforms can access to drive campaigns on web pages.
3. There will also be an 8-pixel event cap per domain for optimisation, which means that an advertiser will only be able to use a maximum of 8 conversion events per domain. In plain English, this will limit the growth of many many businesses.
4. Finally, the new default attribution window will make measuring the effectiveness of ads much more complicated because it will produce under-reporting on organic as well as paid channels.
In response to all of this, the Facebook Business Manager interface will also have to change and businesses will need to individually update to Facebook's SDK for iOS 14 version 8.1 to still personalise some ads for iOS users.
Businesses may also need to verify their website’s domain, especially if they have domains with pixels used by multiple businesses or personal ad accounts.
From there, further steps will be involved to successfully work around the update, as each business will be affected differently by ad creation limitations, event delivery statuses, changes to event conversions, and reporting and ad limitations.
UBT Digital Marketing Services are keeping on top of update changes in order to provide the best work arounds for our businesses.
If you are worried about the iOS 14.5 update, rest assured that UBT Digital Marketing Services will guide Community businesses through these changes so that they can continue to make the most of advertising on social media platforms.
#iOS14 #Apple #Privacy #ubtmarketing