By

Lucie May

Digital Marketing Manager, My Business

With the digital landscape changing so rapidly, it can be hard to stay up to date on the latest news and trends. Buzzwords like privacy, GDPR, and cookies might not be part of the everyday vocabulary of many small business owners, but every now and again there are updates that could have a tangible impact on how you run your business online.

And if you listen to Facebook’s opinion of Apple’s new privacy policy changes, this could be one of them – particularly as many small businesses rely on online advertising to grow their business and revenue. But is it all doom and gloom? We look at what the changes mean, and some of the practical things you can do to keep engaging with your customers effectively.

What is the Apple iOS 14 privacy update?

Apple is planning to update their privacy policy in early 2021, where they’ll show users a pop-up prompt to either opt-in or out of sharing their personal data with the apps they use. For those who opt-out, this could effectively limit the data that can be tracked and shared.

According to Apple, examples of tracking include:

  • Displaying targeted ads based on data collected from your website.
  • Sharing a list of emails with an advertising network to retarget those users, or find similar users.

As a result, apps like Facebook will not have the same insight into the people using their app and how to target them. Data will become restricted, aggregated and delayed which could limit the ability to run personalised ads on their platform.

While Apple stands by their decision as a win for privacy and consumer choice, Facebook have expressed concerns about the impact on small business who rely on targeted advertising to reach and convert customers in a cost-effective way. In fact, they have estimated small businesses could see a loss of up to 60% in website sales for each dollar they spend in advertising.

We don’t yet have an exact timeline for Apple’s update, but the new privacy policy will apply across the board – not just Facebook. However, based on their advertising and revenue model, it’s expected Facebook will face the highest headwinds as opposed to the likes of Google and Amazon.

It’s important to note for customers who opt in, there will be no change. Apps are just required to ask permission first.

How will it affect my marketing and advertising?

According to Facebook’s VP of Ads and Business Products, Dan Levy, the new iOS 14 policy has the potential to negatively impact many small businesses who run ads on Facebook and Instagram in the following ways:

As more people opt-out and the use of data is limited, the size of your target audience could be reduced – particularly if your activity is focused on delivering ads to people based on engagement with your business.

Without deep pockets, many small businesses rely on niche segments to find and convert their ideal customers. This could include a list of customers or subscribers, website visitors, or e-commerce events (such as adding something to their shopping cart).

With the new change, you may start to see a decrease in custom audience sizes and instead be required to shift to broader audiences (for example, based on general interests). This may increase the competition when bidding to reach this wider segment.

Advertisers may also start to see an increase of overlap between audiences – for example, between customers and non-customers. One use case would be a campaign to acquire new leads or prospects, where you want to exclude your existing customer base. As Facebook loses visibility of the people using their app, this could render your ads not as effective.

Additionally, with the limited and aggregated data that Facebook may be working with, it could limit the way the algorithm automatically optimises against your desired objective.

Any tracking with the Facebook pixel, such as leads or purchases, may not be properly reported. Data will be restricted, aggregated and delayed.

This is because after an opt-out, Facebook will only see one event after someone clicks on your ad and will default to seven-day attribution. When it comes to measuring a campaign, seeing which particular demographics are working or choosing how to optimise your budget, Facebook may not be able to provide you with these insights to the same degree.

This is not to say other conversions won’t happen, however Facebook (and by extension your business) may lose this level of visibility within your ad campaign, leading to a reduction in reported results. You may also start seeing some impact on metrics such as cost per click (CPC) or cost per acquisition (CPA).

The industry admits the true impact won’t be known until later, and we should expect more updates throughout 2021.

What can I do about it?

Firstly, don’t panic. Simply be aware and anticipate the changes, so you can be prepared for any impact you may see to your current ad campaigns.

In the meantime, here are some practical things you can consider now to help you maximise your marketing efforts:

1. Verify your domain in Business Manager to help avoid any future disruption to your website campaigns.

2. If you currently (or plan to) track conversion events with the Facebook pixel, think of a maximum eight events and how you’d like to prioritise them.

3. Think about your ad strategy and be prepared to adapt and re-test in the future – such as different audiences, bid types or creative.

4. Review your current Facebook ad campaign performance and reports, such as demographics, so you can retain these insights before data becomes limited and aggregated.

5. Consider building on other channels at your disposal to help you reach your customers, such as growing your email subscriber list.

6. Check out our advice on how to increase social media engagement and raise your social profile.

7. Help customers find you by improving your SEO and searchability.

8. Take the opportunity to review the foundations of your digital presence.

Lucie May

Digital Marketing Manager, My Business

Customer-led and analytics minded, Lucie has been passionate about creating experiences that attract, engage and convert during her ten years in digital, marketing and product roles.