If you run ads on Facebook, you may have noticed a lot of talk about the new updates Apple is making to their next operating system update. The updates are going to include options for users to opt-in to tracking their use…or not. At the time of this blog post, it is looking like this is going to affect almost every business that uses any sort of tracking codes to get information from site visitors.

Now, I know what you’re thinking… of course you’re going to opt-out of tracking my every move! I don’t want these mega companies knowing what I do online!

If you are an advertiser, this is definitely going to affect your tracking and targeting your ads. Here’s what the general thought is about what to expect:

• All platforms will see a decrease in effectiveness with their Ads because they can’t track as many visitors.
• Any ad that links to an outside website or landing page is going to be affected.
• Retargeting Ads are going to see the biggest change… if the pixel can’t read that a visitor has spent time on your website or landing page, how can Facebook use that data to send them another Ad?
• Building your audiences going to become more difficult – if there’s limited data collected by the pixel, then the lookalike and retargeting audiences are going to be impacted.

As of now, there are still a lot of unknowns. No one is sure when this release is going to happen, although they say it’s soon. We also don’t know how obvious the opt-in/out will be for the user. It’s possible that this will be just a switch on/off deep in the settings on the device, or it could be a huge pop-up that gives the user the option to turn off their tracking altogether! I’m voting for the first option…because I want my clients ads to perform at their best, and the more tracking we can have the better the performance.

One thing you can be assured of though… you can still get leads and sales off your ads, it’s just the tracking and retargeting that’s going to take the biggest hit.

So what can be done?

Facebook has been at the forefront of making changes to their business manager platform with ways to work around this issue. I appreciate that they are being proactive in this…as it seems many of the other platforms aren’t doing much yet.

Here’s the THREE things you can do to proactively take action before the update:

1. Verify your Domain
2. Turn on Two-Factor Authentication
3. Set up your Optimization Events

Instead of re-writing what so many experts have already said, I’m going to include links to the most helpful articles I’ve found. Most every post has step-by-step instructions, and more in-depth information if you like the tech-y side of things.

Verify Your Domain

Verifying your Domain will ensure that your website or landing page is recognized by Facebook and the integrity is intact (i.e. it’s a safe site) and allows you to claim ownership of your domain name.

Instructions from Facebook about how to verify your domain:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/domain-verification

When to use Domain Verification for your business: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/245311299870862

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Login to your Business Manager and go to the Domains section under Brand Safety. This link should take you directly there: https://business.facebook.com/settings/owned-domains/
2. Click the blue Add button.
3. Enter your website address in the popup window and hit click Add Domain.
4. Choose one of the 3 verification methods (DNS Verification, HTML File Upload, or Meta-tag Verification) and follow the instructions. If you have access to your back-end settings of your website, the Meta-tag option is the easiest.
5. Once you’ve copied/pasted the Meta-tag into the header of your page (if you chose that option), click Verify and you should see a green dot next to your domain name. You may need to refresh the screen, and also make sure you publish your updates to your website if you are still seeing a red dot.

Turning on Two-Factor Authentication in your Personal Account

Two-factor authentication allows you extra security when logging in to Facebook with an unrecognized device. It will prevent unauthorized users from accessing information in you Business Manager account. This is an easy must-do for every user, as there have been accounts completely shut down with no way of gaining access.

Turn on Two-Factor Authentication in Business Manager: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/280940009201586?id=199156230960298

Turn on in your main Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/help/148233965247823

Setup Your Conversion Events

Here’s how I understand it (again, I could be wrong, but I’m sharing this on good authority from my own ads mentors.) This may be a little long, but bear with me…

Let’s start with the purpose of the Facebook Pixel. It’s a small code that you put into the header of your website, and what it does is track the visitors who visit your website. You may have installed your pixel on your website, as well as in your email service provider, or sales page services like LeadPages for example. When someone clicks onto your page or landing page, or from your email, the Pixel will track their information.

The data the Pixel gathers is SUPER important when putting together Ads campaigns, because you can precisely target who you want to see your ads – so you’re putting the ad in front of those who’ve already visited your site, as well as other people who “look like” your website visitors.

As you can imaging, your ads are so much more effective when the RIGHT people see your offer at the right time.

Now, as far as we know, with the new iOS 14 release, Apple is going to give every single person the option to Opt-OUT of additional tracking. If the user decides they DO NOT want to be tracked, it essentially makes them invisible to the Pixel (as well as any other tracking options out there, too).

This will affect the results of your ads, as well as paint an incomplete picture of how your ads are performing. In addition, when the data about the user can’t be collected, so creating a targeted audience will become much more difficult.

To resolve this issue, Facebook has created an option to use their API that continues to gather data, so you won’t miss a beat with our ads.

Here’s some articles for further information:

https://www.facebook.com/business/help/422408905612648/
https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-conversions-api-what-marketers-need-to-know/

So, there are the three steps you can take to prepare your Facebook Ads Account for the upcoming updates. There’s lots of marketers as well as Facebook itself that are going to make it sounds like the sky is falling down on all of us. I assure you it is not. Your ads manager may look a little different, and there will be more adjustments to be made, but we’ll get through it together.

Stick with me, I’ve got you!

When you’re ready, Here’s three ways I can help:

Schedule a Clarity Call – If you’re wondering how I can help, or feeling unclear on whether or not Ads are the right ways to go in your business, let’s have a chat! No obligation, and I’ll tell you honestly if I can help you. You’ll walk away with clarity and confidence in your marketing path.

Book a Marketing Intensive or Ads Campaign: BOOK HERE – If you are ready to rock, get your Ads launched, Email Marketing Campaign or Sales Funnel streamlined, then book a day with me! I only take a few clients each month, and they fill up fast.

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