Meta has brought in new data restrictions that will have an impact on the way businesses target and measure their performance on their ads.
In this update, Meta has made a note about tightening data restrictions on its advertising platform, which will significantly affect how advertisers use UTMs and create custom audiences. These changes aim to enhance user privacy and compliance with evolving data protection regulations, but they may also challenge marketers in tracking performance and targeting effectively.
What’s the update about?
Meta has announced that it will be making changes to its advertising platform in order to enhance user privacy and data protection. It is noteworthy that some of the key updates include automatic restrictions on data, modifications to custom audiences, and potential pauses of ads, as well as impacts on UTM targeting.
Tracking strategies need to be reviewed by advertisers, UTM parameters should be simplified, customized audiences should be rebuilt, and reporting tools need to be prepared to provide less granular data for advertisers.
What will be the impact on your client’s business?
- There may be some Meta ad sets that can be paused for a period of time.
- There may be adjustments that need to be made to custom audiences.
- In Events Manager, visibility has been reduced.
As Meta communicates directly with users, it will have an impact on how businesses use Meta Business Tools and may be necessary for advertisers to adjust their strategies accordingly.
Key points of the updates:
- Data Restrictions: Some data will be automatically restricted by Meta, including certain parts of URLs and custom parameters.
- Potential Ad pauses: If custom audiences decrease or can no longer be updated due to these restrictions, ad sets will be paused so that they will no longer run.
- Custom Audience Changes: There may be a need to modify existing custom audiences if they use rules that include the now-restricted data.
- UTM Targeting Affected: The advertisers may have to adjust their tracking parameters if ads using hyper-targeted UTMs are paused.
- Events Managers Modifications: In the Events Manager, full URLs and custom parameters shared through integrations will no longer be displayed.
What will be the impact on the Advertisers?
Audience Rebuilding: The parameters for some custom audiences may need to be re-created using standard parameters.
Strategy Adaptation: Tracking and reporting strategies should be reviewed and possibly revised by advertisers in order to improve their results.
UTM Adjustments: There is a possibility that companies that use detailed UTM parameters for tracking will need to simplify their procedures.
Reporting Changes: In reporting tools, businesses should prepare for less granular data.
Important Note to Advertisers
- Keeping prepared for the possibility of rebuilding custom audiences based on permitted data points is essential.
- Check your ad account for any paused ads that may have occurred as a result of these changes.
- To ensure that UTM structures are compliant with the new restrictions, they need to be reviewed and adjusted.
- Inform stakeholders of possible changes in the level of granularity of reporting.
There is a broader trend in the industry in favour of enhancing user privacy protection and data security, which is reflected in this update. Despite the fact that it might present some challenges, this demonstrates the importance of adapting to a more privacy-centric landscape for digital advertising in the future.
Considering these changes, advertisers should closely follow Meta’s guidelines and be prepared to adjust their advertising strategies by using these changes. There has been no specific date set by Meta for the implementation of these changes but it is recommended that advertisers stay informed and prepare for possible adjustments.
If you are an agency having a hard time keeping up with the updates or implementing it in your client’s account feel free to get advice or help from a Meta ads expert who has a specialized team of experts in handling the situation smoothly.
