Apple rolled out the latest version of iOS 14 in April and it included a massive change to their privacy and data policy. In an effort to make tracking more transparent, the update means that Apple users now need to enable tracking on each app.
So, what does this mean?
If users opt out of tracking on their social media apps, marketers who use customer insights to shape and drive their campaigns will be flying partially blind.
Now, not everyone will be opting out of tracking, but we need to adapt our practices in the future to take into account that a portion of iPhone users are now untrackable.
Below are some ideas on how to adapt to the latest iOS update if you find that it’s impacting your advertising.
Segment your target audience by device
This update only impacts iPhone users, so people using social media apps on their Android phones can still have their data tracked over the internet.
You still want to track iPhone users, but keep in mind that the data may be slightly off. Segmenting by devices will give you a clearer insight on the performance of your ads as you can compare and contrast the skewed iPhone data with the more accurate Android findings.
Focus on driving awareness and uncovering audience insights
You may not be able to track an iPhone users response to your ad anymore, but you can get them to provide the info themselves.
Generate insights from your audience by creating engaging ads that require them to take action. Utilizing the polling or instant experience ad formats can help you gain important insight from your audience without tracking cookies!
While these insights can’t be used to retarget an audience, you may be able to use them to shape your future creatives.
Focus on your 8 most valuable events
Not only does the new update mean users can opt-out of being tracked, but it also means that the amount of Facebook pixels you can have on your site will be limited for the first time.
This means that you can only use 8 pixels on your site, when before you could have any amount. Ultimately, even if someone agrees to having their cookies tracked from their social media, you’ll see less of their behaviour on your site.
To navigate this, we recommend analysing where you currently have the pixels on your site and selecting the most valuable information that already informs your ad strategy. Being tactical with your allocated eight pixels will help you maintain the key information from your site.
It’s always interesting to see how the industry adapts to changes and disruptions like the iOS 14 update. We’d love to help you navigate this change! Reach out today to chat about how we can adapt your current ad strategy to this update.