Facebook ends the party for 3rd party data

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Facebook has been under intense scrutiny lately due to its data privacy policies and its breach by Cambridge Analytica. This has resulted in a lot of pressure being placed on Facebook to secure their data and be more transparent about how it is being used.

Facebook Removes Third-Party Data Access

As a result of this breach, Facebook has taken rather drastic measures and has already started removing 3^rd party data partner access by taking away the ability for many advertisers to use audiences that are important to make their campaigns successful.

Due to our close relationship with Facebook, we’ve been kept in the loop on what to expect over the course of the next six months and have timelines on their planned changes and when they are to be implemented. Facebook has allowed us to share the following:

“ Specifically, over the next six months, we will remove the ability to use Partner Categories, a targeting solution that enables third-party data providers to offer their targeting directly on Facebook. While leveraging third-party data is a common industry practice and we’ve put good protections in place, we believe this step will help improve people’s privacy on Facebook.”

While this is definitely a big shift for Facebook, it reinforces Infinite’s philosophy of primarily focusing on 1^st party data and data collected from our pixels to be able to create unique audience segments to target. 3^rd party data segments have been a crutch for many advertisers who have solely depended on this type of targeting. This will most likely result in advertisers moving budgets away from Facebook.

What does this mean for you?

An effective media presence always starts with a strong strategy. While losing the ability to layer 3^rd party segments on top of your core audiences may seem like you have lost the ability to conquest new consumers, it doesn’t change the fact that a Facebook media strategy is still arguably the most effective platform to produce results in awareness, engagement, site activity and conversions. We predict there could be fewer advertisers using the platform in the near future resulting in 2 key advantages; less competition and lower ad costs.

Overall, we feel strongly this will only benefit our Facebook strategy and allow us to be more effective in our advertising efforts.

Written By

Digital Team

The Infinite Agency is an integrated advertising agency designed to drive brand growth through data driven insights, inspiring creativity, and connected experiences.