13/03/2021
Facebook updates feel non stop at the moment - here’s 3 new updates worth knowing for your business.
- Improved photo descriptions for visually impaired users
Any update that makes the world of social media more inclusive gets a thumbs up from me.
In this case, Facebook’s automatic alternative text (AAT) technology, that’s been in use since 2016, has had a revamp.
Descriptions in the new update are much more detailed, and can even tell you information about positions and relative sizes of different elements in the photo.
For example, instead of saying “Maybe two people”, the AAT could tell you that one person is the central focus of the photo whilst the other is in the back left corner.
- Exclusion controls for advertisers in beta testing
Some brands may have experienced problems with their ads appearing in the News Feed next to topics that aren’t entirely on-brand. As an example; a toy ad might end up being displayed next to an inappropriate news story involving crime.
To stop this from happening, Facebook is allowing some advertisers to opt out of placement near specific topics - in this case you could opt out of being placed near “Crime and Tragedy”.
Testing will probably take the rest of the year but when rolled out on a bigger scale it offers brands more control over their image and how they’re shown across Facebook and beyond.
- New Conversions API allows businesses to share server data with ads manager
As iOS14 changes continue to make their presence felt, it’s inevitable that some advertisers will experience issues with Facebook’s pixel tracking.
Facebook has introduced the new Conversions API to pull data directly from your server into ads manager.
This tool was built with the aim to continue targeting, optimisation and accurate measurement of Facebook campaigns as the pixel loses some effectiveness. Because the API will pull from your server, and not your browser, a more reliable connection will be established.
Businesses will have more control of the data that’s shared and how it’s shared. It’s also less likely to succumb to crashes or connectivity issues.