CHARLOTTE – The latest changes in the social media world mostly come from Facebook and its ongoing battle with Apple.

Currently, Facebook is upset that Apple changed how users opt into sharing their data. This is a great, and long overdue, update from Apple and is great news for the average internet user trying to protect their data.

However, it’s not great news for advertisers and platforms that get money from ads like Facebook. Essentially with less data being shared, Facebook won’t be able to target ads as well.

Some businesses are really worried about this change, mostly because Facebook is loudly telling them they should be. But I disagree.

Ads and marketing have always been, and always will be about knowing your audience. Data can help us learn a lot about customers, but there were plenty of ways to get that information before we had access to data through social media.

I firmly believe that people are more important than profits and this is a situation where that concept applies. Good marketers will find a way to still serve up ads that appeal to the right audience, and everyone is facing the same challenge.

Social media is always changing and evolving, and it will continue to do so. It’s not a wise use of time or talent to focus on changes that are out of our control, instead, we must focus on how to adapt and try to anticipate new changes before they arrive.