How iOS Privacy Updates Impact Facebook

Facebook is the second largest digital advertiser in the United States, after Google. As such, Apple’s privacy updates will impact how Facebook’s ads are targeted, measured, and optimized. 

Facebook is beginning to roll out some changes to tackle the situation, such as:

• Aggregated Event Measurement: shows a limited number of events as opposed to every activity on a webpage to maintain user privacy
• Conversion API: a tool that tracks user activities when no identifier is available
• Attribution Windows: shortening the window of time allowed to determine attribution in order to protect a user’s privacy, although this could impact high latency purchases
• Ad Targeting Options: changes could limit the reach and frequency of ad campaigns and decrease the performance of ads where identifiers are used to judge success, contributing to a rise in smart bidding approaches for better results
• Modeled Data: there will be more dependence on modeled data, similar to Apple’s IDFA, which uses modeled data to share related, aggregated insights back to ad owners, including Facebook

Facebook’s Conversion API

Conversions API is a Facebook Business tool that lets marketers share key web and offline events, or customer actions, directly between a marketer’s server and Facebook’s. The data exchange is from server to server, rather than how third-party cookies transferred data from a browser directly to Facebook.

Businesses can use Conversions API in addition to pixels. Pixels send all events in real-time, but the benefit of using an API-based solution is more control in terms of what and when data is shared. Big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple are turning more to API-based solutions in the cookieless world because of the better control in data sharing.

Within Facebook’s ecosystem, when a user clicks on an ad and lands on a website or online store, Facebook sends a unique ID of that user to the server. From there, the server retains that unique ID to track all activities done by the user. When the user is finished and clicks away from the website, the server sends a report of all actions taken. There is no way to track the individual user from the unique ID. Pixels are used in addition to API to minimize the chance of missing out on valuable information. All major e-commerce platforms that have already implemented Facebook integrations or developed their own setup procedure are using Facebook’s Conversion API workflow.

What iOS User Behavior Trends Across Facebook Are Telling Us

NetElixir dived into preliminary data to determine how Apple’s iOS privacy updates are impacting the advertising landscape within Facebook. So far, we see:

• While all types of audiences are impacted by the ATT update, prospecting audiences are more severely affected. Facebook may need to revisit how audiences are built to address this concern.
• E-Commerce categories like apparel, beauty and personal care, home furnishings, and pet supplies saw an improvement in reach.
• CPC and cost per acquisition are becoming more expensive.

Google recently announced that it is extending the timeline of when third-party cookies will be phased out, pushing the deadline back from early 2022 to mid-2023. Facebook has been experiencing some challenges since Apple’s iOS 14.5 update, especially with targeted retargeting, and Google has presumably been carefully monitoring these challenges. Google may have extrapolated Facebook’s challenges to the ones that it may face in the cookieless world and decided to allow more time to figure out the best solutions.

Regardless of the reasoning behind the decision, developers now have more time to create and test solutions to help businesses navigate continued privacy updates and the cookieless world. NetElixir is here to weather the storm of privacy changes with you and help you prepare earlier rather than later. Contact a NetElixir expert to ensure your e-commerce business is prepared for the privacy-first era. 

Read More

• Preparing for the Cookieless World with Google Analytics 4
• Your Guide to Succeeding in the Cookieless World
• Facebook Shops

The post How Facebook is Responding to Apple’s Privacy Updates appeared first on NetElixir.

According to May 2020 data from Pymnts.com, 66.4% of US small/medium business (SMB) owners said they will rely on e-commerce more after the coronavirus pandemic. As SMBs worldwide rush to get their business online, Facebook wants to grab a large piece of the pie in this “new” e-commerce world. Facebook launches Facebook Shops as an online business solution.

In what appears to be a major shift to enable social commerce and amplify the power of social platforms for simplified shopping experiences, Facebook and Instagram rolled out Shops earlier this week. The challenging economic climate is forcing businesses to rethink and innovate ways to go digital. Facebook couldn’t have launched this new digital distribution point at a better time. Over 1 million businesses have already signed up for Shops within 48 hours of the launch!

Quick Facts of Facebook Shops:

• Businesses will be able to create a Facebook Shop for free, but will pay a “small fee” on each transaction. The Shop can be discovered by customers through ads, stories, Marketplace, or photos tagged on social feeds.
• The closest parallel we can draw to the Facebook Shop is an Amazon Brand Store that offers a complete brand experience outside of the business’s actual website. 
• Facebook will be working with partners like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube and Feedonomics to give small businesses the support they need.
• Any seller, irrespective of their size or budget, can move their business online and engage with new and existing customers in a fun social ecosystem.

Our Thoughts On This Launch:

This new digital storefront is here to stay and will benefit from the impact it has for businesses who have been hit hard due to the pandemic. While key stakeholders such as banks have extended small business loans, this announcement has the potential to revive small businesses in an unprecedented way by creating demand in an otherwise cautious spending environment. 

Facebook is looking at major social dominance as it will now have access to shopper insights from millions of users. Brands could benefit from integrated payment options, selling through live video from creators, and offering customers the option to connect their loyalty programs to their social accounts. Influencers will become an integral part of this arrangement as they can drive their followers directly to the Shops on Facebook and Instagram.

As Facebook continues to expand and add focus on SMBs, NetElixir is here to help. We have been partnering with retailers for over 16 years and are prepared to provide guidance, insights and more.  NetElixir is a Facebook marketing partner and a Feedonomics partner, and our team is ready to get your retail business started with Facebook Shops. 

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