How to prepare your Facebook Ads for Apple’s iOS 14 changes
Facebook is releasing new ad measure protocols (Apple’s SKAdNetwork API and Facebook’s Aggregated Event Measurement) on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. This means that advertisers and partners will start to experience changes. Read on to find out what condition you must meet in order to run effective marketing campaigns.
What changes have been made?
AppTrackingTransparency framework will allow apps in the App Store to gain permission to track users across third party applications and websites for advertising and measurement purposes. Apple’s requirement will ban data collection/sharing by businesses unless people choose otherwise. This will limit businesses that gain results through Facebook advertising on iOS devices for mobile apps.
Apple’s SKAdNetwork API and Facebook’s Aggregated Event Measurement protocols will be implemented as a follow up to the iOS 14.5 release. They limit and delay reporting while still allowing for measurement of campaign results, but with certain limitations.
Changes will be seen in:
- Facebook’s business and advertising tools set up
- audience selection
- measurement
- reporting
- delivery
For example, from now on, people that use web events for campaigns will have a limit of no more than eight events on each domain they own.
What actions should I take?
For App Advertisers
- Update the Facebook SDK version to 8.0 or higher
- Verify that you’re using a SDK version that supports Apple’s SKAdNetwork API when using a Mobile Measurement Partner
- In Facebook Events Manager, set up your conversions to optimize for App Events, Value and Mobile App Installs
- Create iOS 14 application install campaigns with 1 advertisement account per application, 9 campaigns per application and 5 ad sets per campaign of the same type of optimization
For Web Advertisers
- Verify your business in Facebook Business Manager
- Verify your domain in Facebook Business Manager
- In Events Manager, prepare a maximum of 8 web events per domain
- Examine ads sets as well as ads that will be paused in the Resource Center tab in Facebook Ads Manager and make appropriate changes
If you’re having a problem with verifying your business account on Facebook, for example the Start Verification button is inactive, please read this guide.
The consequences
Not making any changes could result in a disruption to your Facebook and Instagram campaigns. If actions are not made, you won’t have the ability to create mobile app install ad campaigns that target users of iOS 14.5 and above. Additionally, some of your ad sets may be paused and you will be limited access to some optimization choices. This will cause a negative impact to your ad performance, because of failed delivery of certain ad sets to users of iOS 14.5 and above.