The swift acceleration of multi-device behaviours has hastened the necessitation for new digital measurement technology. The reality is that the formulation and usage of cross device tracking has been contemplated by all relevant parties in the digital marketing industry for a long time now, though the logistics of actually achieving this has meant that it has been retained as an ideal, rather than a reality. Understanding the difficulty in achieving this up until now is easy: up until this year, there has been a larger amount of cross-device actions that have not been tracked than there have, undermining the effectiveness of this measurement practice.

In order to successfully set up cross device tracking in an accurate and useful way, cross linking log-in information is the most effective technique to use. However, only the titans of the online world, such as Google or Facebook, can realistically be able to assert that they possess a sufficient number of programme users, who log in on different devices frequently  enough, for their information to be beneficial outside of their usual platforms.

And it is Facebook who has emerged as the answer to the digital marketing world’s cries, strongly positioning itself as the soon-to-be number one facilitator and measurer of cross-device tracking on the globe. Whilst Google are also in a viable position to produce cross-device measuring tools, its social media competitor is bolstered by the fact that its actions are occurring on a singular, centralised platform, with a critical body or users. Conversely, Google is reliant on acquiring identification in a less fluid and broken manner, via its brand products such as Android mobiles, Google Chrome etc.

Facebook tool launched

Introducing the new Facebook cross-device reporting tool, which was officially unveiled last week to a huge furore across the marketing world. No longer will campaign managers be forced to speculate in order to comprehend the impact of different devices usage on conversion rates. Instead, the Facebook tool will be able to convey whether a site user saw an advertisement for a certain provider on a mobile platform, and then witnessed the same advertisement on a different device, but converted on the second occasion. Essentially, marketers are now clearly able to know when a mobile advertisement is more effective at inducing conversions than on PC’s,

Moreover, the effectiveness of advertisements in inducing conversions will also be able to be assessed across different kinds of mobile devices, such as across the Iphone, Ipad and alternative smart phones, making evaluation and improvement to campaigns substantially easier for all involved in the marketing world.

The importance of this new tool is clearly illustrated by the findings of a study undertaken by Facebook at the start of this year, which concluded that of the site users who responded positively to mobile advertisements on Facebook prior to converting, 32% ended up converting on a PC within 28 days. Compellingly, the chances of a user converting on an alternative device to the one they originally saw it on rose the more time passed by, increasing by 100% after the first week and then almost 200% within a month.

Thus, Facebook’s new cross-device tracking tool has concretised a notion that the entire marketing world were aware of: that mobile advertisements induce conversions on all other browser platforms. The availability of the new technology will now allow all campaign managers to closely evaluate the entire activity of consumers when interacting with their advertisements, and adjust their strategies and budgets accordingly in order to optimise the effectiveness of their endeavours.

Most importantly, the tool will assist advertisers formulate superior device-specific messaging plans, allowing them to tailor their marketing strategies in accordance with the evidence they acquire about user mentality and activity across different devices. For example, a marketer may have noticed the trend Facebook confirmed earlier this year, and would reduce spend on conversion across mobile devices in favour of doing so on the PC. They could also alter their mobile advertisements to being more informative and sales orientated, in order to supplement this strategy.

Ultimately, the revolutionary dimension of the Facebook’s new tool is already there for everyone to see; optimisation across all devices is now in reach of all advertisers and this will inevitably lead to more effectiveness and tailored strategies being employed by them, and of course, higher returns on investment.