As a business owner, you know ads on certain social media apps are easy-to-use and hugely personalised, but that’s about to change with the release of iOS 14.
While many social media users are rejoicing the enhanced privacy allowed by the upcoming Apple‘s AppTrackingTransparency framework, business owners need to re-think their marketing strategy and diversify as soon as possible.
What will change with the release of iOS 14?
In early 2021, it’s expected that Apple will require all apps in the App Store to implement its AppTrackingTransparency framework.
This will:
• Affect the ability of apps to receive conversion data from iOS users
• Limit the information that can be exchanged with third parties like Facebook
• Completely limit any data tracking if the user chooses to disable the option
While these changes are a huge win for improving the privacy of social media users, it will substantially change the world of marketing. If your small business uses social media for most of your marketing leads, it’s time to invest in other touchpoints.
What does Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency framework mean for you as a small business owner?
The new framework will affect everyone differently, but in general, it will take the ease out of personalised marketing. At the moment, your personalised marketing strategy allows you to automatically target anyone who has visited your website by showing them strategic ads on their feeds. Once the new framework is implemented, these insights will be hidden from social platforms like Facebook (for those businesses still keen/able to use it). This means that instead of trusting automatic digital tracking to generate customers, you need to expand your marketing strategy.
What your business can do to survive the new change
Expand your touchpoints and create a more diverse marketing strategy. In other words? Return to the old days when marketing was about exposure and visibility on countless fronts.
1. Discover new and existing customers with every tool in your marketing toolbox, including:
• Email marketing
• Influencer marketing
• SMS marketing
• PR strategy and implementation
2. Focus on customer retention
Take your customer service to a new level with everything from the pre to the post-purchase experience. Making your user shopping and checkout experience exceptional encourages customers to come back again and again.
Implementing clear followups in the post-purchase phase is key too. This can include clever integration with your email marketing and asking your customers to follow your social media channels via an authentic ‘ask.’ Once customers follow you, genuinely engaging with them on your social channels helps rapport and boost customer retention.
3. Diversify: Look at other marketing methods you may have forgotten
If you have a successful eCommerce business, you might have forgotten about traditional forms of marketing. Now’s the time to remember outdoor advertising on buses and billboards, engaging a PR specialist and radio advertising. If you’ve had all your eggs in one basket (ie. social media advertising) now is the time to diversify.
iOS14 is an exciting step towards enhanced privacy on social channels but it will affect businesses. Implement your new strategy now so you don’t get caught out when the new framework is rolled out early this year.
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