What the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook controversy means for your business
Cambridge Analytica's breach of 87 million Americans' private data is sending shockwaves through the Facebook world and Mark Zuckerberg's organisation is responding accordingly.
A few major changes are coming to Facebook's advertising methods and guidelines, so it's important that each business using online ads understands these changes.
So for your convenience, we decided to break it down to the main key points for you and your agency to know by implementation date on 25 May 2018.
1. Why Facebook is making drastic, inconvenient-for-advertiser changes
Facebook's owned data on its users is the key reason the company boasts a market capitalisation over half a trillion Australian dollars. Now with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, lawmakers have its data capturing techniques under the microscope. Data is Facebook's golden product - the opportunity to target someone based on interests is what helps the app succeed. Given their key product is under threat of legal limitation, Facebook is ready to make drastic changes to its advertising policies.
2. Facebook Pixel users will soon have to include a disclaimer.
The days of anonymously tracking and data gathering on web visitors are limited. On each site, it will most likely soon be required a company includes a clearly stated sentence that tracking codes are being used on their site.
3. You'll have to have written consent to place a Facebook Pixel on someone else's website.
That's right - take a high degree of caution if you're dropping code into your ClickFunnels and Eventbrite pages, or any website that doesn't belong to you. This is Facebook protecting the consumer from being tracked on a site by a company they may have never heard of or had no intention of being targeted by the ads from.
4. Your ad agency holds responsibility to bind you to these new terms.
If you're using an ad agency, they are also liable by Facebook's incoming terms and conditions to use these disclaimers and consent.
5. You'll need an opt out option for users to not be targeted by your ads.
The exact mechanics of this is incomplete, but be wary that soon consumers may have the power to block your adverts and data collection regardless of internet activity.
6. Pages with a large number of followers will need verification
In an effort to weed out fake accounts, a large number of followers (we assume millions) will need clearance of their social media team members. So if your Facebook page with over 1,000,000 followers is run by a 'fake account' that doesn't represent an actual person, your page is at risk of getting shutout. This is a result of seeking accountability over Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election.