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The Privacy Debate: Apple vs Facebook

The Privacy Debate: Apple vs Facebook

In 2020, Apple announced its new product and policy changes at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The announcement happened back in June last year. However, you might not be familiar with it as Apple later decided to push back the changes until early 2021.

Well, 2021 has begun, and the tech giant has decided that it is now the right time to roll out its new software update, which will be available in iOS 14. Known as the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), the latest update will require apps to obtain permissions from users before tracking their online activity. IDFA is a unique, random and resettable device identifier (ID) assigned to iOS users.

Privacy is one of Apple’s most well-known core values, and its products include features with innovative privacy techniques. The privacy policy is to minimize and prevent the amount of information accessed by anyone other than the user. After all, their website claims that they believe privacy is “a fundamental human right”.

Apple has incorporated plenty of privacy technologies and functions into many of its in-built apps. These include (but are not limited to):

  • Safari
  • Maps
  • Photos
  • Siri
  • iMessage
  • Wallet & Apple Pay

Listing what privacy technology each app has would take too long and be too much to digest for our short article, so we’ve taken the liberty of linking you to Apple’s website here where they explain in detail how each of their apps protects your privacy.

So what’s the big hoo-ha over Apple’s latest update?

Facebook’s stance

In response to the upcoming iOS update, Facebook ran a few full-page newspaper advertisements attacking Apple’s plans for IDFA and data sharing in December 2020. Claiming to speak on behalf of small businesses, Facebook continued its protests further by publishing a few blog posts and even set up a new website — all in a bid to pressure Apple to retract its pending update as well as to inform everyone of the consequences this might have.

Facebook full page newspaper ad

In December 16th 2020, specifically, Facebook listed 5 points that will be limited by the new update from iOS 14, which are:

  1. Effectively deliver ads to people based on their engagement with your business
  2. Measure and report conversions from specific customers
  3. Ensure your ads shown to the most relevant audiences at the right frequency
  4. Accurately attribute apps install to people using iOS 14 and later
  5. Predict and optimize cost per action over time and efficiently allocate budgets for ads

According to Facebook, such an update will ultimately benefit Apple as small businesses rely on their ability to run personalized ads to survive. Small businesses could see a cut of up to 60% of their website sales from ads since general ads would be less effective than personalized ones. These businesses would turn to charging consumers for subscription fees or adding more in-app purchases to make ends meet.

Therefore, Apple stands to gain from this as it collects commissions from its app store, as per its policy. Furthermore, Apple’s personalized ad platform excluded from its new software update, which only benefits Apple themselves. Not to mention, a subscription-based internet would reduce the quality of free-content and make the internet more expensive.

Facebook has also hosted three webinars to help web and app advertisers prepare for this change, which anyone could sign up for:

“We disagree with Apple’s approach and solution, yet we have no choice but to show Apple’s prompt. If we don’t, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the businesses and users that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses who use our platform to grow.”

– Facebook

Apple’s stance

Apple denounced Facebook’s protests in a statement by claiming that the App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising. It merely requires them to give users a choice.

Interesting enough, users have always been able to opt-out of IDFA tracking, though it is not a well-known fact as the process to do so is rather complicated and difficult to find. With the new update, IDFA will become opt-in rather than opt-out by prompting users to allow tracking. An example of such a prompt can be seen below where users will tell exactly what information an app wishes to tap into.

IDFA tracking

This kind of consent interface is not new, particularly for iOS users. It is also replicated for other permissions such as when an app requests access to your photos, camera, microphone or location. Adding third-party tracking to that list helps protect users from abuse by allowing them to control what each app they use can and should access. AppTrackingTransparency preferences can be set for each app individually or for all apps, depending on the user.

Facebook’s attempt to call Apple out for uprooting small businesses can be seen as hypocritical by some. The media giant has recently faced backlash over the lack of support for small businesses regarding their Facebook Help Centre. Of course, with 10 million advertisers on Facebook, it is inevitable for them to turn to automation to answer the many questions it receives a day.

Additionally, Covid-19 has reduced its regular staff capacity when more businesses than ever are turning to the platform for their promotional efforts. While this may not necessarily be Facebook’s fault, its stance against Apple’s IDFA has many raising questions on how much the media giant actually cares about small businesses.

Top that with the fact that Facebook has a poor track record of anti-competitive behaviour and privacy issues and you might start to side with Apple on their pro-privacy policy changes.

Conclusion

While Apple’s new software changes might seem to be a radical leap, it may not necessarily result in negative consequences in the long run — even for small businesses. After all, the advertising industry has long promoted the notion that personalized and targeted ads are better.

However, several studies have shown that most of the money made from targeted advertising does not in fact reach the creators of the content, including the app developers. More often than not, the profits end up in the pockets of data brokers — companies that collect or buy your personal information to sell it to others.

In reality, small businesses cannot compete with large ad distribution networks, the ones who really get to control the ad industry. Since targeted advertising is seen as superior to other methods of reaching customers, anything else will inherently command less value on ad markets.

This not only means that ads have a lower ad value if they aren’t targeting users, but it also drives the flow of money away from innovation that could otherwise bring us different advertising methods that don’t involve invasive profiling and targeting.

As an example, non-targeted ads such as “contextual” ads could be a good alternative — if only more research and development were done to optimize it. These are ads based not on your personal information but only on the content of the webpage you are visiting at the time.

Of course, there could just as well be a short-term solution to all this — personalized advertising and privacy do not have to be at odds with each other. Small businesses who are worried about the immediate effects such an update might have on them can only hold on to the hope that both Apple and Facebook can find a middle ground for all of this.

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Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

If you’ve scoured through many marketing articles, you have no doubt picked up on the fact that digital marketing is the new form of marketing. As internet penetration soars at a record high – and is still rising, the number of users on the internet is expected to increase.

Digital marketing provides brands with a way of reaching out to an audience that they might not traditionally have access to. As social media becomes a highly popular platform for everyone to connect on, businesses are able to use this opportunity to grow their audience and brand.

While digital marketing can span plenty of aspects, from SEO to PPC to email marketing, this article will discuss the details of social media marketing in particular. Read more if you want to find out how to use social media to your advantage!

Digital marketing on social media

Social media as a marketing strategy is all the rage right now. It has been proven that social media is often the driving factor (and one of the most influential) behind word-of-mouth and evangelist marketing.

In the information age, consumers often turn to the internet to seek answers to their problems and pain points. While this may be the best chance for your brand to put itself in the spotlight, it can also be a double-edged sword if your brand does not have much of an online presence — or worse, a negative one.

This is where marketing can step in to help. Managing your brand’s online presence is no easy feat, but it is possible to do it — and do it well. Of course, it helps if you understand what each social media platform is meant to do and how it aligns with your brand. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Facebook

facebook marketing

Facebook is one of the most versatile social media platforms as it is widely used not only for personal use but for professional matters as well.

Businesses can use Facebook to connect to their followers by sharing photos, updates and general news on their page. Fans of your brand may visit your Facebook page to explore events, check updates and more.

As of April 2019, Facebook was reported to have 2.38 billion monthly active users worldwide. It is an absolutely useful place to start building a fanbase for your brand. Remember to engage with your audience bty posting status updates, photos and more! Start by publicising your page and linking it everywhere, including your website.

Share your products, offers and services to keep your followers informed about your brand. Better yet, if you can invite them to engage in your posts by including things that nudge them to like, comment or share your content, it would do wonders for your brand.

Although you might be running a business page, it’s important to remember that plenty of your followers also use Facebook as a personal network to connect with their friends and family. Make sure your brand fits into this atmosphere rather than constantly hard-selling your products and services. This way, people will be more interested and engaged in your brand.

With Facebook Ads, you can check details like social graphs and activities to better understand your buyer persona. Knowing the preferences of your page visitors will go a long way in helping you market your brand, be it on social media or otherwise. Use this information to tailor your content to your main audience and turn them into leads!

Instagram

instagram marketing

While it may have started as a personal social media platform, Instagram is quickly turning that around. Since it has been bought over by Facebook, plenty of business-oriented functions have been introduced to the app to help brands connect better with their audience.

With 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram is a fantastic place to market your brand and improve your online presence. In Singapore itself, there are 1.9 million total active users — a huge audience that you can potentially market to!

Since being bought over by Facebook, Instagram has introduced many tools that can help businesses market themselves more efficiently in a non-salesy manner. From polls to FAQS, such tools supported by the platform itself can simplify the customer service process so much more — so take advantage of it!

When consumers are satisfied with their customer experience, they will naturally have a better impression of the brand and are more likely to patronise them again.

Twitter

twitter marketing

Twitter’s 310 million users may pale in comparison to Facebook’s and Instagram’s user statistics, but make no mistake. The social media platform is a concise way to connect with your audience by serving them bite-sized information that they can consume on the go. In fact, 175 million tweets are generated in a day, making up for what Twitter lacks in the quantity of its platform users.

With 280 characters or less in each tweet, Twitter is a sea of content waiting to be read, followed, and re-tweeted. By allowing you to share quick bites of information and photos, the social media platform is a perfect vehicle to drive people back to your landing pages.

Since each tweet is often short and sweet, people tend to scroll through them quickly in an effort to consume as much as they can. When marketing on Twitter, make sure your content is enticing enough to capture your audience’s attention and make them pause on your tweet.

Try incorporating quotes, photos, GIFs or even polls related to the link you’re tweeting to get people wanting to read more. Remember to build relationships with followers — while people may follow you because they enjoy what you have to say, it is important to engage them in conversation as well.

Like you would on Facebook, ask and respond to questions, respond to mentions and direct messages. This not only personalises the brand but is a good way to show your customer service as well.

An important marketing function that you can adopt is to use hashtags on Twitter. They allow you to reach a wider (and more targeted) audience, as people who are searching for specific information often turn towards hashtags to find what they are looking for. Conduct some research to see what your buyer persona is hashtagging to make sure your posts will be found by the right people.

YouTube

youtube marketing

Since it was bought over by Google in 2006, YouTube has become the leading video-sharing platform in the world. As one of the world’s most used search engines, Google has since incorporated its advanced technology and algorithm into YouTube as well. YouTube is now but another platform that the search gives priority to in its search results.

It is no doubt proven that videos are a lot more engaging and shareable than text content. Not only that, but they also help your search rank in Google. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

Creating videos for YouTube therefore matters a lot. You want to make sure that there’s a purpose and value to the video you are uploading, so as to provide high quality content for your audience. Keep in mind your production value as well. Both the video and audio of what you upload should be crisp, clear, and easy to understand. No shaky cameras!

YouTube gives you a gateway to be an educator in your industry. Upload webinars or videos speaking on important topics that further the education of your audience. When you position yourself as the source of important industry news, people will naturally flock to you for trusted updates and information. In return, your brand will gain a reputable name for itself.

Hashtags on YouTube are also another important aspect that you can take note of when posting your video. Though they are not often talked about, hashtags can actually help your video go a long way in finding the exposure that it needs. Read more about our guide to YouTube hashtags here.

All in all, no matter what social media platform you choose to engage with, the best tip is to use whatever is available to you at hand while keeping a customer-centric view. Your brand will go much further this way and your consumers will thank you in the long run.