Ad Targeting Optimization — Why It’s Important Post iOS 14

Ad optimization has always been an important part of digital marketing. However, it just became even more vital after the interesting update from Apple. Normally, Apple updates have very little impact on Facebook and other social media platforms. However, iOS 14 has completely changed the way that we advertise…and it made ad optimization tools look like a solution sent from heaven.

What does iOS 14 include?

Whether you own an Apple device or you’re an advertiser on Facebook watching this complex situation unfold, you’ll be interested to learn all about iOS 14. According to Apple, the update ‘brings a fresh look at the things you do most often, making them easier than ever’.

As an example, Apple has redesigned widgets (while adding widgets for Clock, Weather, Photos, Calendar, Music, Tips, Screen Time, and every other feature you could ever want and need). What’s more, widgets are now available in three sizes and users can put them anywhere they wish to on the home screen.

Other changes in the iOS 14 update include improvements to the App Library, user interface, search features, and the ability to unlock an iPhone by Apple Watch (even while wearing a mask). This last feature shows Apple’s willingness to evolve with the times and offer a positive experience for all.

However, we’re not interested in the detail of any of these features today. Instead, we’re looking at the App Tracking Transparency update that came with iOS 14.5. Ultimately, the goal for Apple is to provide all users with more control over their activity and behavior data. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know all about the battle that has unfolded between consumers and companies.

On the one side, companies want access to as much data as possible because they want to provide personalized ad experiences. The more data available, the easier it is to target a specific niche and generate sales. On the other side, consumers are fighting for their right to privacy control. After hearing horror stories through the media, they want as much control as possible over their own personal information and even activity data.

Early predictions showed that around 60% of consumers would reject tracking, showing their willingness to leave personalized ad experiences behind. If it means control over data, they don’t mind forgoing tailored ad experiences. As you can imagine, this is a problem for marketers and businesses.

Impact of iOS 14

With only four in ten people expected to allow data collection and sharing, advertisers are losing significant amounts of data every single day. With each user that taps against tracking, advertisers on Facebook and other social media platforms have fewer data points to work with when optimizing campaigns.

App Tracking Transparency requires all apps in the App Store to request tracking permission from ALL users. The more people that say no, the harder it is for marketers to create Lookalike Audiences and retarget. The pixel isn’t updated with conversion data, and businesses of all levels struggle to generate accurate and effective campaigns.

Ad Targeting Issues

Part of the ongoing iOS 14-related issues include a new inaccuracy with targeting. Most marketers are accustomed to an environment where data is in abundance — everywhere you turn, there’s just more data waiting to be explored. Now, the marketing landscape is very different.

Around 60% of iOS data is missing and the pixel is struggling, causing inaccuracies with ad campaigns all over the world. In fact, you may have discovered this article today because you logged into your Facebook or social media account to see that campaign performance had dropped. You’ve probably noticed an increase in CPA and a drop in both ROAS and ROI.

Unfortunately, this is a big problem considering the importance of ad targeting. Over the years, we have preached about the role that targeting plays in advertising. We always say that a campaign can overcome poor bidding, budgeting, and other inefficiencies. Sure, you aren’t getting the most from your money, but you’ll still get conversions.

On the other hand, it’s VERY difficult to compensate for bad targeting. Targeting is where you find your prospective customers — the people online with the most interest in your brand. If targeting is now inaccurate, you’re not sending ads to the optimal audience. In other words, the people receiving your ads might have no interested in your products or services. Of course, these are wasted placements because the chance of conversion is almost zero.

With data unobtainable for all, it’s harder now than it has been in years to reach the right audience. It feels like you’re no longer in control of ad campaigns but rather at the mercy of Apple and other large companies. We’ve mainly focused on Facebook in this guide, as it’s the largest ad platform, but the same goes for all online advertising platforms. Targeting is the most important aspect of an ad campaign, but we are lacking the required data to fix the problem at hand.

Ad Targeting Optimization in 2021

After the iOS 14 update, many businesses and marketers feel flustered. Even many unflappable marketing agencies are feeling flustered, as well. Why? Because this is a new environment for everybody. Normally, agencies know how to get past difficult circumstances because they have experience. Sadly, nobody has experienced big changes like this, so we’re all effectively in the same boat.

If you’re feeling lost after iOS 14, our first piece of advice is to not give up. Don’t give up on your advertising campaigns and don’t think that this is the end for advertising. Before anything else, remove iOS devices from your ongoing campaigns to prevent the lack of data from destroying the campaign. Remember, this is an iOS update… Android devices are (at the moment!) unaffected.

From here, think about using your own conversion data rather than relying on third-party data. You’ll need to manually plug this data into campaigns every so often, but it’s worth the effort. Over the years, too many changes have affected third-party data that it’s worth making the switch. We’ve seen the GDPR, changes to cookies, and constant debates over new control for users.

In the future, the problem could get worse with similar features on Android. If this happens, you then have limited data on both Android and Apple (not good news!). With a focus on your own data, you sit smugly while the rest of the industry worries about future changes.

Additionally, we highly recommend partnering with an AI tool. Many industry experts have recommended AI tools for some time, and it just became even more essential that you find one for your ad campaigns.

As an example, Trapica helps to optimize the various components of an ad campaign, and it has already released the Facebook Ads iOS 14 Insights Tool. What does this mean? You get visibility into gender, location, age, placement, and other data. While the rest of the industry struggles for data, Trapica ensures that you always have enough (without manually digging and wasting time).

The beauty of a tool like Trapica is that it’s focused on automatic ad optimization; this means that targeting, bidding, budgeting, and even A/B testing occur through machine learning and artificial intelligence. Although you’ll oversee the process, there’s very little management to do. The marketing team now has time to focus on the bigger picture rather than micro-managing every single campaign across all social media platforms.

In other words, an AI tool continually learns what does and doesn’t work for your campaign and continues pushing forward. With regards to targeting, it will ensure that the right people are always seeing your ads (rather than those with no chance of converting!). Suddenly, you have this aspect of your campaign back again.

The reason that ad targeting optimization is important after iOS 14 is that it makes up for the loss of data. It’s hard to ignore the new inefficiencies and inaccuracies when it’s staring us in the face. It’s time to get good results back, and this comes from an AI tool. Trapica optimizes full advertising strategies, and this means improved ads across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and many more.

Conclusion

Ad targeting optimization has always been important, but iOS 14 has made it even more so. Beat the competition and get ahead of the game in 2021 with these ad targeting optimization tips. Use your own conversion data and work with a machine learning and artificial intelligence tool to automate the optimization process. Stronger targeting gets your campaigns back on track (exactly what you need after the turbulence of App Tracking Transparency!).