By Jim Ragosta, Digital Media Specialist
2020 was an interesting year for the social media industry. The COVID-19 pandemic led many businesses and people to turn to social media to stay connected, whether that’s through direct or indirect communications. 2020 also brought light to the questions many have had for years surrounding Big Tech in regards to censorship and privacy. And, in many other ways, creative connoisseurs thrived by taking advantage of what they could do with a camera and a microphone. So, what is the future looking like for some of these Big Tech giants and how can they affect you as a marketer? Well, Apple and Google are on the hunt.
Facebook and ios14
In mid/late 2020, Apple release their newest software ios14, which includes the important update that allows phone users to opt out of data sharing with platforms like Facebook. The negative behind this is the more people who have ios14 on their phones, the more likely it becomes that reaching iPhone users will become more difficult. Areas within Facebook Ad Manager that will be affected include App Install Campaigns and Conversion Event tracking. Also, custom audiences and remarketing tactics will be affected. For best practices and what to expect, refer to Facebook’s Business Help Center link here https://www.facebook.com/business/help/331612538028890?id=428636648170202
YouTube: Bye Bye Third-Party Cookies
In 2020, Google announced that by 2022 they would be phasing out third-party cookies due to ongoing privacy concerns. Browsers like Firefox and Safari have already gotten rid of these cookies, but Google Chrome is used by nearly 56% of internet users. This is important to advertising efforts on YouTube for multiple reasons, including remarketing, audience targeting, and general online behaviors. If you like to advertise to people based upon their web history and serve them appropriate video ads on YouTube, then you may need to start thinking about alternatives for your future advertising efforts.
As Big Tech continues to please current users’ privacy rights, battle government scrutiny, and maintain trust in the public eye, marketers will need to stay tuned to the evolving landscape and understand how we can adapt our marketing strategies and tactics, ensuring we are still achieving our goals and objectives. Does this mean that digital marketing is eventually going away? No. This is how Big Tech makes their money. They will continue to innovate and find work-arounds. So, now is not the time to panic if your business is reliant on digital marketing, but you should be prepared and create other solutions to target your audience and achieve your marketing objectives.
