Apple iOS 14 and Facebook Ads: What to Know

Apple recently announced updates to iOS 14 that will affect how Facebook receives and reports on conversion events from certain native tools, like the Facebook pixel. Per Facebook, “Apple’s policy will prohibit certain data collection and sharing unless people opt into tracking on iOS 14 devices via the prompt. As more people opt-out of tracking on iOS 14 devices, ads personalization, and performance reporting will be limited for both app and web conversion events.”

So, what does this mean for you? Not much…

Luckily, our main reporting, analysis, and tracking tool at GTMA is Google Analytics. Facebook doesn’t like to tell people that there is an alternative to their reporting tools. But as we all know, Google is still the king when it comes to web analytics and data collection. So let’s explore that first.

A Brief Review on GTMA Tracking Strategy.

Facebook pixel has been and will continue to be an integral piece of GTMA’s overall advertising strategy on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook itself has stated that these changes will almost entirely affect Apps and the Audience Networks, which GTMA rarely utilizes in our clients’ strategies. We strictly use the Facebook pixel to build audiences. Facebook created conversion events and the pixel to ultimately replace Google Analytics. It is a redundant tool at this point and will likely remain that way. 

Our data-driven digital agency has and will continue to use Google tools, like Tag Manager and Google Analytics, to implement and track conversions. In fact, there is even a benefit to utilizing Google over Facebook. Because conversion events can be tracked via Google Analytics, we can take it a step further and see user data associated with each specific goal or conversion and how they engaged with the website in real-time. Google also has superior integration abilities with our reporting tool, where Facebook largely lacks. 

In addition to utilizing these tools with every campaign, the clients that purchase a custom-built website from GTMA have the unique benefit of incorporating and hardcoding these tracking tools to the site. Meaning we have the advantage of ensuring proper installation from the get-go, which makes our tracking that much more effective. 

When you work with GTMA, we do not utilize Facebook conversion events as our primary means of tracking events.

The iOS 14 Update in a Nutshell.

The only people this affects are advertisers who strictly use Facebook and the Facebook suite of tools to create, report, and analyze their campaigns. Essentially, anyone who uses Facebook as a one-stop-shop will be hit the hardest. That makes GTMA, our tools, and our access to a multitude of ad platforms more integral to your campaigns and goals. Updates to iOS 14 have made it harder for the self-serve ad-buying to which most non-agency ad buyers are accustomed. In turn, this makes GTMA that much more necessary to the success of your campaigns.