Facebook ads can be a fantastic way to drive traffic to books and increase sales, but there’s a lot that’s changing this year. Here’s a quick recap of what’s what and what authors can expect.
The Backstory
To start, let’s look at the context that is driving
the big changes we’ll see in 2021. Facebook is under fire from all sides.
They’ve become mired in politics, anti-trust lawsuits, and are embroiled in a
dispute with Apple over how consumer data is used.
These three fire hoses are triggering quite a few
changes. First up in 2021 is what’s called the IOS14 update, which is Facebook’s
attempt to meet Apple’s new standards for consumer tracking and privacy.
So what is the impact of this IOS14 update? And what
do authors need to know?
Verification Is Key
For 2021, Facebook is on a massive verification kick.
They want to know who they are working with, and to do that, they want
two-factor authentication on accounts. Securing your account increases their
confidence in you (because it often verifies your phone number) and protects
you from hackers, making this an easy win-win. Here
are their instructions on how to set it up.
However, Facebook is also pushing several different
levels of verification beyond two-step authentication. Authors who use Facebook’s
Business Manager can expect that they will have to at least
verify their domain in 2021. Odds are good that we will also
have to verify
our business, and there’s a smaller but still real possibility
that we may need to verify our personal identity as well.
The problem with verification for authors is that we
set up our LLCs or S Corporations as small presses and then publish, promote,
and operate publicly as our author name, which is often not our legal name.
This can create a disconnect between website, Facebook page and profile, and
business documents. It’s important to get that all matching or you’ll have
difficulty verifying your business.
My recommendation to authors is to start preparing for
business verification. Do the leg work now to get your business documents
matching and ready to go. Otherwise, if you’re flagged for verification, you
may find your ads shut down or limited until it’s done. Working ahead insulates
you from a lot of potential pain.
Changes to the Pixel
Second, if you used the pixel (a piece of tracking
code advertisers use, and the main point of contention with Apple) for your
Facebook marketing strategy, functionality will be reduced with the IOS14
update. Most authors do not use the pixel, but that doesn’t necessarily
insulate us because all the changes are being rolled out globally and will
affect everyone, with or without a pixel.
If you do rely on the pixel in your ad strategy,
you’ll have to recalibrate and adjust. Things won’t function quite like they
used to. In 2021, you’ve got a new learning curve to climb. Start planning that
work now.
IOS14 and Ad Performance: What to Expect
The IOS14 update also impacts ad performance, data
reporting, and the functionality of the ads interface. Authors are going to see
some wild stuff! Here’s what’s what.
The big change is there can now be a
three-day lag in ad results reporting. You may set up ads and
see nothing happen in your interface.
As in…
Zero reach. Zero clicks. Zero spend.
For days.
Yikes!
The good news, it’s not a glitch and there’s probably
nothing wrong with your ad. The lag is the new normal. That said, it doesn’t
yet appear to have rolled out universally and I’m hopeful they’ll create a
modelling method to compensate for the gap so some of you may never see it, but
until then…FYI.
You may also find that the columns in the ads
interface reset and that you’ll need to customize them again. (For a second
there, we thought they’d eliminated the cost per click metric! But it’s still
there, they just defaulted to the new IOS14 metrics that are all pixel focused
and of zero use to how most authors use ads.)
As IOS14 rolls out, some authors are seeing long running ads falter. One, it appears they are no longer supporting older ad formats, but second, older ads don’t always work with all the IOS14 updates. If you see an ‘Ol’ Faithful’ ad lagging, you may need to turn it off and start a new one.
Facebook is also making changes to interest targeting options and some interests are being eliminated. If you have saved audiences that have seen targeting changes, your ads using those audiences may not run or even go into the review process, and you may not see a flag unless you go in to edit the ad.
Another new pattern authors are seeing as IOS14 rolls
out is an initial high cost per click. There will be a big spike in ad costs
that will make you think you should turn off your ad. Don’t. Wait and see. This
typically resolves on its own.
Time is the real name of the game for Facebook ads in 2021.
It takes longer to get ad data, and it can take longer for ads to find a
performance groove. I am finding that ads need more than the usual five-day
learning period to sort themselves out.
As always, you’ll have to test and see what’s
happening for yourself as performance of Facebook ads can be highly individual,
but for 2021, patience wins the day. Otherwise, you’ll be killing what look
like awful ads and starting new ads over and over, which isn’t actually solving
the problem.
The solution is time. Give Facebook more time.
IOS14 Impact on Audiences and Ad Costs
One other possible fallout from the IOS14 update is
that we may see some decrease in audience sizes. The size of the decrease is
unknown right now, but it’s not expected to be massive. Apple
users are only 14% of Facebook’s user base. The majority of
users will still be there.
Ad costs may increase as well. We’ll have to see what
happens (that pesky time thing I mentioned again), but with the pixel losing a
lot of functionality, businesses that relied on it heavily may come in and bid
on targets authors use. They’re trying to figure out a new business model and
adjust to all these changes, too, and that could impact our costs and reach.
Facebook is taking a big hit to all their standard
operating procedures right now. Expect things to be volatile and dynamic until
they can recalibrate their algorithms and mathematical modelling.
What should authors do?
For authors who know how to run ads, continue to run
ads, but be conservative, watch the ads interface carefully, and stay in the
loop with what’s changing. Know what the different verification processes are
and prepare to undertake them to preserve access to and optimal performance of
Facebook ads.
Trust but verify is the axiom to run ads by. Seasoned
Facebook advertisers are used to having good ads that can run for months with
almost no maintenance, but I wouldn’t assume that will happen with the IOS14
update, particularly during this transition period. I’d be watching my ad data
very carefully right now.
For authors who haven’t run a lot of ads, now’s a good
time to keep writing and learning about digital marketing so you’re ready to
hit the ground running once things are more stable. Whatever you do, don’t not
learn about marketing just because things are changing. Knowledge is power,
and it improves your bottom line.
Digital marketing isn’t going away. It’s changing. This
isn’t the end. We’re not closing the book and going back to what? The olden
days? No. Data and monetization of data and the fight over privacy is here to
stay. Online communities and paying to reach those communities isn’t obsolete.
Far from it, in fact.
Spend a little time reading up on what futurists say
about the coming decades and you’ll realize that this is just a moment in time.
We’re in the midst of the Data Industrial Revolution and there will be many
large, disruptive waves of change over the next few decades. It’s not the end,
it’s just the next phase and we level up with it and keep going.
If you think about it, every few years everything
changes for indie authors. From box sets to Bookbub’s first newsletter to Kindle
Unlimited to Facebook, AMS, and Bookbub ads to Nook now offering ads and the
current IOS14 update. The book business landscaping is never the same for long.
The key is to do your due diligence, keep your marketing skills up-do-date, and
write more books. That’s the constant that will allow authors to find success,
no matter how much things change.
Here's a screenshot of our ads so far in 2021. We've been doing a lot of testing of the system. Our strategy is to maximize the returns on low ad spends. For most of 2021, we've had one ad going for one book and will see a four figure ROAS (return on ad spend). We're now layering in more ads (which are reflected in these screenshots) and working to increase income now that the system seems to be stabilizing.
