In the last few months, Apple has been releasing information about the latest iOS updates for Apple devices. The iOS14 update comes with new privacy settings that are great for the user experience. It lets users know how their data is being tracked on their phones and lets them indicate what data they want shared with which platforms. But, it comes at a price for business owners and advertisers.
How the iOS14 update affects you
As a business owner, if you use Facebook pixels to track analytics or ads, iOS14 is a major update. It affects if and when you will see data about how people interact with your Facebook posts and ads. If someone clicks through a Facebook post or ad to get to your site, their actions may not be tracked if they visit via an iOS device and if they opt-out of this tracking. This can make tracking website visits and conversions difficult.
The lack of metrics can make it feel like you're marketing in the dark. But it doesn't mean people are not not seeing your content or ads or clicking through to your site their activity just isn’t being tracked.
The good news is that so far metrics on users using other devices are still the same, meaning their activity and clicks are still being tracked. And there are still ways to track data, it just might not be as readily available. On Facebook, there are a few new steps you need to take to get access to metrics.
Verify your business's domain for Facebook
Facebook is now requiring that you verify the domain name associated with your Business Page. We are going to show you how to do that.
Log in to your business.facebook.com account to access your data. Once logged in, navigate to Business Settings (click on the three lines in the top left menu, aka hamburger menu, to find it).
From here you want to select Brand Safety (on the left menu) and then choose Domains (it will appear under Brand Safety, also in the left side menu).
Next, you’ll want to get your domain verified. Click add in domain menu and enter your domain. There are three options to verify your domain name: (1) Meta-tag verification, (2) HTML file upload, (3) DNS verification. We recommend the DNS verification option in which you copy a code to set up a TXT record (this code can also be supplied to your domain registrar to use for verification).
72 hours after you set up the TXT record (or have your domain registrar set it up for you) you’ll need to return to the domain business settings of your Facebook page to click a verification button in the menu, and then you should be verified.
Why do you want to do this? Verifying your domain name lets Facebook know your website is safe, secure, and trustworthy for customers to visit. This also means that you will be able to track data from your Facebook pixel.
What will you be able to track? If someone happens to interact with your Facebook content or ads from an iOS device, such as clicking on a link to your site, they won’t be tracked and shown unsolicited ads. However, Facebook will still offer you data for your own tracking purposes. It may take up to 72 hours or more for this information to appear in your analytics and ad activity, so you will be operating on a bit of a delay.
NOTE: If you purchased your domain through PhotoBiz, please send our support team your TXT code and our team will get that set up for you.
Set up your events
It’s also important to confirm that your Facebook pixel is still working (and tracking). Under the new Facebook requirements, you can track up to have 8 pixel events. To access your Facebook pixel settings, click the hamburger menu again (three lines in the top left), then select the event manager. Here you’ll see your events that are being tracked and you can add to them. You’ll rank your Pixels to indicate which is the highest to the lowest priority that Facebook should track for you. Once your Pixel settings are complete and your domain is verified, you should be set up for success.
Now what?
With the iOS14 rolls out marketers are scared about what this could mean for their businesses. It is time to work on new and creative ways to market your business with video ads and other content. Posting fresh content to keep people interested is going to be more important than ever.
If you need help understanding more about the iOS14 changes and how they affect your business, I recommend this video. It has great insights that will really help you understand what’s happening.
If you have any questions, give us a call at 866.463.7620 or log into your account and contact our team through live chat. We’ll be happy to assist you.
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